Conductor's Craft Ale
Junction Craft Brewing


- From:
- Junction Craft Brewing
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- American Pale Ale
- ABV:
- 5.3%
- Score:
- 80
- Avg:
- 3.49 | pDev: 10.89%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 27
- Status:
- Inactive
- Rated:
- Jun 15, 2020
- Added:
- Sep 25, 2011
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 7
Conductor’s Craft Ale fits broadly into the pale ale category, though we think of it more as a hybrid of traditional British, German, and American brewing techniques used to arrive at a hop complexity that constantly changes in the glass as it warms up and a drinker drinks more. With Conductor’s we wanted to tip our hats to ‘pioneer’ craft beers like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Anchor Liberty Ale, but at the same time the beer had to be balanced and drinkable to allow a drinker to enjoy more than one.
We used 5 different malts from Germany, France, Britain and Canada to give Conductor’s a biscuity, toasted, caramel base, and a combination of 5 different hops from Germany, the Czech Republic and the Pacific Northwest of the USA. To finish the beer we designed and built in-house a ‘hopback’ mechanism that infuses the hop aromas into the beer in line from the kettle as the beer goes into the fermenter. We use whole leaf hops of Cascade and spicy German Tetnanger in the hopback to provide a unique and intense hop aroma that is familiar but uniquely presented.
Sometimes a lot of thought goes into making something simple and enjoyable. The way we look at it, we do the thinking so you can relax and enjoy the drinking.
We used 5 different malts from Germany, France, Britain and Canada to give Conductor’s a biscuity, toasted, caramel base, and a combination of 5 different hops from Germany, the Czech Republic and the Pacific Northwest of the USA. To finish the beer we designed and built in-house a ‘hopback’ mechanism that infuses the hop aromas into the beer in line from the kettle as the beer goes into the fermenter. We use whole leaf hops of Cascade and spicy German Tetnanger in the hopback to provide a unique and intense hop aroma that is familiar but uniquely presented.
Sometimes a lot of thought goes into making something simple and enjoyable. The way we look at it, we do the thinking so you can relax and enjoy the drinking.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Glorithm:
Rated by Glorithm from Canada (ON)
3.87/5 rDev +10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Oct 17, 2015
3.87/5 rDev +10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Oct 17, 2015
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by InspectorHound from Canada (ON)
3.55/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.55/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Look: Pours the colour of orange pekoe tea. Small 1/2 finger tight white head. Head gives way to a tiny cover after 5 minutes.
Smell: Sweet and crisp. Subtle sweet bread cookies. Smell is very pleasant but muted.
Taste: Crisp, a little tart. Green apples and light rye bread at the front end. Grapefruit on the back end.
Feel: Kind of creamy and mouth filling with noticable sensations at the sides of tongue and palate are the positives. Negatives, it's a little bit watery with not alot going on across the tongue.
This beers OK, but nothing standout. I give it a B-
Jun 15, 2020Smell: Sweet and crisp. Subtle sweet bread cookies. Smell is very pleasant but muted.
Taste: Crisp, a little tart. Green apples and light rye bread at the front end. Grapefruit on the back end.
Feel: Kind of creamy and mouth filling with noticable sensations at the sides of tongue and palate are the positives. Negatives, it's a little bit watery with not alot going on across the tongue.
This beers OK, but nothing standout. I give it a B-
Reviewed by JunctionCat from Canada (ON)
3.08/5 rDev -11.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5
3.08/5 rDev -11.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5
Little to no aroma, but flavour balance is complete throughout, no let off. Well made mild style pale ale, nothing stands out, but its easy to drink and appeals to a wide crowd.
Aug 31, 2018Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio
3.5/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.5/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I got a can of this whilst in Toronto suburbs for work. It poured a clear amber with thin white head that is leaving a spotty lace. The scent had hints of sweet malt. The taste starts nicely balanced then turns bitter on the finish with a grapefruit after taste. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it's good....wish the finish was a bit smoother.
Jul 14, 2017Rated by TheBigBeerGuy19 from Canada (ON)
3.08/5 rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.08/5 rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
This beer did not wow me after reading such great reviews and seeing this beer at the top of several craft beer lists.
Mar 25, 2017Reviewed by Catzopoke from Canada (ON)
3.99/5 rDev +14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
3.99/5 rDev +14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Hops up front with a malt/caramel finish. I love this beer. The colour is a beautiful bunt orange and it hits the perfect spot of having great complex flavours that you will enjoy as it changes with the temperature. The hops are not over powering to the point where they kill any other flavour. Excellent beer. Congrats Conductor!
Aug 05, 2016Reviewed by papat444 from Canada (QC)
3.75/5 rDev +7.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev +7.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Best before July 2016.
I liked this one, good have been a bit hoppier but had a nice overall overripe fruit (like peaches i think?). Nice murky copper body.
Apr 14, 2016I liked this one, good have been a bit hoppier but had a nice overall overripe fruit (like peaches i think?). Nice murky copper body.
Reviewed by Rukeli76 from Canada (ON)
3.11/5 rDev -10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.11/5 rDev -10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
473ml can I picked up from the brewery. This beer is everywhere in the 'hood nowadays.
Nice pale ale colour. One-inch head.
Nothing particularly dominant or distinctive in the aroma.
I get that they're trying to do a bit of everything with this beer (5 malts! 5 hops! It's American! It's British! It's German!), but I'd be lying if I said I tasted much of anything besides a sort-of burnt-tasting roasty malt that doesn't belong in an APA. It's just not that good.
Decent carbonation.
I desperately want to like this one, but just don't see the point of all the care and gimmickry the guys at Junction have put into it.
Jan 24, 2016Nice pale ale colour. One-inch head.
Nothing particularly dominant or distinctive in the aroma.
I get that they're trying to do a bit of everything with this beer (5 malts! 5 hops! It's American! It's British! It's German!), but I'd be lying if I said I tasted much of anything besides a sort-of burnt-tasting roasty malt that doesn't belong in an APA. It's just not that good.
Decent carbonation.
I desperately want to like this one, but just don't see the point of all the care and gimmickry the guys at Junction have put into it.
Reviewed by ahhscarynoises from Canada (ON)
1.81/5 rDev -48.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.25
1.81/5 rDev -48.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.25
Honestly this was the second worst beer I've ever tasted. Did not expect it to be so terrible tasting. I found it incredibly bitter and I couldn't finish it. The smell and everything else was decent and so I was pretty excited about it. Maybe it was expired or something? It seems to have gotten pretty good reviews but I personally found it way too bitter
May 24, 2015
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