Cliff Dive
Grand River Brewing

 

 

Decent fruity IPA from Ontario. Nice aroma & taste with citrus & tropical flavours. In the sea of IPAs out there right now I would put this as above average & while I may not seek it out, I would drink any time.

473 mL can from the LCBO; there's a date stamp (I think?) but it's either smudged or wasn't printed properly. Served barely chilled.

Pours a foggy golden-blonde colour, giving rise to nearly two fingers of loose, fluffy white foam that manages to hold itself together for 3-4 minutes. Several lovely bands of sticky lace have been splattered in its wake, with a thick, foamy collar lasting on; no complaints from a visual perspective. The aroma is fruity and quite easy to like - I'm getting melon, peach and lime, with suggestions of tropical fruit and some floral, vaguely onion-like notes.

This one has a robust flavour with more depth than I've come to expect from the average session IPA. It has a respectable malt presence - bready and a little wheaty, with very slight sweetness - but the hops are the name of the game here and I don't think anyone was expecting anything different. Here, they impart fruity hints of lime, stone fruit and grapefruit, accented by slight suggestions of melon and strawberry. Finishes with hints of citrus pith and floral hops, preceding a dry aftertaste. Light in body, with assertive carbonation levels that continuously poke at the palate; the mouthfeel is quite crisp and refreshing.

I don't think I agree with its current classification as an English IPA... the hop strains are very much North American in their personality, but on the other hand it does seem to have that same easy-drinking, mellow, relatively balanced nature that I've often seen in the past from certain well-hopped English-style ales.

Final Grade: 3.89, a worthy B+. Grand River has never really been known for their hoppy pale ales, but Cliff Dive is a pretty rock solid example of one. I don't buy session IPAs on a very regular basis - in fact, after I'm done with my review I rarely bother repeating them, unless they're extraordinary. But this is one I could see myself actually returning to, even if only on a sporadic basis. A quality session IPA; I've always liked this brewery, and it's awesome to see that they're willing to adapt and compete for their slice of the market.

 

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for around $3.25 CDN.

Appearance - Pale golden / bronzey coloring, a finger of brilliant white foam cap, looks frothy from above. Better lacing than I'd expected and just a little bit of haze throughout giving a nice unfiltered look.

Smell - Quite floral initially with some subtle citrus in behind, orange and mango most prominent with melon and lychee accompanying.

Taste - An inviting blend of flavors. There's some earthiness, followed by grain flavors and citrus, lemon and orange followed by small detours of melon and mango sweetness. Finishes more bitter than i'd expect and it's earthy with plenty of leafy hops mixing for a tasty treat.

Mouthfeel - Medium-light bodied, on the fizzier side of things, the finish is dry and there's a certain prickliness on the tongue that is appealing.

Overall - A fine well-hopped version of and English IPA that I can see appealing a lot of the local BA's. It's not a world beater for a prickly and well-crafted brew, this hits a lot of the right marks. Hard to believe it's 4.8% ABv as it does pack quite a bit of flavor.

Appearance is light straw coloured with a small white head. Taste and smell are all hops. Lighter bodied with a low-ish ABV. Very easy drinking. A good beer
January 27 2020