Trouble in the Fields
Dominion City Brewing Co.

473 mL can from the LCBO; no canning date. Served slightly chilled.

Pours a hazy, translucent golden-yellow colour, capped off with nearly two fingers of lumpy, foamy white head. It lasts for five minutes or so, eventually whittled down to a sudsy cap and a wide, frothy collar - nice lace deposition, too. Looks fantastic. Corn flakes on the nose, with notes of bready malts, yellow tortilla and faintly herbal hops.

The flavours are along the same lines - corny and a little sweet, but wholesome through and through. Yellow tortilla, freshly baked bread and grainy cereal sweetness at the forefront, with a kiss of floral, herbal hop bitterness fading into a grainy aftertaste. Light in body, with middling carbonation that makes for a crisp, satisfying mouthfeel. Sitting around a campfire, I could drink this all night.

Final Grade: 3.91, an impressive B+. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Trouble in the Fields is the best adjunct lager I've reviewed in my 19 years as a BA. Despite being relatively svelte at 4.5%, it packs every bit as much flavour into each sip as some of my favourite craft lagers and pilsners. The corniness is evident, but not at all problematic - on the contrary, it seems to be the heritage corn that's responsible for much of this beer's wholesome cereal goodness. Dominion City products are hard to come by in this corner of the province, but if I see more of this, I'm buying at least a dozen. If you like pale lagers, I urge you to try this, preferably with an open mind and a thirsty disposition.

Apr 13 2025

Can: Poured a yellow color lager with a medium size white foamy head with OK retention and light lacing. Aroma of nice clean cereal notes with finat residual sugar notes. Taste is also a mix of light residual sugar notes and clean cereal notes with faint dry floral hops. Body is about average with good carbonation. Enjoyable and refreshing lager.

 

Dull gold body, hazy, capped by a solid finger of white head with good retention.
Aroma is light and nondescript, clean, touch of lemon.
The taste mirrors the aroma - clean, light flavour, citrus/lemon/resin/spice hop notes. Fresh grain malt, very little sweetness here, and some was expected given the corn adjunct. No residual sweetness. The hop bitterness is quite pronounced for a lager, lingering long in the finish, very dry. Feel is crisp and light, refreshing, with medium carbonation. Has some bite to it, in a "Barq's has bite" kind of way.

I should dock some marks on taste given the bitterness level, but I really enjoyed it and want to encourage others to try. Light, refreshing, super pure taste - perfect for summer.