Genesee Brew House Pilot Batch: Imperial Cream Ale
Genesee Brewing Co.

We are CANticipating CANother scorcher of a day & I am drinking Lager-style & fruited CANned beers in an effort to beat the heat. I have been (mostly) homebound these past four/five weeks following a prostatectomy & it has given me the CANportunity to sift through the backlog here at Chez Woody. I have uncovered all sorts of beers to CANstitute brewery horizontals, but today is just going to be odds & sods.

From the CAN: "Pilot Batch"; "[undersigned] Dean Jones Brewmaster"; "Malts: Pale Malt & Carapils"; "Hops: Herkules & Apollo"; "IBU: 19".

I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN a slow, steady C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass. I was pleasantly surprised by the quick formation of two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, eggshell-white head with excellent retention. Color was a beautiful Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity. Nose had a pleasant maltiness & while I may not have been able to guess the style, it was MUCH closer than the previous one had been. Mouthfeel was big, full & creamy. They may have really hit upon something special in this one! The taste was slightly sweet, although not of caramel, more towards biscuit, but with a very nice earthy bitterness, like something freshly-picked from the garden. It was the earthy quality of the sweetness that really did it for me. I have long dug Genny Cream Ale, but its drawback for me is its inherent sweetness. I CAN take it for a while, but CANbined, I begin to go into a hops jones. This one was the work-around that they had been missing before now, IMHO. I was less CANcerned with its ABV than simply its drinkability. The hoppiness is mentioned in the updated "Styles" section of this site, so it is within spec. Finish was semi-dry, bordering on semi-sweet, which is where Genny Cream Ale lands. I would drink this for sure if it were CANmonly available. In the interim, I will settle for Genny Cream Ale & some hops pellets from the homebrew store. YMMV.

From the 12 oz can in a snifter. This decent cream ale pours a
medium dark golden color with a very nice head of white foam
that settles to a thick ring and layer with nice sudsy lacing. Nose
of subtle cream and sweet malts...very little in depth. Flavors thankfully
lightly expand on the nose with a creamy lightly corn accentuated note
with a hint of herbal hops. Decent mouth feel; medium creamy body,
light carbonation, and a smooth lightly sweet finish.

Overall, I expected more from Genessee but all in all it is a decent
brew for a session or after mowing.

Thanks to Randy for this one!


Cheers

 

 

Dark gold with moderate head. Smells of malt. Slight cream smell, which may explain why a "cream ale" is relatively dark. Possibly the first thing that strikes me is that it's pretty boozy for 7%. There's a soapiness that I guess is from hops, but it isn't pleasant. There's an artificial cream soda type taste. Moderately bitter in the aftertaste.

 

 

 

Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a dark golden color with a 1 inch head. Smell is of mild grains, light cream. Taste is alcohol, grains, surprisingly boozy for the abv, some metallic notes at the finish. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is mediocre at best.