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Galt Knife Old Style Lager
Grand River Brewing


- From:
- Grand River Brewing
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- American Lager
- ABV:
- 4.4%
- Score:
- 81
- Avg:
- 3.56 | pDev: 15.17%
- Reviews:
- 49
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jun 08, 2015
- Added:
- Sep 16, 2007
- Wants:
- 2
- Gots:
- 1
This lager was named after our beautiful building that once was the home of the Galt Knife Company. This deep gold lager is brewed in the style reminiscent of pre-prohibition beers that were brewed with full bodied malts yet retained a strong hop character in the finish. The pale malt forward beer presents a full bodied creamy taste at the beginning and finish with a complex and enjoyable hop bite.
Like all our beers, you will notice a strong, pronounced head on the beer after pouring it into your glass. The foam allows the beer to retain its freshness in the glass and provide a great amount of mouth feel that adds to the overall enjoyment and provides an added benefit to the beer you're enjoying after a hard day’s work.
Like all our beers, you will notice a strong, pronounced head on the beer after pouring it into your glass. The foam allows the beer to retain its freshness in the glass and provide a great amount of mouth feel that adds to the overall enjoyment and provides an added benefit to the beer you're enjoying after a hard day’s work.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)
3.69/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.69/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
500 ml bottle served cold into a pint glass. Purchased from LCBO for $3.50 CDN.
Appearance - Moderately hazy, rich dark golden color. Small 1 finger if head on top. Ok retention.
Smell - Grainy with a creamy wheat like smell. Lightly floral and some caramel aromatics.
Taste - Same grainy flavor, mild hop bitterness, caramel less noticeable as bitterness lasts throughout.
Mouthfeel - Clean and very crisp, slightly dry finish. Moderate carbonation. A subtle rich creamy makes this beer as good as it is.
Overall - Pretty good beer overall and at the price point its at, it's not bad either. Would enjoy this one again.
Oct 12, 2014Appearance - Moderately hazy, rich dark golden color. Small 1 finger if head on top. Ok retention.
Smell - Grainy with a creamy wheat like smell. Lightly floral and some caramel aromatics.
Taste - Same grainy flavor, mild hop bitterness, caramel less noticeable as bitterness lasts throughout.
Mouthfeel - Clean and very crisp, slightly dry finish. Moderate carbonation. A subtle rich creamy makes this beer as good as it is.
Overall - Pretty good beer overall and at the price point its at, it's not bad either. Would enjoy this one again.
Reviewed by BuckyBeerBeaver from Canada (ON)
3.52/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.52/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
The last bottle from Bucky's Grand River inventory was their Galt Knife Old Style Lager. The by now familiar 500 ml brown bottle was filled on December 12, 2013 and was 4.4% alcohol by volume.
Galt Knife poured a hazy golden amber colour, topped by 1.5” of lumpy off-white head. The head had very good retention and left plenty of lacing down the far side of the glass as it slowly faded to an uneven cap. Its aroma was of sweet malts, grass and earth. The taste began with a sweet malty flavor which quickly transitioned to grassy and earthy hops, while the finish was bitter with a hint of citrus to it. The bitterness, along with the beer's grassy and earthy elements lingered for quite some time as an aftertaste. For my personal taste the beer was a touch under-carbonated, but I understand that this may well be the norm for a “pre-prohibition style lager.” I would say that the beer was fairly light bodied with a smooth mouth feel from the ever-present foam cap. Not my favourite beer from Grand River…I could do without the long-lived aftertaste…but still a respectable brew.
Apr 13, 2014Galt Knife poured a hazy golden amber colour, topped by 1.5” of lumpy off-white head. The head had very good retention and left plenty of lacing down the far side of the glass as it slowly faded to an uneven cap. Its aroma was of sweet malts, grass and earth. The taste began with a sweet malty flavor which quickly transitioned to grassy and earthy hops, while the finish was bitter with a hint of citrus to it. The bitterness, along with the beer's grassy and earthy elements lingered for quite some time as an aftertaste. For my personal taste the beer was a touch under-carbonated, but I understand that this may well be the norm for a “pre-prohibition style lager.” I would say that the beer was fairly light bodied with a smooth mouth feel from the ever-present foam cap. Not my favourite beer from Grand River…I could do without the long-lived aftertaste…but still a respectable brew.
