Red + White India Red Ale Batch 150*
Blindman Brewing

Mmm hmm. For once, a beer served in a proper sized can! Bandwagon concept and fancy packaging aside, this is a dandy beer. The art of a good red is rare, but the Blindman boys nailed it this time. It looks great, the flavour is complex, and it gives you a dandy little kick of happy juice at the end. Do yourself a favor and track down a four pack of this patriotic brew.

568ml tall-boy can (a real Imperial pint!), and an ode to Canada's upcoming 150th anniversary as a nation. The asterisk is due to the fact that this is actually Blindman's 145th batch, for which they apologize on the info-heavy label in a very Canadian manner.

This beer pours a clear, dark orange-brick brown colour, with three fat fingers of puffy, rocky, and bubbly tan head, which leaves some splendid holey cheese pattern lace around the glass as it slowly and lazily subsides, eh.

It smells of bready and doughy caramel malt, a hint of biscuity toffee, muddled domestic citrus rind, a bit of free-range roastiness, ethereal earthy spice, and some plain, hard-workin' leafy, weedy, and floral green hop bitters. The taste is grainy and crackery caramel malt, still mixed and hard to delineate citrusy notes, a touch of damp char, and more understated leafy, herbal, and grassy verdant hoppiness.

The carbonation is adequate in its palate-saluting frothiness, the body a decent medium weight, and mostly smooth, just a wee suggestion of hop intransigence lurking about a little to gaudily here. It finishes off-dry, but with a biscuity and hoppy edginess closing in.

Overall, this is a well-rendered hopped-up red ale, a suitable choice for celebrating one of the big ones for our country - the bitterness is restrained, and the (we'll say complex) malt schedule really shines, especially given that it was drawn from across the land. A fine and tasty tipple for your sunny day, and subsequent thunderstorm-enduring, July the Firsts!