Honest Bucker Pale Ale
Mill Street Brew Pub

a dry milder american pale ale, made in A British bitter way. not great but good drinkability. bit or orange colour. Sample on tap at Summerhill LCBO.

 

 

Pours a very hazy, deep amber body with half a finger of creamy off-white head at the top. The aromas are strongly indicative of mosaic hops, with mango, passion fruit, grapefruit rind, garlic, and a metallic character coming over. On the palate, the beer has a more focused maltiness to it, with the sharp yet fruity hops still coming over with a quick, zippy bitterness. Overall mouthfeel is creamy, with a nice long lasting finish. Overall this is a great beer, and one I would buy from time to time were it offered here. My only problem is the fact that the flavours are a bit rich for it to be sessionable, but that is just the way Mosaic hops are.

 

 

 

 

Bottle from the LCBO mixed pack for around $2.00 each

355ml bottle served cold into a pint glass. Purchased from the LCBO in a six pack for what worked out to $2.40 CDN per bottle.

Appearance - a hazy, muddy brown color with a dense and fluffy finger of long lasting tan head. Great retention and lot of lacing left behind.

Smell - hops, citrus with grapefruit, pineapple and passion fruit dominating. Some sweetness from those citrus aroma but certainly some sweetness in a dense malt base that actually has a marshmallow element to it.

Taste- not as complex as the nose, but some earthy citrus with a more subdued bitterness than expected. Sweetness on the nose is lost, but decent flavors for an earthy APA.

Mouthfeel- smooth, medium bodied with a slight drying finish. Carbonation is middling as well.

Overall - honest bucker is a pretty decent pale ale, heavy on the citrus and hop elements that definitely make it hop forward. One of the better seasonals that Mill Street has come out with recently, this certainly improves my perspective of this six pack.

 

355 mL bottle included in their "Summer Brewpub" mixed six-pack; dated Mar 30 2017 and served well chilled.

Pours a cloudy golden-amber colour, with copious flecks of suspended sediment giving it a rather muddy complexion. One finger of foamy white head is produced initially, settling down to a dense, creamy-looking cap roughly 1 cm thick. Fantastic retention; it lasted well past the 10 minute mark, and left behind plenty of sticky, webby lacing. The aroma is characterised primarily by Mosaic hops, which provide tropical notes of blood orange, pineapple and papaya. Slightly floral, too, with hints of apricot, pine needles, and caramelized malts.

A fine little pale ale, mostly featuring tropical fruit flavours. There's a light backbone of bready malts and caramelized sweetness, but beyond that, it's mostly a Mosaic hop showcase - orange juice, grapefruit pith, pineapple and apricot are present at first, with more of a piney, floral bitterness coming to dominate on the back end. Lingering tropical/stone fruit juice notes in the aftertaste, which isn't particularly bitter. Medium body, with moderately soft carbonation that gives this brew a smooth, fulfilling texture, making it a pleasure to sip (or gulp). I haven't been this impressed with a Mill Street beer in years.

Final Grade: 4.01, an A-. I'll admit to being rather critical of Mill Street's underwhelming (IMO) releases over the last year or two, but it's time to give credit where it's due: Honest Bucker Pale Ale is not only the best pale ale they've put out in a long time, but may actually be my favourite Mill Street beer to date. It drinks almost like a NEIPA, with a juicy flavour profile, cloudy appearance and soft mouthfeel. If you're interested in trying this beer, I'd recommend that you do it ASAP - it's easily the best thing in this sampler, and it isn't getting any younger.