Across The Pond
High Park Brewery

A great bitter or I guess probably and ESB given it’s a 5.5%? In any case excellent beer, good foam and some moderate lacing, dark coppper colour, the bitterness is balanced and does not linger or ‘bite’ like some examples of they style. Some points off though for consistency- I have had a few ‘off’ cans and for the price that’s simply not acceptable. It’s about average to slightly less $ than most craft so not cheap, but … I’d compare it to Henderson’s Best, but better!

Can LCBO...poured a lightly hazed amber brew with a 2 finger tan cap that lasts the drink and laces the glass walls as it's drained....Aroma is fruity yeast esters, musty earthy tones, light burnt treacle notes...medium bodied with a distinct Brit ale character...flavor has the crystal malts and hops in balance up front, mid palate there is light complexity as the varying degrees of roasted maltose and hop acids sort themselves out creating some decent flavor amalgams, never cloying, kept in check by the hop mix which produces a stronger bittering in the long finish...all in all a decent English Amber rendition...tasty, hoppy, satisfying

Look: Coppery red with 2 finger off white head. 5 minutes in the head is a 1/2 finger across the glass.
Smell: Barely discerable slightly malty.
Taste: Caramel, doughy malts, and toffee. Hint of orange pekoe tea. Earthy bitterness on back end.
Feel: Slightly oily. Heavy around the palate and sides of mouth, lightest on the tongue. Kind of flat and passive as this style can be.
Very doughy and malty. A good representation of the style. This beer earns a B

L: pours copper/garnet and clear, with a decent amount of off-white head of fine bubbles. Head retention is low, and there is a tiny bit of lacing, but not much.

S: Very faint aroma without agitation. Bready notes along with some ashy/earthen qualities and the faintest hint of fresh dill.

T: Lightly sweet, notes of caramel and then dark bread crust before leaning into some more nutty characteristics. There's a hint of English Breakfast tea and lemon that follows, but that gives way to the herbaceous hops that dominate at the end. There's a fair amount of bitterness in the long finish, along with a wet earthiness.

F: Medium-light bodied, with enough carbonation to keep things pleasantly alive on the tongue.

O: A nice, easy drinking English ale. It could use some fruity esthers and some refinement on the bitterness to keep things more balanced, but certainly enjoyable.

 

 

Copper body with almost no head. Light aroma of caramel balanced in the mouth with moderate bittering. Body rather light for the alcohol (5.5 abv) pleasant.

 

Aug 25 2024

A straight up, simple English Ale.Gentle across the board as you'd expect from the style. Malty and sweet with a nice bitter finish. Easy to drink, worth a try.

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Oct 14 2016 and served at cellar temperature.

Pours clear amber-orange in hue, fitted with a one inch crown of foamy, spongy, off white-coloured head that steadily dissipates over the next several minutes. A smooth cap roughly one half-cm high remains, accompanied by a wide collar and a fine coating of lace. Caramelized sugar and toffee on the nose, with bready malts, overripe apple and subtle hop characteristics - floral and weedy, with some earthy, leafy qualities.

A basic, "lunch pail" sort of ale, more along the lines of an ESB than anything, leaning toward the malt forward side. Toasted bread, grainy malts, caramel and toffee sweetness figure in prominently, with hints of overripe orchard fruit (plum, apple, pear) briefly passing the detectability threshold mid-sip before the moderate assertive hop character starts to shove it aside during the back end. Leafy, floral, earthy bitterness begins to permeate the taste buds at this point, with the sip winding down with a nice bittersweet flavour that lingers into the aftertaste. The water has a bit of a mineral-like quality to it, which helps reinforce the illusion that this pale ale was actually shipped from jolly old England. Medium in body, with low carbonation levels and a soft, smooth, slick mouthfeel that allows this beer to slide right down the throat effortlessly.

Final Grade: 3.83, a B+. High Park's Across the Pond isn't the sort of beer that most BAs tend to hype up. Truth be told, this is not an exciting beer, or even a very unique one, but it's still a properly-made English bitter ale. No major complaints, but on the other hand there are no real obvious strong points, either - it's balanced and flavourful, if a little forgettable. I'd strongly recommend this to fans of beers such as Wells Bombardier and Fuller's ESB who'd like to try something along the same lines, but more local and (presumably) more fresh.

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. Gotta love family gatherings this time of year.

Appearance - Pours a deep red or ruby colored beer capped with a finger and change of long lasting off-white head. Middling clarity and some carbonation is visually present.

Smell - Malts, but of the soft variety, a little caramel and toffee with some orchard fruits. Very distinctly an English style pale ale. Possibly a nice suggestion of plum upon repeated sniffs.

Taste - Pretty much like the nose. Fairly malty, with middling bitterness in the depths of a sip. Caramel and toffee with orchard fruits to close such as plum and pear. Really good.

Mouthfeel - On the heavy side of medium, expressive carbonation that fits the style to a T. Slightly drying finish.

Overall - An excellent pale ale that i can see myself picking up on a regular basis...if I can find it.

 

Soft aroma with subtle supporting malt accents. The hop bitterness perfectly compliments the specialty malt flavours. It is a very drinkable, thirstquenching and enjoyable ale in the tradition of the fine English ales available around, England