Wave
Signal Brewery

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

473 mL can from the LCBO; no canning date and served slightly chilled. There's a link to Spearhead's website on the side label - it appears that Skeleton Park acquired both Signal (back in 2021) as well as Spearhead (last year). All three labels are now operating under the Spearhead Brewing Incorporated umbrella, but are still being run as if they were separate entities, at least for now.

Pours a hazy golden yellow colour, generating nearly two fingers of frothy, foamy white head that sizzles away within two minutes' time. A soapy collar and filmy cap hold steady, with a decent ring of lace pasted onto the glass - looks like a typical hazy pale ale. Citrus and tropical fruits on the nose - I'm getting grapefruit, passion fruit and melon, with hints of mandarin orange, lychee and floral hops.

A decent hazy pale ale with no real surprises, or flaws for me to gripe about. The malt backbone is wheaty and bready, supporting hoppy flavours of melon and mandarin orange; I'm also getting lesser notes of grapefruit, lychee and pineapple. Cantaloupe sweetness and citrus last through the finish, alongside some floral, weakly pine-resiny hop bitterness; fruity aftertaste that lingers briefly. Medium in body, with low carbonation that softly brushes the palate, resulting in a pillowy-smooth mouthfeel that I appreciated.

Final Grade: 3.8, a B+. Signal's Wave is a better than average boilerplate hazy pale ale. It's structurally sound, but there's nothing about this beer that really makes me want to drink it again. In other words, it struggles to differentiate itself from the growing crowd of superficially similar hazy pale ales on the market these days. Maybe I'm being overly critical: at the end of the day, it's still a good pale ale that I'd encourage other BAs to at least give a shot.

Oct 16 2024

473 ml can from LCBO - purchased for $3.95 CDN. Review from notes

Appearance - Moderately hazy, orange-yellow in color. A finger or so of white head caps the top. Ok staying power not much lacing.

Smell - Grapefruit, maybe some orange, some grainy quality here too. On the whole lightly-medium citrusy.

Taste - Pretty much like the nose, grapefruit, orange, some other light citrus and some general graininess on the back half of each sip.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, good spritzy carbonation, finish is moderate.

Overall - A solid pale ale that doesn't really stand out, was expecting just a touch more intensity and given the higher than average cost and lack of outstandingness - I'm unlikely to repeat this purchase. Still worth a try for those compelled to try almost everything.

Moderate head, only a little bit of lace. Pale, hazy orange tinged yellow. Soft orange pith nose, nice fruitiness. Orange, yeast, hops, tasty flavour profile. Medium bodied. Worth a try.