Cloudy Amber Ale
Okanagan Spring Brewery

I think these guys are the west coast equivalent of Rickards. They sit a bunch of marketing guys in a room and the boss guy asks what's trendy beer-wise these days? The marketing mob pipes up with what they think is currently the in thing beer-wise and the first guys asks if the brew guys think they can make that.

"Yeah, yeah, we can make that.", they says.

Then the first guy says, "Okay. Good. Do it. Just don't use any ingredients." Everybody nods their heads and slap each other on the back and off they go to design the label and the box and brew the beer-ish stuff.

So what you get is a whole bunch of beers, named for all kinds of beer styles, that really don't smell or taste like much. It's not awful, but it's not good beer either.

So I've landed a 12-pack with 6 different "styles" of beer that I've got to work my through. I'm thinking I might even be able to use the same review 6 times if I just tweak the numbers a bit (dare me).

Slightly malty nose. Rough simple hops. Bitter. Thin bodied. Nope, not cloudy. Not one bit cloudy. I figure the 12x case might be good at least for gently introducing a beerful friend who is a little scared of beer that he doesn't think tastes like beer to the different styles that are out there.

Meh. Unremarkable. Give it a pass.

 

 

341ml bottle poured into tulip 5/12/15

A shes cloudy alright abut darker then amber. a finger of foam gone in a flash but manages to leaves lace around the top of the glass

S smells like an orchard after the apples fall and start to rot, wet dank leaves, a little brown sugar, maybe some bruised pear, meh

T more of the same really, over ripe pear and apple that's been banged up, some sweet malts, herbal notes, nothing really memorable

M has some weight for the color, a little slimy on the palate, enough bubbles to fluff it up

O I can't say there's anything "off" or "bad" but shes pretty average

Just another one and done, far from the best offering I've had from these guys, pretty "macro" attempt

 

 

 

341 mL bottle from TBS; included in the brewery's current mixed 12-pack. Bottled Feb 11 2015 and served well-chilled.

Pours a hazy copper-amber colour - as others have noted, "cloudy" was an unusual adjective for the brewery to select here. I was not particularly gentle with the pour, but I still only managed to kick up a half-cm of soapy, off-white foam that quickly retreated. A sickly-thin collar remains in place afterwards, but that's it. The aroma is somewhat more inspiring, but still pretty typical for a Canadian amber - generally malt-forward, with notes of caramel, plum and lightly-toasted biscuits/bread on top of some vaguely floral hops.

A 'classic' Canadian-style amber - minimal hop presence, with a borderline bland showing from the malts. Caramel sweetness is a major feature, but it is probably the bready malts that dominate most of this beer's flavour profile. Suggestions of toasted nuts and orchard fruit also come through, with a weakly earthy, floral hop presence toward the finish. Some lingering toasted sweetness in the aftertaste. Light-bodied, with moderate carbonation levels that result in a good, crisp bite and a prickly feel on the palate. Easy to drink quickly, and very approachable.

Final Grade: 3.25, a C+. Okanagan Spring's Cloudy Amber is at least a serviceable ale, but all things considered it's still a pretty bland sort of beer. It's not exactly bad - it's just not particularly good. The closest comparable I can come up with is Moosehead's Boundary Ale - though that one's hop bill was a bit more interesting/pronounced, so I can't say that this is the superior product of the two. A forgettable beer that I won't be in a hurry to return to, but at least it serves as decent filler in this mixed pack.

 

 

 

 

Cloudy Amber isn't cloudy at all, at least not until I splash in that last inch of liquid containing all the yeast sediment. Even then, it's hardly what I'd consider 'cloudy'; bright orange highlights continue to beam and my fingers, while blurred, are easily made out on the other side. Heck, there's not even enough head to make a wordplay reference to clouds!

Still, one might reasonably expect a beer with this kind of caramelly complexion to offer deep, rich maltiness. Alas, this does not have the aroma to match its colour. There's not much in the smell to distinguish this from a pale ale - it contains the same bready, biscuity brand of graininess of beers that are several tones over on the colour wheel (and made by much larger producers).

Amber ales, when brewed a certain way, can be among the tastiest things out there; not every style can offer both sticky, caramelly malts *and* resinous, citrusy hops. Cloudy Amber, however, offers neither. More 'commercial' than 'craft', it is simply not that kind of amber ale. Although 'sweetish', the grain contributes a plain biscuity flavour and scarcely a trace of toffee or toasted nuts.

And as for the hops - what hops? You should have clued in when I didn't mention them in the aroma. Mind you, the finish is dry and does end on a bit of earthy note but none of the beer's character - what little character it has - can be traced back to the little green pellets. This brewer really didn't want to deviate too far from the industrial norm...

Cloudy Amber is exactly what I was expecting from Okanagan Springs: lighter-bodied and leaned to the sweet side, with very little hoppiness of note, it is a very mainstream-minded effort. Put bluntly, it's a lowest-common-denominator amber. Crueler reviewers might call a beer like this "watered down" - I'll just go with "simple and overly safe". But however you spin it, it's not good.

I've tried this a few times, but it was fun to review this brew. It pours nicely, with a bit of head that retreats to the edges of the glass and leaves a smattering of lacing. The nose is interesting - malt, fruit and hops. Taste-wise, it is quite malt forward - caramel and pale malts both pop up, followed by a nice bitter hoppiness. Curiously, the flavour doesn't hang around for long, which makes for a somewhat disappointing finish. Overall, a solid beer, worthy of a sixer for fishing trips or visiting friends.

 

 

341 ml bottle served fairly cold into a pint glass. Received as part of a birthday gift.

Appearance - Definitely amber colored, and while somewhat cloudy, I wouldn't so so far to call it such. Some lively bubbles and a nice one and a bit fingers of ivory head. Good retention and leaves behind some streams of lacing.

Smell - Not a lot, although its some combination of floral aromas and a slightly dank and vegetative smell. Not off putting, but not enticing either.

Taste - Starts with a bit of a caramel malt before falling away to a bit of a earthy and hoppy bitterness, but that flavor isn't terribly strong or persistent. Fizzles off into a slightly bitter and not great aftertaste. Tried a second bottle from the bottle, and it seemed marginally better.

Mouthfeel - Starts spritzy, almost too much so, but the body itself seems a bit limp. Very dry finish.

Overall - Not sure if freshness is an issue as I've seen a number of these shipped in right before Christmas, so I don't think that's the problem. I guess it's just a basic red ale, that is unobtrusive, but lacks the 'wow' factor too.