Young Rival
MERIT Brewing Co

 

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, from the University Ave. West LCBO in nearby downtown Windsor. My fourth beer from the Hamilton, ON brewery.

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated May 27 2024 and served barely chilled.

Pours a hazy golden-orange colour, supporting one finger of tight, foamy white head that collapses over the next three or four minutes. The survivors include a frothy collar and filmy cap, with modest lace generation - looks normal so far. The aroma is floral and fruity, offering up hints of peach drink, melon, bubble gum and orange, with hints of pineapple, resin and grainy malts.

The flavour profile is fruity first and foremost, including notes of mango, pear, ripe peach and pineapple. There's a little bit of resin and floral hop bitterness on the back end, but stone & tropical fruits are what persist through the finish, then briefly into a pithy aftertaste. Medium in body, with relatively low carbonation that gently nudges against the surface of the palate; the mouthfeel is smooth and a little juicy. It's pretty drinkable at 6% - I could enjoy a couple of these cans in a row on a Saturday night.

Final Grade: 3.95, a worthwhile B+. Merit's Young Rival is a quality IPA that stands out in the crowd, blasting you with fruity hops from start to finish. I would rank this in the upper echelon of flagship Ontario IPAs - better than most, by my estimates, with the added benefits of having a (relatively) unique and/or distinguishable aroma and flavour profile. I would buy this on a weekly basis if it were easier to find in this part of the province.

 

July 9 2025

On tap at the brewery.

Appearance - Semi hazy, golden color with a nice finger of frothy white head. Good visible effervescence too.

Smell - Lots of fuzzy peaches. Big and potent aromatics and definitely a sweet aroma. A bit unusual coming from IPA, but super inviting.

Taste - Fair bit of grainy malt, some peachiness with aspects of other citrus, but definitely leaning sweet overall.

Mouthfeel - Smooth, medium bodied with gentle carbonation. Maybe a touch under-carbonated.

Overall - A solid IPA, but not a standout other than that explosive fuzzy peach nose.

 

 

 

 

A-Light strew yellow with a white head that dissipates quickly good lacing
S- Smell is more on the dank side with ripe fruit aromas of raisin and plum and apricot
M- medium body but peppery carbonation and mouth feel
T-Subtle sweetness with a puckering bitterness that leads to dark berry flavours
O-A nice IPA, with good highlights of the notes hops, mosaic, El Dorado and Amarillo.

 

Had a pint at the brewery. Looks nice; straw colour with a nice fluffy white head. Taste includes some sweet juicy tropical hops with nothing all that complex and a touch of bitterness on the finish. Decent to good Ontario IPA but as this market gets flooded it's one which gets lost in the crowd.

Surprised by other reviews on here. Drank from a bottle that my brother got from someone at work. Off the bat the smell is amazing. Up there with some of the better beers like Swish. Taste is decent but a little thin tasting. Overall I'd take this beer any day.

 

 

From the menu-Our flagship IPA features El Dorado, Mosaic, and Amarillo hops and bursts with the flavours and aromas of stone fruit, papaya, mango, and ripe pineapple. Young Rival pours a beautiful opaque gold. This IPA's low bitterness amplifies its high juiciness.