Mr. Canoehead
Sleeping Giant Brewing Co.

 

 

Look: Bright translucent copper with a 2 finger off white head. Head disapates into a thin cover after 5 minutes.
Smell: Stongly malty, with a sharp flowery back end. Plenty of pine as well.
Taste: Malts with dry grain. Caramel but not sugary sweet. Some hop pine resin flavours with a sharp bitter dark tea finish.
Feel: Decent medium creamy body at the front end. Oily and resinous at the back end. Stimulates the mouth at the front near the teeth and sides of tongue. Nothing happenning at back of tongue or palate.
Almost like a mix of a red ale with a west coast IPA. This earns a B -

Deep dark Dusty red copper colour. Tight moderate head that settled to a film and delivers consistent fine lace. Looks pretty good. Almost anonymous nose. Some malt and a whiff of yeast. Hopper and less malty than your typical red. Gentle stuff with a lingering bitter finish. Drinkable, but unremarkable.

 

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for around $3.25 CDN. Canned on 06/05/2019.

Appearance - Hazy and ruddy red colored with some honey brown coloration mixed in. A clear and crisp finger and a half of off-white head, good staying power and nice rocky formations on top. Lots of little bits of sediment floating around in the glass.

Smell - Malty with caramel at the forefront followed by a big floral aroma that is almost perfumey. Subtle, subtle citrus aroma backing in behind that with grapefruit and orange leading the way on that front with some lychee.

Taste - Citrus initially, with some floral aspects. Turns very earthy bitter at the end with some grapefruit rind and dirt? in there at the end.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, crisp and astringent bubbles on the tongue, carbonation is quite high but works with the flavor profiles.

Overall - Very hoppy for a red ale, probably better classified as an APA, but this one just has so much bitterness, but it's of the earthy variety that it's not a personal fave. Well constructed and well brewed however.

 

 

 

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Feb 1 2019 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a hazy, translucent amber-bronze colour, topped with one finger of frothy, off white-tinged head that settles off within the next two minutes' time. A creamy quarter-inch cap is left in its wake, in addition to an even coat of smooth lacing; looks good to me, but the nose comes off rather muted in comparison. Some toasted grains and light caramel malt sweetness is noticeable, as are some resiny, earthy hop notes. Beyond that, I'm only getting faint suggestions of grapefruit and cantaloupe... it's an inoffensive aroma, and fairly typical of the style.

A solid amber ale, with good balance kept between the malt and hop elements. Hints of melon come through at the forefront, along with some grainy malts, toasted bread and lightly caramelized sweetness. Notes of grapefruit and passion fruit also begin to develop by mid-sip, leading into a pithy, relatively earthy and spicy finish with some briefly lingering hop bitterness fading into the aftertaste. Light-bodied, and a tad thin to be honest, with middling carbonation levels that provide just the right amount of bite. Smooth texture, with excellent drinkability.

Final Grade: 3.78, a B+. Sleeping Giant's Mr. Canoehead ain't half bad, but as far as Ontario amber ales are concerned, this one falls right into the middle of the pack. Its hop profile is pleasant, albeit nothing that ON beer geeks haven't seen before - the Cascade slightly overpowers the Citra IMO, giving this brew a bit of an old school vibe. That's hardly a dealbreaker, but I still can't get too excited about this. A serviceable brew, one that I might even pick up regularly if I lived up north (where I'm sure it's one of the finer local options, as it's one of the better SGBC brews I've tried to date).

Appearance: Dark amber with an explosion of head that falls quickly leaving thin lacing behind.

Smells of citrus, floral, biscuit.

Tastes similar to smell - malt pervades.

Feels somewhat thinner than expected say medium body, quick finish, medium carbonation.

Overall all - not a bad beverage, I look forward to trying this again.

 

As a fan of the old Four on the Floor skit, this one grabbed me right away.

Look is deep amber in color with a thin pinky of head that breaks quickly not leaving much but some decent lacing behind.

Smell is floral hops and then some good malts, which you want in this style...caramel and biscuit. I'm surprised at how muted the hops are for a "hoppy amber"

Taste is much like the nose. I get some piney and floral hops, but the malts are leading the dance here. I'm wondering if the two months on this can are to blame?

Feel is lighter than I'd expect for the style, carbonation is medium, and the finish is fast.

Well, this one is a Boot to the Head (see what I did there fans). I wanted more and seeing the ratings I expected more. Perhaps I'll get a fresh can from the brewery next week when I am in town and give it another whirl.

 

 

Nov 3 2023

 

 

The long awaited addition to their flagship line-up, a hopped up amber. Pours a murky amber colour with a thumb of soapy copper head, nice nose of floral and citrus hops with a hint of sweet lemon zest. Flavour profile is loaded with citrus and fruity hops with a solid caramel malt backbone. Medium bodied, smooth and a touch of dryness. A solid rendition of the style with an intense hop profile that is sure to please. Love that this is part of their flagship line-up and is sure to be a hit.