Grapefruit Ale
Whistler Brewing Company

Enjoyed multiple cans by the pool of our Blackcomb hotel/lodge on a gorgeous early June day. Also been hunting for anything that even vaguely resembles Grapefruit Sculpin. So my enjoyment and grades for this beer may be influenced by the mood and my thirst for grapefruit. But things really hitting the spot either way.

The look gets us off to a great start because the liquid looks exactly like Sculpin: dark copper with a deep chill haze that shows off the heavy malt base. Love it. But the head and lacing is feeble, so marks down. All of this is with an OG WC IPA in mind, which is obviously not how this beer is categorized. But a grapefruit beer is its own world so I’m mostly grading off of my hopes/expectations for that. And here it shines pretty well.

Same on the nose where the grapefruit is robust. Fresh ruby red grapefruit juice, grapefruit candy, citrus rind, lemongrass, crackery malt, some pine resin, and just a touch of funk. Brings the grapefruit nut not as nuanced and layered as a Sculpin.

Flavors where the blonde categorization really works, as this the beer is quite mellow. More modest grapefruit soda notes, noble hops, pale malts, some nice pith, but a very soft aftertaste. Not at all like Sculpin but it’s still scratching my grapefruit itch. And it’s still beer without becoming a Radler.

Feel is wonderfully coating and nicely carbonated. Drinks a touch bigger than the ABV but still very chuggable, light, and refreshing.

Great beer or the right beer for a set of circumstances? Probably more the latter. But if you’re looking for a dose of grapefruit in a semi-honest beer wrapper, this is a winner in my books. Especially if you’re in Whistler!

 

Hazy light brown-orange color. Head formed of medium sized bubbles which quickly dropped down to a patchy skiff, leaving no lacing. Medium flow of medium sized bubbles from the bottom of the glass.

Primary scents are grapefruit and celery. Very light malt and just a hint of yeast. Swirling the glass boosted the grapefruit and kicked up a bit of barnyard.

The first half second all I could taste was celery. That was quickly replaced with a blend of light malt, very light grapefruit, a bit of sweet rather than tart, and then a mild bitter. The aftertaste was mostly a bitter grapefruit that slowly faded to a sweet grapefruit.

Strong tongue tickling as it formed a very large bubbled foam. A bit sticky in the mouth with some astringency both before and after swallowing.

Nothing really exciting here. The grapefruit was almost an afterthought, in that it was not strong enough to take center stage and not light enough to make people curious what it was. There are much better examples of grapefruit and ale that are easy to find.