Country Vibes
Beau's All Natural Brewing Company

Pours a clear but gently fuzzy, light amber colour with a beautiful three finger thick, foamy and rocky head. Unlike some other reviews, I noticed a decent amount of nice thick lacing down the glass.

Sweet, malt forward aroma. Roasted grains, some grassy hop bitterness on the nose, with mild nutty smells. Straightforward, but enticing.

Great taste with the hallmarks of a lager and an ale. That’s kind of Beau’s trademark, as their flagship is a Kölsch and they lager all their ales. The sweet malt, roasted flavour is balanced by some grassy, maybe even very slightly citrusy hops. The bitterness is two-fold, at first you’re hit by a roasted/burnt malt bitterness, which subsides into a grassy hop bitterness on the finish. Subtle, but unique. A tiny bit of savouriness in the background, there are hints of caramel and toffee. Malty sweetness tends to hit you up front. Interesting mix of flavours.

Light-ish bodied beer with medium carbonation that is very crisp and goes down easy, this beer is quite a deal more ‘crispy’ than typical amber ales. Bittersweet finish, the sweetness hangs out on the tip of your tongue and a pleasant hoppy bitter sensation sticks around at the back.

This is a nice, easy drinking but flavourful amber. Beau’s tends to put this out in stages, so when I managed to buy the last one, I bought the last one within a 200 mile radius around. Only one store in all of Ontario carries any more of these. It took me a while to build up the courage to take mine out of the cellar knowing I wouldn’t see this again for a long time, but I’m glad I did. I expect this would’ve been even better if I drank it even more fresh. Really nice stuff.

Look: Translucent light to medium copper meets amber colour. Pours with a 3/4 finger head of tiny bubbles. Head retention is OK, after a few minutes the head has given way to sparce lacing

Smell: Caramel malts, toffee, some grain, with a definate sweet quality.

Taste: Carmel malts dominate the front end and middle of the sip. Tastes of white crackers throughout. A dry floral quality in the middle to back end. A little bitterness on the finish, but well balanced into the beer.

Feel: Light and watery at first, but it rounds out a bit in the middle. Plays in the top and sides of the palate.

This is a nice sessionable malt dominate, but not overwhelmingly so, session ale. I give it a B+.

473 mL can from the LCBO; the date stamp is smudged, but I can at least make out the year (2021). Served barely chilled.

Pours a brilliant amber-orange colour; its body is crystal clear, topped with one finger of off-white head that dissipates within a few minutes' time. A thin, smooth cap of film is left behind, in addition to a frothy collar; decent lace generation as the level in the glass drops. It's definitely attractive, and the nose is also moderately enticing - there's a nutty malt note with toasted grains, caramelized sugars and orchard fruit, as well as a hint of grassiness.

A quality lagered amber ale with beautiful balance between the malt sweetness and hop bitterness. Lightly toasted grains, caramel sweetness, bruised orchard fruit and a touch of nutty bread come through at the forefront, with a resiny, slightly pine-y bitterness developing in the latter half of the sip. Finishes earthy and herbal, with more resiny bitterness and a twinge of nuttiness preceding a pretty clean aftertaste. Light-ish in body, with average carbonation levels that provide a bit of prickliness to this lagered ale's mouthfeel. Downright sessionable.

Final Grade: 3.84, a B+. Beau's has a habit of re-naming its beers, so my original assumption was that Country Vibes was based on their Farm Table Altbier from recent years past - which itself was based on Festivale (one of their old school seasonals). I have no idea for sure, but my gut feeling is that this is a new beer, or maybe just a 'rekajiggered' take on an old recipe - in any event, I wouldn't say it's much of an improvement, and may in fact be a step backwards. Then again, it's not like I can compare this side-by-side with its predecessors, so who knows? The real takeaway here is that if you like your ambers to pack a bit of a bitter punch, this might be the brew for you.

I bought a can at the lcbo in Ontario 473ml at 4.7%.
poured a 2finger head into glass leaving a nice lace as you drink it.
small hint of caramel and malts with a heavy bitterness.
it's very refreshing and enjoyable as you drink it.
overall a fine beer
well done .
cheers

 

 

 

 

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for $3.45 CDN.

Appearance - clear reddish brown colored brew with a finger of loose dimpled off-white head that rests on top. Moderate head retention and minimal lacing.

Smell - Clean and grainy, plenty of caramel notes, some crackery bits and subtle grape like suggestions. Similar nose to an Oktoberfest otherwise.

Taste - Quite assertively bitter to start, grainy bits mixed in and then continues with the earthy and herbal bitterness. Almost too bitter for the sake of being bitter which reminds me of Beau's Altbier.

Mouthfeel - Medium-light body, carbonation is fairly soft. Easy to knock back a couple.

Overall - Good brew, nothing speactacular, highlights are the nose for me as the earthy bitterness just builds up a bit too much for my tastes.

Looks beautiful when poured into my glass with a great thick head that seems to last forever. Smell reminds me of wet swampy grass. Taste is malty up front with a tad of bitterness coming up the rear, as well as toasty notes to it. Mouthfeel is good, with nice bubblyness.
Aug 16 2020

Can: pours a clear amber-red ale with a 2 finger white cap that lasts well...Aromas of cooked cereal, earthiness, some light spice....flavor is chewy malts in front with a herbal bittering that gets more intense in the clean wet finish...Rounded hoppy character, a well conditioned flavorful ale....nothing special but well made and quenching on a warm day.