Radler
Ace Hill Beer Company

 

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Apr 15 2019 and served slightly chilled. Loved their lime radler, so let's see how this one compares.

Pours a turbid, translucent golden apricot colour, with one centimetre of loose, bubbly white froth that sizzles away in less than sixty seconds. A thin collar doesn't last for much longer; no lace or cap remain, though it does seem fairly effervescent. Not exactly a looker, but beauty is never skin deep. In this case, it isn't nose-deep either, because the aroma is dull and very weak - hints of grapefruit pith and lemon are all I'm getting, though I suppose some grainy, grassy notes from the base pilsener do sneak through.

An interesting take on a radler - I'm not enamoured with it, but I can say that I haven't had any others that taste quite like this one, and that's generally a plus. Orange juice flavours figure in strongly on the front end, with grapefruit pithiness beginning to take over towards the tail end of the sip; apple juice sweetness is a constant background presence, with the beer itself being basically non-discernible. Hints of lime and astringent grapefruit juice join in on the back end, though the profile remains (grapefruit/orange) juicy into the aftertaste. Medium in body - unusually weighty for something this light, but I suppose five kinds of juice (and locust bean gum, a literal thickening agent) will do that to a light beer. Moderate carbonation that feels fairly lively on the palate; at least as refreshing as a glass of OJ.

Final Grade: 3.39, a B-. I finished my can of Ace Hill Radler easily enough, but it's not quite what I'm looking for from this type of pseudo-beer - its juiciness is authentic, but it doesn't quite have the same refreshing effect that a lot of its radler competition shares. The muted aroma and flat visuals also do not do it any favours, nor does the unnecessarily substantial mouthfeel. I greatly preferred their lime radler over this one, though I suppose this one still tastes ok, and would do in a pinch.

 

473 ml can served cold into a tulip. canned 01/03/2018.

Appearance - Hazy peach colored brew with two fingers of off white head that dissipates in no time like soda.

Smell - Metallic, hints of lemon. Not good.

Taste - Fruity like citrus punch and not much else. Lemon, orange and something sugary sweet in there

Mouthfeel - Too heavy and dense, very gassy, doesn't quite have that clean refreshing crispness of a Stiegl Radler (the original radler, every single company tries to model theirs after).

Overall - Could be moderately good on a hot day, but the nose is mediocre and the rest of the beer isn't great.

 

 

So if you took Five Alive Citrus and ran it through your SodaStream, I'm pretty sure this is what you'd get -- slightly fizzy fruit juice without any real beeriness to it. They've essentially taken whatever citrus fruit you can think of and thrown it into the mix, so there's nothing to latch on to tastewise. This is just an anonymous half effort. Ok if you like fizzy fruit juice, I suppose. I hate beer by accountants. It's soulless.