FireWire - Simcoe
Signal Brewery

 

 

Jan 22 2025

473 mL can from the LCBO; no canning date and served slightly chilled. As of late 2024, this beer is still actively being brewed.

Pours a foggy orange amber with countless flecks of silty sediment hovering throughout the liquid; roughly two inches of lumpy, foamy white head lasts for a little over five minutes. Great lace deposition, with a frothy cap and collar lingering on the surface - looks good. Orange peel and grapefruit pith on the nose, with added notes of passion fruit, blackberry and earthy, resiny hops. Looks and smells like a west coast IPA, which would not be a problem if this weren't being marketed as a NEIPA.

I mean, it tastes alright, but aside from the mouthfeel I am not getting much of a New England vibe here. Flavours of bready, wheaty pale malts and lightly caramelized sugars give way to grapefruit and passion fruit, with earthy, piney hop bitterness gaining steam later on. Grapefruit pith and berries at the finish, with piney, resiny bitterness continuing into a slightly acidic aftertaste. Medium-full in body, with low carbonation and a smooth, plush mouthfeel that aids its drinkability. Goes down easy for 6.8%, but one can per night'll do just fine.

Final Grade: 3.63, a B grade. Signal's FireWire ain't half bad, but I really don't think Simcoe was the best choice for a single hop New England IPA (and for the record, Simcoe is one of my favourite hops). I mean, it's not bracingly bitter, but it's bitter enough to ruin the NEIPA angle - which is a shame, because if they hadn't chosen that angle, I wouldn't need to ding this brew for failing to meet my expectations. Again: this really is a perfectly acceptable IPA, it's just not a good example of the New England style. Recommended if you enjoy Simcoe hops and old school pale ales.

473ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase. Out of retirement. Might be a reskinned beer.

Appearance - Hazy coppery color with many fingers of dense and rocky white head. Impressive staying power.

Smell - Robust grapefruit with some pine. Caramel malt. Rather west coast in everything than New England style.

Taste - Matches the nose with pine and grapefruit at the forefront, a hint of lemon zest and strong malty backbone.

Mouthfeel - Fairly full bodied with expressive carbonation. Not a crushable beer but a nice sipper.

Overall - A solid WCIPA, not really much more than that.

Pours hazy peachy orange. Moderate head settles quickly to a ring. Aroma of grapefruit quite pronounced on pour, some pine in there too. Sweet and hoppy to taste. Bitter grapefruit pith follows up the sweetness. Oranges in there as well. Pine gives it a slight chemical note. Lingering bitterness and sticky sweetness on the palate. Drinkable, but the bits don't seem to come together in any kind of harmony. There is an edgy chemical aspect to the thing that doesn't work for me.