Conners Best Bitter
Waterloo Brewing

 

 

 

Bottle-Pours transparent amber/copper with a short lived, white froth. Aromas of faint floral hops and mild candied malt. Taste is semi-sweet with a smidgen of hops bitterness to balance out the act. Pretty standard, but better than a lot of stuff here in Ontario.

Received in a trade with Pootz. Thanks for the hook up.

Appearance – The bottle that this one comes in is great…a nice little stubby. The beer pours a fairly clear amber with a two fingers of off white head. Sticky lacing is left all the way down.

Smell – This one smells slightly bitter and of wet grain. There is a slightly sour scent in there with a fruitiness that reminds me of apples a bit. I can detect some bread malt in there as well.

Taste – Off the bat I find that this one has some astringent qualities. There is a slight bittering effect from the hops but nothing substantial. I get a sour flavor midway through which is unpleasant. There is a slightly biscuit flavor with just touches of caramel towards the end but nothing strong. Aftertaste is slightly bitter and dry.

Mouthfeel – Fairly thin which isn’t great. There is an oily feeling as well which doesn’t suit. The carbonation is faint at least.

Drinkability – Average at best. It doesn’t hurt going down but it sure doesn’t make you want to sip again.

Certainly not the most pleasant beer ever. This one is definitely not to my tastes.

Conner's was a small Ontario micro brewery eventually bought out by Waterloo based Brick Brewing in June 1999. While I personally remember the Best Bitter as something a little different - better - I would still champion it one of the better of Ontario micros. It is also one of only two Ontario beers still bottled in the old fashioned stubbies.

Pours a toasty, glimmering golden with an acceptable level of head. If you sniff hard enough you can detect some hops, but they are faint. Mouthfeel is pretty good shape. The hops contribute and compliment the malt bill nicely, but present really no bitterness what so ever. Needs a little more character, some finish would go a long way. I expect more, but I would consider this a good 'gateway' beer into some better, British ale renditions. Very standard, this makes for a pretty nice drinking ale, but needs some improvement before it can be anything more. That said though, it's ok being just what it is...

A: Hazy orange color with lively white foam. Lots of lace. Cool stubby bottle.

S: Rich maltiness, some sour grain. Sweet biscuit notes. Earthy and grassy hops.

T: Mild and plesant; smooth malt gives way to a touch of fermented grain. Light woody and unsweetened caramel notes. Interesting.

M: Nominal. A touch of bubbly carbonation on the tongue, but a minor hint of substance and density is present.

D: Above average. I'd drink this again. No problem.

Notes: Nothing special, but a well made brew nonetheless.

Sampled from a bottle purchased in a mixed 6 pack at the brewery. Nice amber hue in the pour topped with a creamy white head containing small round bubbles in medium carbonation. Nose starts out very sugary and leads in to the malty sweet flavor that seems to lack initial hops. Flavor then welcomes a bitterness from the hop that balances it out very nicely. Finish is dry but not long in length. Not what I remembered from the previous brewery but nice just the same.

A malted down and slightly watered down bitter for mass Ontario consumption. Some bitterness on tongue that fades the more you drink (the malt base). Light mouthfeel, carmel rounded. Good lace. Needs to be a lot more bitter. Thanks Pootz for indulging me.

Got a big head out of this one that settles into a nice chunky film. Spotty lace. Slightly hazed amber in colour.

Malts, hops and a hint of fruit in the aroma. The overall bitter character of the beer is detectable in the nose.

Taste is bitter start to finish. Some caramel sweet malt up the middle. Long lingering bitterness.

Passable as a bitter, but I've had some better. Not to my taste.

Bottled: Poured a slightly hazey orange-gold. Nice foamy 3 finger head with great retention that produces a thick glass-clinging lace. Nose of sweet malts and floral hops...not overstated, Medium carbonation. Starts tart with a sandy mouthfeel then builds to a medium body where the toasty malts balance off against slightly medicinal hopping and some fruity tones, The finish is bready with a nice medium bittering bite to it. A well rounded english style mild ale. Others have said this ale took a dive after Brick took it on from Conners...I have no way of telling that. However, as good and well rounded as I found this ale to be, there is an oddity to this ale ...it leaves me with a good impression but a nagging feeling that it still lacks a small something....possibly more floral hopping or some fruity tones from different yeast.. that could make it a great ESB...whatever. It is still one of the better and drinkable ales available in bottles in Ontario and I’d never turn one down. It’s the closest I’ve tasted to a Canadian version of Munton's mild....but it lacks some undefinable something to kick it up into that class of hoppy sharp ales .

Probably the worst thing about this beer is that it was once (1990) the finest ale brewed in Ontario - the waft of Goldings from its former, independent incarnation was intense and sublime.

Now the predominant characteristic of Brick's version is that of canned peas. This may be fine for all the canned peas fans out there, but I hate the things.

Not to differ too greatly with Matt, but I'm fairly sure that it's the yeast, rather than the hops, that reduce this beer to undrinkability. I've run into the same problem with other beers and when their brewers changed yeasts, the problem disappeared.