Honey Cream Ale
Bayside Brewing Company

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL; from my favourite The Beer Store on Goyeau St. in nearby downtown Windsor. My fifth beer from the Erieau, Ontario brewery, and second for 2025.

 

This one is amber and clear with no visible carbonation (SRM 6-8). A foamy two-inch head fades after a few minutes, leaving sticky splotches of lace on a Pretentious Glass Company dimpled mug.

The aroma of roasted corn allows faint sweet honey to trickle in. While very simple, it is also pleasant.

This one is all malt with no hops. Mild sweetness is slightly greater than the bitterness. Another beer with nothing special. However, this one is clean with a mild, lingering finish.

Modest carbonation gives way to alcohol that is slightly below expectations. The soft Jersey cotton texture adds to the medium body.

One could easily spend an afternoon chatting with friends and consuming this easy-drinking cream ale.

 

I bought a can at lcbo in Ontario 473ml at 5%.
poured a 1finger head into glass.
head quickly disappeared looking almost flat with almost no lace.
very slow carbonation light malty bread honey flavor light sweetness . very low bitterness almost none
overall a smooth honey cream ale not that sweet its very easy drinking beer .
cheers

 

 

Nope. Sour right from the get go and this ain't that style. After that, astringent like cold tea. Not at all what you'd expect. Looks ok out of the can. Orangey tea colour, proper full head. Just an odd taste profile.

 

 

A: Translucent medium amber colour, almost no head.

S: Has an interesting slightly funky honey aroma, hints of corn, bread, and toffee.

T: Subtle but balanced sweet bread, honey, and toffee flavor with some fruitiness. Very light and pleasant aftertaste with nearly no bitterness.

F: Very smooth and creamy, hardly any carbonation.

O: Extremely drinkable beer. A little boring and not the most refreshing but a very pleasant sweet taste.

Nov 21 2023

 

 

 

Third of four tallboys purchased at the brewpub in Erieau; best before Feb 1 2016 and served well-chilled.

Pours a clear orange-amber colour, kicking up one finger of soapy, off-white froth that has mostly fizzled itself out by the sixty-second mark. A modest-sized collar remains in place, but there's little in the way of lacing. No bubbles; looks a little flat, to be honest. The aroma is similar to that of their lagers; doughy, wheaty malts and caramel, with notes of banana bread and a sizeable amount of honey sweetness. Suggestions of grassy/floral hops, too, perhaps?

This brewery seems to have a real distinct house flavour - it's been in all three of their beers so far, although I will grant that this is definitely the most full-flavoured of them, as well as the most saccharine. The same wheaty, doughy malt sweetness dominates the profile initially, but the honey makes itself well-known by mid-sip. Lightly fruity; I might be imagining a hint of maraschino cherry. The finish includes a hint of floral hops followed by some light, doughy-honey sweetness which decays at an exponential rate. Stays sweet until you swallow, but fades quickly thereafter. Light-medium in body, with moderate carbonation levels that give this cream ale a good, crisp bite. Very easy to knock back quickly, which seems to be the case with their whole portfolio.

Final Grade: 3.51, a passable B grade. Bayside Brewing's Honey Cream Ale would work very nicely as an entry-level craft beer. What I mean by that, is that I expect it to be received with the most enthusiasm by those who are just dipping their feet into the shallow end of the world of craft beer. If you like beers such as Sleeman Honey Brown or Railway City's Honey Beelixir, it is pretty safe to assume that you will also enjoy this one. I expect the reaction from hardcore beer geeks to be somewhat more tepid, but all in all I consider this to be a pretty decent amber-style ale.