Homecoming
Powerhouse Brewing Company

Cloudy, under carbonated and remarkably bland. No distinct malt or hop character. Drain pour.

Can indicates PKG 218. Definite problems (with this batch?)

Solid hearty Beer, excellent quality, well crafted and balanced. Really enjoyed this beer and another fine example of London's craft breweries!

 

Dec 24 2024

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Jun 25 2019, listed at 5.5% and served barely chilled. It's always great to see new stuff on the shelves, especially coming from a local brewer that I've never heard of.

Pours a slightly hazy golden-yellow colour, generating just over a finger of loose, foamy white head that dissipates over the next five minutes, give or take. A thin collar of froth is the main remnant, though a messy band of sticky lace has also been splattered in its wake. I'm getting citrus on the nose - mandarin orange, lime zest and a touch of grapefruit pith - but not much else, really, save for hints of grainy malts and stone fruitiness.

An indisputably solid pale ale - arguably a bit pedestrian in terms of flavour profile, but quite well-brewed nonetheless, with no apparent faults. I'm getting flavours of grapefruit, lemon, and melon layered on top of a neutral grainy pale malt backdrop, leading up to a pithy, grassy, slightly resiny bitterness towards the back end. It doesn't linger into the aftertaste, however - a flash of citrus pith is all that does, and it's followed only by dryness. Light-medium in body, with moderate carbonation levels that provide a nice bite to the texture - feels crisp and refreshing.

Final Grade: 3.83, a very respectable B+. Powerhouse's Homecoming is good stuff - I finished my glass in no time, but luckily I had a second can waiting in the fridge. They pretty much nailed the style IMO: it's hop-forward, yet not assertively bitter, with excellent drinkability. This one's only problem is that it doesn't go above or beyond my expectations... and that's hardly a fatal flaw, so this will still be entering my pale ale rotation. Certainly worth trying if you can find it.

Sam Adams will love this one, absolutely delicious. Picked a few up, and was blown away had quite a few APAs over the past few years and this is my favorite.

First had at Powerhouse’s affiliated brewery, Tobermory Brewing, Tobermory, Ontario, Canada, on draft into 18-oz. pilstulpe. This is a very crisp, classic APA, that will carry well into the cooler months.