Recollection
Cameron's Brewing Co.

473 ml can served cold into pint glass. Part of Cameron's Holiday pack. This is essentially the Rye Pale Ale from about 5 years ago, but filtered now.

Appearance - Fairly hazy dark golden color. A finger plus of white head, good staying power.

Smell - Pine resin, some rye and some spicy notes. Hints of grapefruit mixed in and some caramel.

Taste - Like the nose, lots of resin, some spiciness from the rye, bready backbone and hints of caramel. A touch of grapefruit filters through.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, great crisp carbonation and easy drinking.

Overall - As with the RPA, Recollection is an outstanding Pale ale with considerable rye presence. Excellent addition to the mixed pack.

473 mL can from the LCBO, one of three beers in Cameron's Stack Pack mixer. Coded J2321 (Sep 23 2021) and served slightly chilled. This is a revival of their old RPA, with the only stated difference being that this one is filtered (while the original RPA was not).

Pours a foggy, translucent orange-amber colour, generating nearly an inch of soapy, foamy, off white-coloured head that recedes within several minutes or so. A beautiful coat of webby lacing adheres to the glass, with a creamy-looking collar and thin cap also remaining afterwards - the original RPA was an attractive beer, and so is this one. Caramelized malts and rye bread on the nose, along with plenty of pine resin, grapefruit, and lemony citrus; hints of pineapple, peach and peppery spice round out the aroma nicely.

Comfortable and familiar, like putting on an old pair of slippers - it's very similar to how I remember their RPA tasting, with maybe the malt presence being boosted just a tad. Mandarin orange and grapefruit are big players, with notes of pineapple and stone fruit also coming through; bready malts, rye grain and caramel sweetness serve as a robust counterpoint. The hop profile becomes more floral and piney/evergreen towards the tail end of the sip, which is moderately bitter; the aftertaste is earthy, with hints of spicy rye and pepperiness lingering into a very faintly warming aftertaste. More than medium-bodied, with assertive carbonation that feels prickly on the tongue; a bit frothy, but quite smooth and very satisfying to sip.

Final Grade: 4.34, an A grade. When one returns to an old favourite after several years, there's always the worry that it won't feel the same as before - I know I've had this happen with plenty of beers. But I believe I like Recollection Rye Pale Ale just as much as the original. RPA might not have been Cameron's most popular beer back in the day - I mean, it was discontinued, after all - but it was absolutely one of their more highly lauded offerings. I lavished praise on the stuff during my original review, and was legitimately bummed when they stopped making it a few years ago. Hopefully this temporary re-release is successful enough to make its return permanent.