Across The Nation Miners' Refresh
Central City Brewers + Distillers


- From:
- Central City Brewers + Distillers
- British Columbia, Canada
- Style:
- Belgian Grisette
- ABV:
- 4%
- Score:
- 83
- Avg:
- 3.58 | pDev: 15.08%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 10
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Feb 20, 2018
- Added:
- Apr 30, 2017
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 5
Collaboration with NWT Brewing Co.
From its origin in Belgian Mines, the Grissette style makes its way from mineral-rich Northwest Territories to the bottle. Made with spelt, this ancient recipe pays tribute to the mining heritage of Canada's North.
From its origin in Belgian Mines, the Grissette style makes its way from mineral-rich Northwest Territories to the bottle. Made with spelt, this ancient recipe pays tribute to the mining heritage of Canada's North.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ewpass:
Rated by ewpass from Canada (PE)
3.47/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.47/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Grisette = a saison for miners. Hazy straw colour with good head. Mild grainy nose. Light body with crisp carbonation. A touch sour on finish.
Jul 02, 2017More User Ratings:
Reviewed by patre_tim from Thailand
4/5 rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Straw with a hint of haze, and topped with 2 fingers of white, fluffy head. No visible carbonation.
Smells of Belgian yeasts, phenols, and pears.
Tastes slightly sweet, slightly tart, with phenols, asian pear rind, and cloves.
Light, crisp body with a solid carbonation.
Got this with the collaboration, across the nation pack. Really good brew, solid, my first from North West Territories. Drinking in Muskoka, Feb 20th, 2018.
Feb 20, 2018Smells of Belgian yeasts, phenols, and pears.
Tastes slightly sweet, slightly tart, with phenols, asian pear rind, and cloves.
Light, crisp body with a solid carbonation.
Got this with the collaboration, across the nation pack. Really good brew, solid, my first from North West Territories. Drinking in Muskoka, Feb 20th, 2018.
Rated by spinrsx from Canada (ON)
3.46/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.46/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Bottle from the LCBO for about $2
Feb 12, 2018Reviewed by TheHammer from Canada (ON)
3.47/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.47/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Appearance: Poured with two solid fingers of head that left ample lacing and retained exceptionally well. The body boasts ample, bordering on excessive carbonation that seem to contract oddly with it's sickly clear yellow colour.
Smell: Ample grain with sour apple, lemon and the smallest hint of bubble gum. It goes from tame cold to decently potent after it warms up a bit.
Taste: Starts with some cereal grain with a potent lemon note that then turns to a more bitter rind taste that is punctuated by a sandy tasting hop note at the end that just seems to get a bit out of control.
Mouthfeel: The exceptionally high carbonation helps out the entire beer, giving it a sudsy, soapy texture which serves well to assist the beer by reigning in a bit more of it's more aggressive aspects. The transition is tolerable but that sandy note seems to linger in the aftertaste and the lemon is just so up front here.
Drinkability: This beer is unsurprisingly gassy, and thankfully that sandy hop note stops just short of coming across as dry. It's incredibly light, so I can certainly see how this is designed to have several be quaffed after a hard shift. That said, there are other lighter styles I'd rather have.
Final Thoughts: I'm a bit conflicted on this one, as this strikes me as a light beer alternative with some flavour behind it, which I can appreciated. What I can't appreciate is that it doesn't seem to hit my buttons. I mean, I am normally a fan of sour lemon notes, but the choice of hops and the lack of malt profile here seems to have sabotaged the work, for me at least. So this is one of those beers that I feel is well crafted, isn't my cup of tea but I'm certain appeals to someone else. I wasn't disappointed by this entry in the mix pack.
Feb 07, 2018Smell: Ample grain with sour apple, lemon and the smallest hint of bubble gum. It goes from tame cold to decently potent after it warms up a bit.
Taste: Starts with some cereal grain with a potent lemon note that then turns to a more bitter rind taste that is punctuated by a sandy tasting hop note at the end that just seems to get a bit out of control.
Mouthfeel: The exceptionally high carbonation helps out the entire beer, giving it a sudsy, soapy texture which serves well to assist the beer by reigning in a bit more of it's more aggressive aspects. The transition is tolerable but that sandy note seems to linger in the aftertaste and the lemon is just so up front here.
Drinkability: This beer is unsurprisingly gassy, and thankfully that sandy hop note stops just short of coming across as dry. It's incredibly light, so I can certainly see how this is designed to have several be quaffed after a hard shift. That said, there are other lighter styles I'd rather have.
Final Thoughts: I'm a bit conflicted on this one, as this strikes me as a light beer alternative with some flavour behind it, which I can appreciated. What I can't appreciate is that it doesn't seem to hit my buttons. I mean, I am normally a fan of sour lemon notes, but the choice of hops and the lack of malt profile here seems to have sabotaged the work, for me at least. So this is one of those beers that I feel is well crafted, isn't my cup of tea but I'm certain appeals to someone else. I wasn't disappointed by this entry in the mix pack.
