Figo
Henderson Brewing Company

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Jul 21 2022 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a foggy golden-yellow colour, producing nearly a finger of tight, foamy white head that dissipates within two or three minutes' time. A frothy collar of suds lives on, surrounding a similarly sudsy cap; good lace deposition, too. Clementine on the nose, in addition to a decent wallop of floral, spicy, somewhat earthy noble hops, backed by subtle hints of grainy pale malts.

This is a real nice lager - the 'pilsner' flavours are accounted for, but there's also this pleasantly fruity quality about the profile that adds to the experience. Grainy at first, with hints of orange & lemon, as well as a subtle biscuit-like sweetness. The back end features a burst of floral hops, with some spicy, herbal, earthy bitterness receding into a mildly fruity aftertaste that doesn't linger. Light-medium in body, with moderately assertive carbonation that give some bite to its exceedingly smooth, satisfying mouthfeel. Superb drinkability - I could toss this beer back all night and never tire of it.

Final Grade: 4.04, an A-. Henderson's Figo is an outstanding Italian pils that I will now lavish with further praise. One of the noble hops (likely the Saphir) adds a potent citrus flavour to the mix that I absolutely adore, but the base pils itself is also of very high quality - a near-flawless lager that I would buy on a weekly basis, if I could find it around here. Recommended to any beer geek with a love of lagers. This is a stand-out amongst Ontario-made Italian pilsners, as I can only recall a couple of other examples that are even in the same ballpark.

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, from the Bench Henderson Collab Mixer boxset, from my favourite LCBO at The Roundhouse Centre in nearby Windsor. My second beer from the Toronto brewery.

 

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for around $3.75CDN. Canned April 24, 2023. Italian style pislner.

Appearance - Mildly hazy, golden straw brew with nearly two fingers of sparkling white head on top. Impressive staying power and plenty of visible carbonation.

Smell - Clean and grassy hops, a light floral bouquet in the background with a small smattering of apples and pears.

Taste - Crisp grassy flavors with mild bitterness that shows up a little stronger in the aftertaste. Initial taste is quite sweet, not fruit but sweeter than expected. Pretty diverse array of flavors.

Mouthfeel - Medium-light bodied and crisp carbonation, semi-dry finish. Exceedingly easy to drink.

Overall - Really good pilsner, very enjoyable, my only (minor) knock is that the initial sweetness in the brew is a bit disconcerting. Otherwise absolutely no complaints from a style, that seems to have enough of a following that it may get its own classification.

 

I think that this is an excellent pilsner. Wonderful flavor and very satisfying. If this were the only beer I could drink for the rest of my life, I'd be happy. The fact that Henderson has made this beer a staple of their offerings is a plus. I order this by the case for home delivery.

Nov 14 2024

 

I bought 2 cans at the LCBO in Ontario 473ml at 5.5%
Poured into glass with a 2 finger head.
Sweet crispy Pilsner very falvorful with a medium bitterness level.
Overall it's a good Italian Pilsner beer.
Cheers