Whole Hopped Lager
Creemore Springs Brewery Limited

This current canning is first-rate, rich taste, and a cleaner background than I remember. It does not have the typical Creemore funky like note in the aftertaste - all to the good. Excellent beer and I hope will be permanent in the line.

Pours clear orange amber under a caramel tinged head. That's away to a thin ring right away, but does leave some lace as it goes. More malt in the nose than you might expect, sharp note of hops behind that. And then a whiff of alcohol under that. Some sharp hops up front on the palate, short taste of caramel malts, then some bitterness. Sharp carbonation, but still watery. A little medicinal in character from alcohol which is ill-concealed. Drinkable, but not special. Doesn't hang together right.

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. Purchased from the LCBO for $3.25 CDN.

Appearance - Mildly hazy dark golden color, nearing honey brown in shade. A billowing three fingers of dense frothy off-white head rest on top. Lots of bubbles and very good staying power.

Smell - Earthy, with plenty of hops. Clean and plenty of grain as well. Nothing usual, just like their regular lager with an extra dose of earthiness and caramel id dialed back some.

Taste - Lots of course grain, a touch of lemon zest and little more earthiness. Some crackery biscuity goodness too. Was expecting a little more hop presence but the result is still quite nice,

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, slightest bit of chalkiness. Carbonation is appropriate.

Overall - A very solid and tasty lager, no complaints here and likely to pick up a few more.

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Oct 11 2018 and served slightly chilled.

Pours foggy and translucent, with an inch of lush, foamy white head quickly rising to the surface; it disperses steadily over the next several minutes, eventually reduced to a paper thin cap and a creamy-looking collar, adjoined to a meandering coat of smooth lace. The aroma is clean and understated, not unlike a Euro pils - I'm getting some gritty pale malt cereal grains, as well as some grassy, floral, vaguely spicy hops. As always, Creemore's mineral-ly house character is also detectable on the nose.

Not bad at all; it tastes mainly of clean grain and cereal malt sweetness, with these flavours remaining dominant through to the finish. The Tettnanger hops supply the only major deviation from that theme - their much-needed grassy, leafy, slightly herbal notes provide just enough bitterness to help counteract the sweet-ish leanings of its flavour profile. Suggestions of mineral water and bready sweetness linger briefly into the aftertaste, with the latter subsiding more quickly. Medium in body, with low carbonation levels that weakly nudge the surfaces of the palate. Its texture is mostly smooth - a double-edged sword, as that's not really what I expect from this style, but it works out to be highly drinkable regardless.

Final Grade: 3.56, a B grade. Creemore's Whole Hopped Lager is a pretty well-made pale lager, albeit a fairly boring, unmemorable example of one. The name had me expecting something more along the lines of an IPL, but I found it to be more comparable to a North American interpretation of a German lager (e.g. a pilsener or helles). If I had to choose between this and their Lot 9 Pilsner, I'd probably end up flipping a coin... or alternatively, I'd just go with their Hops & Bolts IPL, which is more up my alley anyhow.

Jan 27 2019

 

 

 

Pours burnt orange with copious streams of lazy carbonation bubbles. The frothy, meringue like head drapes the glass in foam. The aroma is of leafy, earthy hops and some vegetal notes. Pithy, herbal Tettnanger hops mix with a sweet, somewhat too sweet, malt profile. Light carbonation and a medium body, not as fizzy as you'd expect. Light bitterness and some malts and vegetal DMS notes in the finish.

An OK lager but a bit too sweet and lacking in hop bitterness. I won't seek out again.