Grand River Brewing: Pale Ale
Magnotta Brewery
- From:
- Magnotta Brewery
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- American Pale Ale
- ABV:
- 5%
- Score:
- +6 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.65 | pDev: 7.4%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jul 26, 2025
- Added:
- Jul 19, 2023
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 1
NO SCORE
-
-
Our latest addition to Grand River Brewery's lineup. Layered with caramel flavours, a hint of toasted malt and floral, fruity and citrus aromatics. An ideal partner to fragrant, savoury dishes. We're drinking it with hot and spicy curries, salsa verde chicken enchiladas and a Thai-style peppercorn beef stir-fry. 26 IBU.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by talisen-crw from Canada (ON)
3.75/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From the Magnotta Winery bottle shop on Provincial Rd. in nearby Windsor. My second beer from the Vaughan, Ontario brewery, and for 2025...
Jul 26, 2025
Rated by Pmicdee from Canada (ON)
4/5 rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Feb 13 2025
Dec 13, 2023
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.61/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.61/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Jun 28 2023 and served slightly chilled.
Pours a fairly clear golden-yellow; some very fine, silty sediment fogs up its complexion somewhat. Situated atop is more than two fingers of fluffy, foamy white head that lasts for five minutes or so, steadily dissipating down to a generous collar and patchy, filmy cap. Great lacing, too, very visually enticing. The aroma is doughy, grainy and floral, with hints of lemon and orchard fruits.
Mild, nuanced flavour profile without a lot of depth, but it is extraordinarily crushable. Grainy pale malts and very lightly caramelized sugars, with hoppy hints of lemon peel and floral, grassy hops towards the finish. Gentle earthy bitterness, followed by a drying aftertaste. Light medium in body, with middling carbonation that adds a crisp bite to this pale ale's smooth mouthfeel. I could easily drink several of these over the course of an evening with no complaint.
Final Grade: 3.61, a B grade. Grand River Pale Ale isn't the most interesting example of the style you'll ever come across, but it's competently brewed and completely inoffensive. I have my suspicions that this modern recipe may be based on Grand River's old Pugnacious Pale Ale - it resembles my recollection of that beer, but I haven't had Pugnacious in ten years now, so take that with a grain of salt. I've always preferred the Plowman's Ale, but this is worth a shot if you're looking for something less assertively malty.
Nov 22, 2023Pours a fairly clear golden-yellow; some very fine, silty sediment fogs up its complexion somewhat. Situated atop is more than two fingers of fluffy, foamy white head that lasts for five minutes or so, steadily dissipating down to a generous collar and patchy, filmy cap. Great lacing, too, very visually enticing. The aroma is doughy, grainy and floral, with hints of lemon and orchard fruits.
Mild, nuanced flavour profile without a lot of depth, but it is extraordinarily crushable. Grainy pale malts and very lightly caramelized sugars, with hoppy hints of lemon peel and floral, grassy hops towards the finish. Gentle earthy bitterness, followed by a drying aftertaste. Light medium in body, with middling carbonation that adds a crisp bite to this pale ale's smooth mouthfeel. I could easily drink several of these over the course of an evening with no complaint.
Final Grade: 3.61, a B grade. Grand River Pale Ale isn't the most interesting example of the style you'll ever come across, but it's competently brewed and completely inoffensive. I have my suspicions that this modern recipe may be based on Grand River's old Pugnacious Pale Ale - it resembles my recollection of that beer, but I haven't had Pugnacious in ten years now, so take that with a grain of salt. I've always preferred the Plowman's Ale, but this is worth a shot if you're looking for something less assertively malty.
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