Ginger Cat
Mill Street Brew Pub

 

355ml bottle poured into tulip 13/12/15

A hazy orange liquid with enough clarity to see plenty of bubbles but they only manage a finger of short lived foam that leaves no lace

S ginger ale type ginger, very floral, heaps of dry cereal, earthy notes, sweet orange, smells like pop

T not as sweet as the nose, ginger tastes more like actual ginger,still lots of citrus, not a whole lot of "wheat beer" going on really

M light and a little foamy, has some bitterness to it, ginger and orange peel linger

O nothing special but nothing offensive, tastes a little fake to be honest, drinkable but I have no need for a second

Another one and done, maybe on a hot patio with no other options but this one never really did anything for me

Right when you tip the glass ginger/wheat note are pleasantly apparent. It pours a clean medium gold. There is firstly ginger, then a secondly a tasty wheat flavour. This one offering from a mix-6, this as well as Stargazer summer ale could easily stand on there own.

 

 

 

Looks good, bright mango yellow, lots of substantial lace.

Noticeable ginger, quite dry in character, ginger on wheat. Not killer ginger harsh like some others I've had, so it's drinkable, just not real exciting. Could stand a touch of something. My preference is simply for the European style wheats.

Appearance: Poured with a half finger of head that produced some lace and retained quite well. The body is a slightly cloudy gold with orange notes and shows a very high amount of carbonation.

Smell: Ginger of course is present but there is a backing of orange peel and coriander nipping on it's heels. That's really it, as maybe only the barest notes of malt are present. Warming doesn't really help it's case.

Taste: Well there certainly is wheat malt in this one as it starts with a bit of a flatter grainy taste. It then turns to the ginger for direction, of which it and the other spices kind of look at each other and try to do their own thing all at once. Nothing bad, but much ado about nothing.

Mouthfeel: I'd normally expect the ginger to bring a bring a bit more dryness to the beer, but that wasn't the case here. I also find that the orange has more of a presence then the ginger does in the aftertaste, making this one a bit odd. Has a decent creaminess that makes up somewhat for the oddball transistioning.

Drinkability: Well the weaker ginger aspect makes it refreshing and it does have a creaminess to it. There's nothing overly wrong going on here, and I could drink this for a while on a summer's day. That said, that tends to be what more typical wheat beers and lagers are for. It just seems like it's missing the mark here.

Final Thoughts: I'm left asking, why did you bother with the ginger in this beer if you weren't going to use it? I mean, every time I've experiencing ginger it was either for it's palate cleansing qualities, strong taste or its dryness. None of that is present here, it's just kind of thrown in here to be put off to the side. I would think is supposed to be the head liner here, but it seems to play second fiddle to orange aspects. Anyways, it's not a bad beer, but it didn't impress and I guess I'm too used to getting better offerings from Mill St. I'd pass on this one.

 

 

 

 

 

355 ml bottle served cold into a pint glass, purchased as part of the Mill Street summer tasters pack.

Appearance - rich golden and hazy with a nice two finger head poured on top. That's immersed down before coalescing in a small thin layer froth that stays the durination of the beer.

Smell- some ginger and spices dominate there's a slight yeastiness normally associated with witbiers as well. Not terribly fragrant and the ginger plays a secondary role.

Taste - surprisingly nice blend of a wheat beer and you can taste the creaminess of the wheat in the beer before being supplemented by some light citrus, namely orange and a healthy enough dose of ginger.

Mouthfeel - smooth and exceptionally creamy although on the heavier end of things especially for a 5% ABV.

Overall - a surprisingly quaffable summer ginger beer, that I enjoyed more and more as it warmed up. The mixture of the subtle ginger and creaminess of the wheat was a nice combination that I could see myself trying again and again.

 

 

355 mL bottle from the LCBO, included in their summer 2015 sampler. Bottled May 29 2015 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a foggy golden-orange hue, capped off with nearly an inch of messy, off-white head. It remains in place for less than two minutes, steadily fizzling away until only a modest-sized collar of foam survives. Not much of a looker, really - but I'm a fan of the aroma, which offers up tons of juicy, mandarin orange and candied ginger, as well as some grainy, crackery wheat malt sweetness.

A refreshing, sessionable sort of spiced beer, with the ginger kept to a low, constant droning volume that stays in the background. Orange zest and citrus oil are glaringly prominent, with a mildly sugary, grainy pale wheat malt presence mid-sip. Finishes with more fruity citrus and stone fruit, and a lightly spicy hint of ginger; each of these flavours briefly hang on into the aftertaste, but quickly fade. Light-bodied, with rather assertive carbonation levels, which provide a good bite that works well alongside the weakly spicy conclusion to the flavour profile. It's a bit thin/watery, but otherwise refreshing, and very easy to mindlessly knock back.

Final Grade: 3.34, a B-. I was expecting something along the lines of a Belgian witbier, except with ginger used in place of coriander - but Mill Street's Ginger Cat is more like a confused fruit beer that doesn't know what it's supposed to be. It's not entirely unlikable, although I could do without the oily, near-cloying citrus flavour - and the ginger spiciness is disappointingly muted for this ginger beer fan's tastes. This is a decent, somewhat unique summer quaffer, but it's not for me.