Northbound Lager
Side Launch Brewing Company

Their other lagers are better. Not liking the sweetness in this beer too much. There's no grainy taste unlike their Mountain Lager that can balance out the sweetness more. I don't find this one as enjoyable as the others I've tried from the brewery but I will still drink my 3 cans of these. Very average.

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, from the University Ave. West LCBO in nearby downtown Windsor. My first beer from the Collingwood, ON brewery.

 

light, no taste. it's refreshing for summer, and reminds me of other beers in the category. but nothing special here.

Can purchased at the Music Hall in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

This one pours a light clear orange-ish color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells oddly sweet, with some floral hop character.

This has an oddly stale sweetness to it - that can’t be intended here. It’s not crisp enough to handle the sweetness, it’s just kind of stale honey like, with a lot of maltiness, and no hop character at all.

This is light bodied, and not the most drinkable.

This can be easily avoided.

 

 

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

Appearance - Clear rich medium golden color with a finger plus of white head that recedes quickly.

Smell - Clean and grainy, some bready aspects and not a lot beyond that.

Taste - Medium breadiness, moderately bitter, thin flavor that doesn't linger into the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Light bodied and modest carbonation. Easy to drink and slightly chalky finish.

Overall - Decent lager and good in the summer heat, but nothing to write home about.

 

 

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Apr 15 2019 and served well chilled. There's been some griping about how Side Launch's Mountain Lager - a serviceable Munich Helles, to be sure - has been discontinued in favour of this new offering. I managed to find a (dated Feb 2019) can of Mountain Lager, so I will be comparing them side-by-side for funsies.

Pours a bright, clear golden-yellow colour, sporting one centimetre of loose, frothy white head that lasts for about thirty seconds. No cap, no collar - not even a speck of lace. I poured Mountain Lager into the exact same glass right before this review, and it looked spectacular. Barely anything on the nose; just a hint of grain husk and straw.

Underwhelming, to literally say the least - it tastes of grainy pale malts, wheat bread sweetness, with maybe a hint of apple cores and grassy hay towards the finish. Hints of silage in the aftertaste. Light-medium in body, with middling carbonation levels that provide a much-needed bite to this light lager's smooth, slick texture. I finished my can off easily enough, but I wouldn't be interested in another.

Final Grade: 2.99, a C grade. I don't have anything against light pale lagers, but I must emphatically state that I don't think Northbound Lager is a worthwhile addition to the Side Launch portfolio. A mediocre lager at best - I've been reviewing a glut of 'American lagers' this week, and Northbound is one of the poorer efforts overall... which is especially disappointing, because Side Launch is more than capable of brewing an outstanding lager, as they've proven in the past. This is the only one of their beers that I wouldn't recommend.

 

 

Can , pours a slightly hazed light gold with a 1 finger rocky white cap, which disappears quickly...arm is grainy, fruity, cider-like with some sour notes...demure nose to this....character is Malt-forward, light bodied and dry...flavor has barley malts in front with a fruity sour bitterness....goes to a dryer finish where dusty wheat malt mingles with the fruity sourness....really weird lager from this brewer....not really quenching and not as dry or hoppy as a lager should be..not bad, just not good and this seems to be answer to a request that was never asked.....A real let down for such a great brewer

May 15 2026