Pumpjack Lager
Hog’s Head Brewing Company

 

1L howler, procured from the brewery in industrial (who knew?) St. Albert. Apparently a tweaked recipe from any existing cans that have been floating around out there (I've not come across them, and I do indeed look).

This beer pours a mostly clear, bright medium golden yellow hue, with three fingers of puffy, decently foamy and bubbly off-white head, which leaves some attractively crinkled layered lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of biscuity, almost sourdough-esque pale malt, a soft apple and pear fruitiness, a hint of bready yeast, and pleasantly supportive earthy, leafy hops. The taste is less biscuity, more full-on bready pale malt, isolated rising yeast, a peppy, if muddled semi-sweet drupe fruit character, and tame, clean leafy, earthy hops.

The carbonation is fairly light, just a playful frothiness manifesting throughout, the body a proficient medium weight for the style, and actually quite smooth, with a trilling creaminess. It finishes a bit on the sweet side, but no biggie, as the heady malt and fruit notes are kept honest enough by the lingering, if indistinct, hops.

I gotta say, the name, and general obscurity of this offering led me to believe that I would be getting a simple, perhaps adjunctified bro-friendly lager. Nope - this screams out all-malt, and could surely take its place, next to the best of the style that I've had from our nation's brewers (an admittedly short list), on yer better liquor store shelves.