Curiosity Amber Ale
Theoretically Brewing Company

Look: Golden-amber, cloudy; big, fluffy, light tan head that takes forever to dissipate (though this was in part my own fault as I poured it poorly).

Smell: Caramel malts, yeast, grassy and citrusy undertones

Taste: Grain, sourdough bread, more of the grassyness, leaves a smoky, bitter aftertaste. I noticed some slight hints of citrus after a few swallows. Despite all of my description, to be honest, this really isn't a very flavourful beer.

Feel: Standard carbonation, leaves a warm, dry mouthfeel after swallowing.

Overall: Pretty underwhelming overall; not *bad*, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it again. There's just not much to it, it's a rather boring beer. It's not particularly refreshing, it's not sweet or hearty or anything, it's just kinda there.

A- This Southern Alberta Ale pours a lovely coppery/dark golden color and either has some chill hazing happening or this is not completely filtered......it's quite alright no matter what! There appears to be many columns of aggressively rising carbonation towards the top of the liquid, which by the way, is covered by a delightfully thick-ish layer. This eggshell colored head starts out about one finger in thickness, fizzles out a little bit, but then settles rather well into a cloud like cover. Lacing is VERY nice, and looks like an abstract piece of art around the inside of the glass! An above average Ale!

S- This is an interesting smelling brew.....there are sweet caramel malts noted, dry barley kernels, grass, and dry notes....like a drought ridden field in the middle of July here in Alberta. The finish is of muted citrus notes (lemon, orange and perhaps limey rinds), and there is a noted mild hop presence.

T- The flavors are relatively weak overall but theres nothing offensive about this beer. Balanced caramel/toffee notes, subdued citrus rind flavors, a bit of a dry floral tone throughout. I am also getting stale bread, dry unmalted grain, grassy flavors, and a dryly hopped finish that leaves behind a weird flavor that reminds me of tin to a degree.

M/O- Well this isn't the best beer out there and I'd like to give this another go, perhaps on tap at the brewery on my next trip into L.A., but I wouldn't go out of my way for it either. I feel like there is definitely some refining that needs to happen as it just doesn't seem to flow from start to finish the way I'd like it to.....it bounces from sweet to dry to fruity to metallic to sweet again without reason. Mouthfeel wise, it has a decent amount of carbonation and is medium bodied. It is indeed a curious beer.....

650ml bottle, part of a sextet of new brews from these Southern Albertans to just arrive up here in the 'chuk.

This beer pours a mostly clear, medium copper amber colour, with three fingers of puffy, rocky, and somewhat fizzy beige head, which leaves some roiling sea froth lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of gritty and grainy caramel malt, faint mixed citrus and pome rind, a suggestion of wet cardboard, some wan earthy nuttiness, dead yeast cells, and a very tame musty, weedy, and estery floral hop bitterness. The taste is grainy cereal malt, a weak caramel sweetness, still flitting about zombie yeast, more hard to really pin down dusty package material 'notes', a disjointed generic fruitiness, and some consistently underperforming earthy, wet leafy, and floral hoppiness.

The bubbles are average in their plain-Jane frothiness, the body a so-so middleweight, and generally smooth, nothing really kicking about that might poke its nose in and say boo here. It finishes off-dry, the basic cereal graininess looking either for a friend, or maybe just a place to happen.

Overall, another underwhelming offering from this nascent Lethbridge brewing concern - it's like they're afraid of hops and at least somewhat sweet malt - I mean, what else are modern IPAs and amber ales made of? More character than yer Rickard's Reds of the world, but not by much, I'm sad to report.