Roughtail Brewing Company - Frickin’ Hazer Beams

This pale ale from Roughtail is brewed in the vein of a New England-style hazy IPA, but at an American Pale Ale gravity, giving us a sessionable and super-flavorful pale ale just dripping with juicy, fruity notes. On the pour, we get a very hazed golden orange color, topped with a rocky head of off-white foam. On the nose, there’s a very inviting fruity character, with tangerine-like candied citrus notes, stone fruit impressions conjuring apricot, tropical fruits including a wisp of coconut, and even some berry-like touches. Look for those tropical fruit notes to come through quite boldly in the flavor, with the coconut note quite apparent. The super fruity hops produce a fruit cocktail impression with strong pineapple, berry, and citrus components, all while the bitterness is kept fairly tame. The core malt backbone offers a sturdy and satisfying stage for those hops, providing lightly bready notes that work nicely with the hazy medium-bodied mouthfeel. For pairing options, steer towards complementary fruity dishes like a Hawaiian burger with grilled pineapple and teriyaki, or a ceviche with some tropical fruits in addition to the citrus. Cheers!

Roughtail Brewing Company’s story begins when homebrewers Blaine Stansel and Tony Tielli met in a homebrewing club. Dissatisfied with the craft beer options in the area, which were limited and, in their words, “safe”, the duo decided to launch their own brewery. Originally they were eyeing Dallas due to the huge size of its untapped beer market, but ultimately they decided to build their brewery in their home of Oklahoma City. Founded in 2012, Roughtail officially hit the market in 2013, offering a well-hopped red ale, an 80 IBU IPA, and a boldly malty and hoppy American strong ale, all produced at their small location in downtown OKC. They named their “rough around the edges” brewery after the Roughtail Gecko, a tough little critter they felt exemplified their attitude.

Soon after launch, Roughtail moved into a larger facility in Midwest City, just a few miles east of downtown OKC. Stansel, Tielli, and their team made the most of their modest 10-barrel brewing system and 5,000 sq.ft. of space, but by 2017 they were brewing at maximum capacity and the need for a larger brewhouse was apparent. Construction of a brand new facility on the northern edge of OKC began soon after, and the brewery moved into this space in 2020. Designed to offer the company enough space for the present and the far future, the new building features a 30-barrel brewing system with over 12,000 sq.ft. of production space and 8,000 sq.ft. for their Taphouse and offices.

Roughtail currently produces five core year-round beers as well as four seasonals and an ongoing variety of limited releases, including barrel-aged ales. They’re also in the very popular hard seltzer market with their Skyline brand, currently offering four different flavor combinations. For more info on the brewery, their Taproom, and upcoming events, check them out at roughtailbeer.com.