Clean Cut
Beyond the Pale Brewing Company

 

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From my favourite LCBO at Tecumseh Mall in nearby Windsor. Canned May 23/25. My 11th beer from the Ottawa, Ontario brewery, and 5th for 2026. Exceedingly embraced by Sundae the cat...

From a 473ml can dated Oct 22/2025. Poured into a pint glass. A half finger fine white head on a clear pale gold. The head disappears almost immediately. Some patchy lacing.

Grainy malts and herbal hops in the nose. The taste follows the nose. Sweet malts up front followed by noble hops. A clean finish with moderate hop bitterness.

A light body and soft mouthfeel. Moderate carbonation. Very drinkable. Overall true to the style but not exceptional.

 

 

can from LCBO - pours a pale clear gold in the glass with a 2 finger white cap...aromas of boiled grains and grassy musty tones...effervescent, balanced character.....flavor has bready malts in balance with herbal-spicy noble hops....short clean dry finish where hop bittering increases....bitter hop aftertaste...a very drinkable rendition of Cologne's German lagered pale ale

 

 

 

Pours pale, fizzy gold colour. Not much to detect to be honest. It's crisp with elevated carbonation which makes it a bit harsh for the style. Hint of floral aroma. Bready/cereal taste but not much by way of hops. Ok all around.

 

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for about $3.25 CDN. Canned April 9, 2021.

Appearance - Reasonably pale golden brew with yellow straw highlights. a Small half finger of loose white head is poured and modest staying power. Very good clarity and plenty of visible effervescence.

Smell - Lots of bready bits but its a more earthy sourdough aroma than crackery. Also some light lemon zest to spruce things up.

Taste - Bready again, but sweeter than expected, there's a little pop of lemon and its gone, leaving behind a sweeter than expected bready beer. No vinous traces of grapes either which is something I've long associated with the style.

Mouthfeel - Medium-light bodied, good crisp carbonation a touch of spice and astringency on the tongue at the close otherwise just a faint vague notion of drying.

Overall - A solid, well-brewed Kolsch, that purveyors of the style will certainly enjoy, however, it's not necessarily covering new ground and Clean Cut doesn't have anything to standout. Even with that, it's a good summer beer to enjoy.

473 mL can from the LCBO: dated Apr 9 2021 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a clear straw yellow colour, generating half a finger of loose, frothy white head that falls apart within two minutes or so. A thin collar and filmy layer on the surface are all that remain - no lace at first, but there's some deposition as the level drops. It smells of pale, grainy malts and bready, doughy sweetness, with minor hints of grassy hay and floral, vaguely fruity hops.

Simple but tasty - a backdrop of grainy malts, crackers and mild fruitiness (apple and vinousness) is overlain with floral, herbal, slightly spicy hop bitterness that lasts through the finish and dissipates into a crisp, dry aftertaste. Light in body, with firm, lively carbonation levels that lend a good bite to the mouthfeel. A true thirst-quencher - refreshing to drink, and very easy to do so quickly.

Final Grade: 3.81, a B+. Beyond the Pale's Clean Cut is a reasonably solid stab at a subtle, nuanced style that can be rather tricky to do properly. Put this in a blind line-up of beers and I don't know if I'd be able to distinguish between this and a real German kölsch - e.g. Gaffel - which is more than I can say for a lot of Ontario kölsch-inspired lagered ales. I'm sure I'll return to this more than a few times over the coming summer months, and would encourage BAs who are interested in a brew that is simple, clean, dry and sessionable to pick this one up if they can find it.

I bought a can today at the lcbo in Ontario 473ml at 5%.
nice golden color good carbonation light to medium bitterness
poured a 1finger head into pilsner glass leaving a lace as you drink it.
taste is very enjoyable and refreshing easy drinking kolsch style beer that I would probably buy it again.
cheers.

 

 

 

Pours a pale straw colour with a small head atop. Candy-like sweetness and malts on the nose. The taste is quite metallic and grainy with a sweet background. Mouthfeel is nicely bubbly.
Aug 7 2021

Can: Poured a clear yellow color Kolsch with a nice frothy white head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of buttery notes with some cereal and light floral notes. Taste is a mix of cereal notes with some light residual sugar notes, some buttery notes with a smooth floral finish. Body is about average with good carbonation. Enjoyable and super drinkable beer but maybe a touch too buttery for my personal taste.