Simple Malt Cascade DH
Brasseurs Illimités

Call me lazy, but when I pry the cap off a bottle I don't want to have to race to get the beer into the glass - ticking time-bombs of explosive white suds are no fun for me (or my carpet). Ideally you want to have more liquid than foam in the glass. And if the head can pass for a slice of cake, or if the beer crackles, or if it has flakes of sediment the size of unfurled tea leaves, those are also less than ideal signs.

When an IPA winds up with more yeast in the aroma than hops, that's not what I consider 'getting off on the right foot' - especially for something that's been dry-hopped! (That's what the "DH" in 'Cascade India Pale Américaine' is referring to.) This beer is extremely sharp on the nose, with a cleaning chemical-like bouquet that combines lemons and pure alcohol. There's some stale white bread in there too.

While this bottle may not be at peak freshness, it's obvious there are brewing flaws at hand here (I'm not the only reviewer to have noted them). Fortunately they are mostly restricted to the appearance and aroma, as the flavour itself is not nearly so disagreeable. Fruits the likes of mango, peach, pear and cantaloupe combine nicely with a soft, lightly caramelized maltiness. It's perfectly palatable.

Mind you, that's not to say desirable - the sink will consume more of this bottle than I will. Sarcasm aside, there's far too much alcohol evident for such a relatively mild example of the style (6.4%). And the bitterness can be so intensely weedy and herbal that it sometimes feels like throwing back cough medicine. The breadiness of the malt comes through on some sips, but not all.

Quebec is a thriving and dynamic place for craft beer... but they aren't all winners. I've had plenty of IPAs that were something of a struggle, but Cascade DH is an especially rough example. That said, Simple Malt has a pretty solid track record and I still think highly enough of them to keep buying their products. I do, however, think a $6 voucher is only fair after putting me through this one.

 

 

 

 

slightly hazy copper colour with hugeee chunks floating around. Big fluffy off white head with superb retention and thick bubbly lacing.

N: Nice Caramel Malty spell and lots of citrusy cascade hops (obviously) but if you know cascade you can really smell it. However, the head is really messing this up....Simple malt IPA's are also not heavy on the nose. However the smell doesn't compare to the new Double IPA

T: Very mild, 66 IBU but I'm really not getting much of a bitter aftertaste. The malt flavor isn't that strong either. Was expecting more....

M: Kind of thin, average carbonation.

O: Kind of a big fail.....drainpour

Bottle: Poured a deep golden color ale with a nice large foamy head with good retention and some good lacing. Aroma consists of citrus hoppy notes with nice flora undertones. Taste is also dominated by a good amount of citrus undertones with limited bitterness and light sweet malt backbone. Body is about average with good carbonation. Well brewed with well-balanced bitterness with good amount of hops.