KLB Thirsty Bear
Publican House Brewery
- From:
- Publican House Brewery
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- American Amber / Red Ale
- ABV:
- 5%
- Score:
- +8 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.94 | pDev: 1.52%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- May 03, 2026
- Added:
- Apr 05, 2026
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
Our brewers wanted to make a new beer that was both full of flavour and refreshing to drink. Taking inspiration from amber beers brewed in Germany, we gave this lager our own spin. Featuring flavours of toasted bread and graham cracker with subtle notes of red currant, this beer has become a new favourite in our brewery.
Malts:
Vienna
Pilsner
Munich Dark
Melanoidin
Carared
Crystal Dark
Hops:
Helios
Mittelfrüh
IBU
23
(From the brewery's website--William Wood)
Malts:
Vienna
Pilsner
Munich Dark
Melanoidin
Carared
Crystal Dark
Hops:
Helios
Mittelfrüh
IBU
23
(From the brewery's website--William Wood)
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by talisen-crw from Canada (ON)
4/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From the Huron Church Rd. LCBO in nearby Windsor. No date stamp or lot number. My 5th beer from the Peterborough, Ontario brewery, and 1st for 2026. Radically mused about by Gracie the cat...
May 03, 2026
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.88/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.88/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Feb 18 2026 and served barely chilled. Publican House acquired the KLB brand in 2019, purchasing the rights from Amsterdam Brewhouse (who were later bought out by Royal Unibrew in 2022). To make things even more confusing, Publican House has apparently changed their name to Kawartha Lakes Brewery, though they're still using the familiar Publican House "gaslamp" logo, at least for now.
Pours a clear copper-amber hue, kicking up one finger of loose, sudsy, off white-coloured head that collapses within two minutes or so. A frothy collar is the only remnant of note, though there is some scant lace deposition after the first few sips. Enticingly malty aroma with notes of toffee, toasted bread, cocoa, caramel and dried dark fruits; hints of spicy, herbal hops are also discernible.
A nice flavourful amber ale; it leans malt-forward for the most part, but the noble hops prevent the profile from becoming lopsided. Bread crusts, toffee, toasted grains and date fruit; plenty of melanoidin flavour to go around. Hints of herbal, spicy hops develop late in the sip, with hints of pine and hop resin dissipating into a bittersweet aftertaste that doesn't loiter on the tastebuds for long. Medium-light in body, with restrained carbonation and a smooth, satisfying mouthfeel. Goes down easy.
Final Grade: 3.88, a B+. Maybe I'm re-developing a soft spot for ambers in my old (middle) age, but I liked KLB Thirsty Bear more than I was expecting to. The marketing blurb above seems to suggest that they weren't necessarily going for an American amber, but maybe something closer to a Munich dunkel - and I can kinda see it. The noble hops are the main reason, as their presence makes for a fairly even-keeled amber (whereas I tend to associate American ambers with being more of a Crystal malt-oriented affair). Worth a look for sure.
Apr 08, 2026Pours a clear copper-amber hue, kicking up one finger of loose, sudsy, off white-coloured head that collapses within two minutes or so. A frothy collar is the only remnant of note, though there is some scant lace deposition after the first few sips. Enticingly malty aroma with notes of toffee, toasted bread, cocoa, caramel and dried dark fruits; hints of spicy, herbal hops are also discernible.
A nice flavourful amber ale; it leans malt-forward for the most part, but the noble hops prevent the profile from becoming lopsided. Bread crusts, toffee, toasted grains and date fruit; plenty of melanoidin flavour to go around. Hints of herbal, spicy hops develop late in the sip, with hints of pine and hop resin dissipating into a bittersweet aftertaste that doesn't loiter on the tastebuds for long. Medium-light in body, with restrained carbonation and a smooth, satisfying mouthfeel. Goes down easy.
Final Grade: 3.88, a B+. Maybe I'm re-developing a soft spot for ambers in my old (middle) age, but I liked KLB Thirsty Bear more than I was expecting to. The marketing blurb above seems to suggest that they weren't necessarily going for an American amber, but maybe something closer to a Munich dunkel - and I can kinda see it. The noble hops are the main reason, as their presence makes for a fairly even-keeled amber (whereas I tend to associate American ambers with being more of a Crystal malt-oriented affair). Worth a look for sure.
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