Reviewed by mick303 from Canada (ON)
3.77/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.77/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Galt knife old style
A really large rocky white head with great retention and lace, colour is a hazy blonde gold. 4
S- an interesting lemon and yeasty character, full bready malts. Sort of tart fruits. 3.75
T- grainy minerality, crisp malt, some lemon salts and a tart overall profile. Some light spiciness and yeasty sourness, interesting. 3.75
M- a moderate light session beer with moderate carbonation and a light lemony saline feel. 3.75
A kind of sour malt profile with a grainy mineral feel, easy session beer but it was interesting but not really my thing. Rustic and a lemony sour aspect with a solid malt profile, sorta bready sortof mineral, worth trying. 3.75
Sep 30, 2013A really large rocky white head with great retention and lace, colour is a hazy blonde gold. 4
S- an interesting lemon and yeasty character, full bready malts. Sort of tart fruits. 3.75
T- grainy minerality, crisp malt, some lemon salts and a tart overall profile. Some light spiciness and yeasty sourness, interesting. 3.75
M- a moderate light session beer with moderate carbonation and a light lemony saline feel. 3.75
A kind of sour malt profile with a grainy mineral feel, easy session beer but it was interesting but not really my thing. Rustic and a lemony sour aspect with a solid malt profile, sorta bready sortof mineral, worth trying. 3.75
Reviewed by hopsolutely from Canada (ON)
3.69/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.69/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
An (all too rare) lager with flavour! Although I'm a huge fan of the Grand River Brewery, have never purchased before solely because of the style - but this is a perfect "Sunday afternoon" beer that I'll now keep in stock.
Pours a beautiful dark golden colour with very limited white head. Aroma is very mild, a slight bready graininess that I have to concentrate to identify. However the taste is robust and well balanced, with enough complexity to be interesting but not too much to require effort. An initial bread-forward malt sweetness becomes a lightly bitter body, with a finish that is crisp but lingers for a respectable length of time.
Well done, Grand River. Although a lager would never be my personal first choice, this is one I'm enjoying!
Feb 18, 2013Pours a beautiful dark golden colour with very limited white head. Aroma is very mild, a slight bready graininess that I have to concentrate to identify. However the taste is robust and well balanced, with enough complexity to be interesting but not too much to require effort. An initial bread-forward malt sweetness becomes a lightly bitter body, with a finish that is crisp but lingers for a respectable length of time.
Well done, Grand River. Although a lager would never be my personal first choice, this is one I'm enjoying!
Reviewed by ppoitras from Massachusetts
3.18/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.18/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
500ml bottle purchased as a single from the LCBO booth at the Toronto Royal Winter Fair. Bottled 10/23/12.
Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1/4" off-white head over the slightly cloudy golden brew. Head is quickly down to a bubbly skim, with coating lace. Aroma is sweet and adjuncty.
Taste starts sweet, goes tart in the middle, continues into a bitter/sour close. Mouthfeel is a bit rocky, with somewhat limited drinkability. Might well be representative of a pre-prohibition lager, but I'm not that wild about it.
Nov 23, 2012Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1/4" off-white head over the slightly cloudy golden brew. Head is quickly down to a bubbly skim, with coating lace. Aroma is sweet and adjuncty.
Taste starts sweet, goes tart in the middle, continues into a bitter/sour close. Mouthfeel is a bit rocky, with somewhat limited drinkability. Might well be representative of a pre-prohibition lager, but I'm not that wild about it.
Galt Knife Old Style Lager from Grand River Brewing
Beer rating:
81 out of
100 with
74 ratings
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