Rhino Signature Lager
Central City Brewers + Distillers

Reviewed from old notes. Pint at Earl's.

Pours a clear pale yellow with one finger of bone white head that leaves some splashed white paint lace as it recedes.

Smells of crispy grain, white bread, apple flesh, lemon zest and trimmed grass.

Tastes of bready pale malt, apple skin, more zesty citrus, lager yeast and grassy hops.

Feels Light and fizzy. Light bodied with zippy carbonation. Finishes dry.

Verdict: Recommended. Light and refreshing.

18oz pint at Earls Whitemud in south Edmonton, after Christmas shopping for the immediate women in my family - yeah, I need some brew.

This beer appears a clear, medium golden yellow colour, with one fat finger of puffy, loosely foamy, and bubbly bone-white head, which leaves a thin wall of pockmarked concrete lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of grainy, crackery pale malt, a touch of lemon floor cleanser, a stoney flintiness, and some weak earthy, leafy, and somewhat floral hops. The taste is gritty, grainy, and crackery pale malt, a mixed apple, pear, and aged lemon fruitiness, wet stone paths after a rainshower, and some herbal, leafy and floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is quite light on its frothy and fizzy feet, the body a decent middleweight for the broad style, and sort of smooth, as the hops uncharacteristically bring some sassy game here. It finishes off-dry, but not by much, the cereal malt starting a long, meandering wane, and the muddled hops persisting well.

Overall, for a chain restaurant house lager, one might not be able to do much better - even Beer Revolution's native lager doesn't match up to this Rhino. Plain, sure, but easy as sin to drink, and still leagues beyond the long list of generic imports populating the rest of the lager canon here.