Don't Worry Be Hoppy
Brock Street Brewing Company

473 mL can included in Brock Street's Backyard Party Pack, purchased at the LCBO; coded 837 4143 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a slightly fogged pale golden colour, with countless sandy flecks of sediment wandering throughout the liquid. Three fingers of puffy, foamy white head erupts from the surface, lingering for more than five minutes as it's reduced to a lumpy, sudsy cap and collar. Beautiful lace deposition. Grainy aroma with hints of floral, slightly lemony hops and sourdough.

A weird lager, but it's not entirely unpalatable. The first thing that struck me was the acidity - it's not exactly 'sour', but those hop acids are no shrinking violets. The malt backbone is thin and grainy, joined by notes of lemon, green apple and floral hops later on; finishes mildly bitter and fruity, with graininess and sourdough fading into a bone dry aftertaste. Light in body, with aggressive carbonation that jabs at the palate and froths up in the mouth, hurting its drinkability. Finishing one glass is doable, but I'll pass on a refill.

Final Grade: 3.38, an acceptable B-. Don't Worry Be Hoppy is essentially an Italian pilsner... however, I'd say it's a flawed rendition. I don't know what's up with Brock Street and overcarbonation, but a lot of their beers seem to share this issue. Aside from that, I also found this to be unusually acidic for a lager, and the thin malt flavours don't help in that regard. The flavour profile itself is generally OK, aside from the aforementioned gripes. I'd try this again some day, but it's not high priority.

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, from their boxset at my favourite LCBO at The Roundhouse Centre in nearby Windsor. My second beer from the Whitby, ON brewery.

Sept 11 2024