Bellhoste Ale
St. Mary Axe

Look: Pours coppery orange with hints of yellow hazyness. 1 Finger yellowéwhite head that simmers down to a 1/2 finger over the first 5 minutes.
Smell: Sweet and malty, biscuits and short bread. Pleasant but a little too mild.
Taste: The front end is very sweet and malt forward, quickly gives way to an interesting tart flavour like Perrier mineral water and cucumber. HInts of citrus (orange) from mid slip to the end.
Feel: Very creamy. The palate is stimulated quite a bit. The different areas of the tongue not so much.
This beer had an interesting flavour profile, but the tastes were not what I would describe as appetizing. This beer earns a B-

Appearance: Poured with two fingers of head that both laced and retained admirably. The body is a cloudy amber that leans much more towards orange in the light. Carbonation in the body is decent, and the head suitably rocky. Well done.

Smell: Ample floral hops dominate the nose with a slight caramel backing and a touch of earthiness to it. Warming did help it come out a bit more, but it's potency is fairly spot on. Needs something more though, just not sure what it would be.

Taste: Starts with some mild caramel malt, with maybe a hint of smoke that dips into a weaker malt presence and then turns to floral and earthy hops. It's very basic, and even for a plain old pale ale, a bit tame and watered down in that mid drink gully to be honest. That said, I will give it a bit more leniency given it's lower ABV. It's a rare time when I'm calling for more hops in a pale ale though.

Mouthfeel: The transitioning here is off, because of that watery middle that seems to be occurring. The aftertaste leans more towards the earthier end of the hops, along with a bit of an out of place smoke note, and it's ok. That said, the carbonation is good, and it doesn't fall into the building hop cling or mineral note trap that a lot of pale ales suffer from.

Drinkability: The lower bitterness makes it a bit smoother of a ride, but it's a bit too out of style for my liking. Light bodied, which for it's lower ABV is expected but a bit too watered down and thin for a pale ale in my eyes. Refreshing, I suppose but it's just out of place.

Final Thoughts: I suppose my issue here is I'm treating it like a pale ale, when in truth it's a light pale ale. It's just too tame, which normally would win points with me, but that there isn't much malt or anything else to step in the place of the mineral and hop presence, leaves me a bit disappointed. Still, I'd likely have this any day over generic the lager, but more potency is needed here.

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Oct 9 2018 and served barely chilled. I've probably had a half-dozen cans of this over the last year, but this is the first opportunity I've had to actually review it. Although the label design and marketing blurb remain basically unchanged, the beer's new name is "Belhoste Ale".

Pours hazy and effervescent; its deep, burnished copper amber-hued body is topped with nearly two fingers of puffy, bubbly, lumpy off-white head that hangs around past the ten minute mark. A delicate coating of messy lace is left in its wake - a fine looking glass of beer, that's for sure. The hops are what jump out at me with the first few sniffs - citrusy orange and grapefruit are immediately noticeable, with earthier, pine resin aspects and orchard/stone fruits not far behind. The malt-derived notes are positively minimal in contrast: a tad grainy, with muted hints of caramelized sugars. Smells more like an APA than an English pale, but whatever.

An acceptable pale ale, though I wouldn't say it's what I'm looking for from this style. The malts are more easily discerned in the flavour profile, though still totally outshone by the hop bill - it tastes of toasted, not-quite-roasted cereal grains and light caramel sweetness, with lesser hints of apple and apricot barely coming through. The back end is where things start to bug me - it's very earthy and dirty, with the resiny hop character running roughshod over the subtler (and more palatable, IMO) notes of orange and grapefruit citrus. Light-medium in body, with moderate to assertive carbonation levels that diligently prickle the palate, frothing up a bit in the mouth. Good drinkability; my taste buds sort of adjusted to the hop earthiness over time, though I still am not a huge fan of that trait.

Final Grade: 3.49, a B-. St. Mary Axe Belhoste Ale is a passable brew that combines North American and English influences to limited effect. I have had cans of this that were ridiculously over-carbonated to the point of annoyance - so even though this particular can was fine, I think there are still some consistency issues that need to be worked out. Not bad, but their IPA is more up my alley. Reminds me a little of the old Durham Signature Ale, although this is a fair bit more strongly hopped.

Looks decent but smells overwhelmingly soapy. Soap on the palate as well

473 ml can served fairly cold into a Mill St. pint glass. A new LCBO purchase for around $3 CDN.

Appearance - Mostly clear amber colored beer with a slight amount of haze, some visible carbonation and a small half finger of long lasting, loose white head. Traces of lace linger behind.

Smell - Metallic, earthy and also fruity. Earthy notes dominate, but subtle bits of mandarin orange interspersed.

Taste - Fairly earthy across the board with some fruity flavors of pear, apple and grape. Some bitterness and sweetness with a semi-long metallic sharpness. Less citrus here than in the nose.

Mouthfeel - Medium- light bodied with reasonable but on the lower end of carbonation. Drinks like a cask ale would which I like.

Overall - Could probably use a few tweaks, but not a bad start for this new London based brewery. Blurring the line between APA and bitter, either way this is a decent start.

Pours deep copper with frothy head that collapses to thinnish head that still leaves good lacing. Aroma caramel, flavour, toffee, cookie. Hopping is light leaving the malty impression of a south of England bitter. More grassy than citrusy.

 

Deep copper colour with nice lacing. Malty biscuit base overlayed with a spruce aroma. Tropical dry finish.

Tasty stuff. Had at Duke's Refresher Bar. An IPA well malted. Mix of hops, and double dry hopped. Pretty good for a first beer, brewed by a Pugsley, from Shipyard.