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)
3.5/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.5/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle: Poured a clear yellow color ale with a medium size foamy head with light retention and no lacing. Aroma of light cereal notes with some peppery yeast notes. Taste is a mix of light rustic cereal notes with a peppery yeast finish with very little residuals sugar notes. Body is light with medium carbonation. A bit short on complexity but good drinkability and nice yeast profile.
Jul 07, 2017Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.7/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
3.7/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
330 mL bottle from the LCBO; bottled Mar 24 2017. One of six brews included in their "Across the Nation Collaboration (West)" mixed pack. Served slightly chilled.
Pours a foggy pale straw-yellow colour, while a half-inch of soapy, sparkling white foam gathers at the surface. It weakens quickly, dissipating off over the course of the next two minutes until only a thin collar and layer of film remain, ringed by a modest coat of lace. Subtle on the nose; there's some grainy notes, bread and honey sweetness, and light hints of bubble gum and lemon. A tad yeasty, but the aroma is quite subdued overall.
The flavour itself isn't much different, with cereal grains and wheaty bread comprising the backbone, as well as some subtle apple esters and faint lemon zest. Grassy hops provide the barest amount of bitterness towards the finish, which is otherwise characterized by peppery, yeasty spiciness, and ultimately trailed by a dry aftertaste. Light-bodied, with crisp, rigorous carbonation that prickles and scrubs the palate with each sip. As you'd probably expect from a 4% farmhouse ale, drinkability is the area that this one most excels in.
Final Grade: 3.7, a B grade. Miners' Refresh is well crafted and totally unobjectionable, but at the end of the day it's still very light-tasting, and far from complex or interesting. The flavours that *are* there are tasty enough, I guess - most brewers seem to interpret a grissette as being a 'light saison', and that's basically what this is, for better or for worse. I didn't mind it, nor would I refuse another bottle in the future, though I wouldn't say it's worth going out of your way for.
Jun 30, 2017Pours a foggy pale straw-yellow colour, while a half-inch of soapy, sparkling white foam gathers at the surface. It weakens quickly, dissipating off over the course of the next two minutes until only a thin collar and layer of film remain, ringed by a modest coat of lace. Subtle on the nose; there's some grainy notes, bread and honey sweetness, and light hints of bubble gum and lemon. A tad yeasty, but the aroma is quite subdued overall.
The flavour itself isn't much different, with cereal grains and wheaty bread comprising the backbone, as well as some subtle apple esters and faint lemon zest. Grassy hops provide the barest amount of bitterness towards the finish, which is otherwise characterized by peppery, yeasty spiciness, and ultimately trailed by a dry aftertaste. Light-bodied, with crisp, rigorous carbonation that prickles and scrubs the palate with each sip. As you'd probably expect from a 4% farmhouse ale, drinkability is the area that this one most excels in.
Final Grade: 3.7, a B grade. Miners' Refresh is well crafted and totally unobjectionable, but at the end of the day it's still very light-tasting, and far from complex or interesting. The flavours that *are* there are tasty enough, I guess - most brewers seem to interpret a grissette as being a 'light saison', and that's basically what this is, for better or for worse. I didn't mind it, nor would I refuse another bottle in the future, though I wouldn't say it's worth going out of your way for.
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)
3.79/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2nd in the collab pack. This time with Northwest Territories' NWT Brewing. Served cold into a pint glass.
Appearance - A slightly hazy, pale golden color. A very impressive two fingers of frothy white head pours, sadly only middling retention and next to no lacing.
Smell - Not a lot here, some subtle sweetness, some yeast and a touch of earthy hops although that might be a figment of my imagination. Nothing off and everything smells as it should so well...
Taste - Clean, refreshing, some graininess on the sweet side inter-mingled with some yeastiness. A light sweetened dessert bread, in liquid form with the sweetness dialed back. Pretty good. Seems to get better with repeated sips.
Mouthfeel - Light bodied, moderate carbonation, medium drying effect at the end.
Overall - Hard to say which beer I've enjoyed more from the taster's pack, but so far Central City is 2/2 in making beers that I enjoy and would like to enjoy again. Here's hoping they don't make these collabs a 1-off but rather can implement them as a seasonal every couple of years or so.
Jun 25, 2017Appearance - A slightly hazy, pale golden color. A very impressive two fingers of frothy white head pours, sadly only middling retention and next to no lacing.
Smell - Not a lot here, some subtle sweetness, some yeast and a touch of earthy hops although that might be a figment of my imagination. Nothing off and everything smells as it should so well...
Taste - Clean, refreshing, some graininess on the sweet side inter-mingled with some yeastiness. A light sweetened dessert bread, in liquid form with the sweetness dialed back. Pretty good. Seems to get better with repeated sips.
Mouthfeel - Light bodied, moderate carbonation, medium drying effect at the end.
Overall - Hard to say which beer I've enjoyed more from the taster's pack, but so far Central City is 2/2 in making beers that I enjoy and would like to enjoy again. Here's hoping they don't make these collabs a 1-off but rather can implement them as a seasonal every couple of years or so.
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