Astrolabe
Whitewater Brewing Company

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Sept 3 2019 and served slightly chilled.

Pours effervescent and relatively clear, with a golden yellow-coloured body capped off by nearly a finger of tight, foamy, resilient white head. It holds together for the better part of ten minutes, caking the glass with a messy coat of lace in the process; looks great to me. Mango and melon on the nose, as well as hints of orange, passion fruit, and lychee; not excessively aromatic, but what's there is fruity and appealing.

A relatively well-balanced example of a session IPA - it's hop forward, sure, but the malts also carry some weight here in the form of a grainy-sweet backbone. Flavours of melon, mango, pineapple and muddled citrus also come through, with light notes of resiny, earthy hop bitterness developing towards the finish. Light-medium in body, with middling carbonation levels that exhausts itself hastily; smooth and satisfying to gulp back.

Final Grade: 3.89, a respectable B+. Whitewater's Astrolabe is a fine pale ale - I think I'd take it over their Class V IPA, as I prefer its fruitier, juicier characteristics. That being said, I am not a regular consumer of session IPAs for various reasons - suffice it to say that in the best case scenario, I feel they can only manage to approximate a good APA, which is basically what this one does. I'll make an occasional exception for this beer, as it's one of this brewery's most solid releases yet. If you can find some fresh stock, give this one a try.

 

 

 

 

Can from LCBO

 

 

Can: Poured a clear amber color ale with a large foamy head with OK retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of citrusy hops notes with light caramel notes is OK. Taste is a mix of citrusy hops, light oxidation, some lightly caramelized malt with a dry finish. Body is about average with good carbonation. Lacking some hops floral undertones to truly shine.

 

This was a tall boy can (473 ml, or roughly 16 ounces). It tasted more like a flavorful pale ale than a session IPA. That's actually a compiment as many session IPAs have a thin taste and are over-hopped. This was tasty and I'd buy it again.

July 30 2019

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. An LCBO purchase for $3.25 CDN.

Appearance - mostly clear golden hued brew with amber highlights. A finger and a half of fluffy white head sits on top and recedes fairly quickly leaving a bit of lacing and a soapy ring around the edges of the glass.

Smell- clean with some grain initially before a sweet tropical aroma overwhelms. That consists mostly of pineapple mango and lychee, with a touch of passion fruit to keep things balanced.

Taste- light and tropical initially with some grains, then some serious bitterness kicks in that almost has a hot white pepper flavor to it. Too bitter for the sake of being bitter a sap posed to balanced. Grapefruit pith all the way.

Mouthfeel - medium light bodied, astringent due to the bitterness and carbonation is about right. Dry finish but that the bitterness kicking in.

Overall - starts ok but Astrolabe is too one dimensional on the bitterness to be any sort of regular in my lineup. An interesting take on the session IPA, I thought they were supposed to be hop forward with balance so drinking multiples in the course of an evening wasn't a chore. Wouldn't buy this again.

 

Pours a pale smber with a frothy head and good lacing. Aroma light citrus. Flavour: Floral hop over tropical fruit and light lemon.