Foliage Autumn Ale
Bobcaygeon Brewing Company

 

This is a seasonal release from Bobcaygeon Brewing Company in Peterborough, Ontario. Not a lot of info on the recipe but it says its a "sessionable" ale with "a hint of fall spices."

Colour: Reddish Brown

Nose: Soft and malty with some lingering allspice, vanilla and gingerbread

Taste: Light but decently malty and full, light barley sugars, baking spices, ginger and vanilla sticks

Finish: Short with some lingering gingerbread and cinnamon

As the description insists, its quite sessionable for a spiced ale indeed! Its also not as overspiced as a lot of spiced ales come off (in my opinion.) But in the end its just an "okay" spiced ale that probably needed a tad more alcohol presence to really let the mouthfeel shine. A decent beer for Fall worth it maybe on sale but not sure if I'd buy again outside of this season.

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Aug 29 2019 and served slightly chilled. The ingredients list includes ginger and cinnamon.

Pours a brilliant ruby red hue - effervescent and attractive, with nearly two fingers of foamy, off white-coloured head erupting from the surface. It seeps downward at a slow but steady pace; nearly ten minutes later, I'm left with a lumpy, creamy cap and collar, along with a generous coat of sticky lacing. Looks fabulous. The aroma is mellower than I was expecting, with accents of ginger and cinnamon being slightly noticeable amidst more prominent notes of caramel sweetness, toasted nuts and bready, doughy malts. It almost has a pumpkin spice vibe going, but it's not quite there.

It tastes mostly of bready pale malts, caramel/toffee sweetness and ginger snap cookies - and I mean the sweeter, milder store-bought kind, not the fresh, spicy homemade ones. Hints of orchard fruit by mid-sip; the cinnamon is more easily discerned towards the finish, which is also moderately spicy. Gingerbread comes to mind in the aftertaste, with cinnamon lingering a bit longer. Medium in body, with middling carbonation levels that gently agitate the surface of the palate; feels very smooth and a little slick, with better drinkability than most spiced beers.

Final Grade: 3.74, a B grade. If you're the type of beer geek who begins to crave spiced ales as the weather cools, then Bobcaygeon's Foliage will be right up your alley. The spices are present without being overbearing, managing to blend into the sweeter malt flavours of the base beer, complementing them quite nicely. It's comparable to their Dockside Amber in terms of quality - even though I'm not big on spiced beers, I'll consider picking this up again while it's available, and would encourage other BAs to give it a try too.

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for around $3.40 per can. Canned on September 12, 2019.

Appearance - Clear dark ruby beer with minimal visible carbonation. Billowing two fingers of off-white head that stay for a good duration. Sparse lacing left behind.

Smell - Initially some plums and prunes, a hint of sweetness, followed by the aroma of course grain and some fall favorites like wet leaves and an undertsated earthiness. Possibly apples and pears mixed in at the end. More fruity than expected.

Taste - Very fruity with apple skins, plums and prunes, coarse grainy flavors, a subtle amount of pumpkin, an herbal and medicinal undertone before finishing with white pepper. Complex and certainly tastes like fall.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, carbonation is light but peppery finish adds a dimension not usually present in this style. Dryer than average for an amber ale.

Overall - Foliage Autumn Ale is a very interesting beer with a wide variety of detectable flavors that do come together in a symphonic manner. I'm glad to have tried and will pick another couple up while all the fall beers are in full release.

December 21 2019