Hatch
Slake Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Mar 8 2023 and served slightly chilled.

Pours foggy and translucent, its body pale gold in colour and topped with roughly one finger of loose, soapy white head. It dissipates in a little under five minutes' time, reduced to a frothy collar and sudsy, bubbly film on the surface; plenty of nice, messy lace deposition too. It smells of citrus zest, funked gym bag and gooseberries, with hints of grainy pale malts and floral hops; odd at first, but the gym bag aspect seemed to go away as the glass, um, aerates.

Tasty stuff; its balanced profile adds to its drinkability and enjoyability. Grainy pale malts and flaked oat sweetness serve as the backdrop, with fruity hop flavours of peach, grapefruit, mandarin orange and melon rind. Mildly dank and floral on the back end, with a dash of bitterness that transitions to a fruity aftertaste with suggestions of stone fruit, citrus and white grapes. Light-medium in body, with average carbonation that adds a little bit of crispness to this pale ale's smooth, fairly soft mouthfeel.

Final Grade: 3.98, a high B+. Hatch is the first Slake beer I've had the opportunity to try, and I liked it. Closer in spirit to a New England Pale Ale than an old school APA - a "session NEIPA", if you will, with restrained bitterness and relatively juicy hop flavours. The price point doesn't do it any favours - i.e. this is not exactly a budget option, if you get my drift, but it's still a very good pale ale that I'll be buying again.

July 9 2022

 

Big, round, sweet, juicy pale ale, Not too much on the nose, but the flavour is bursting with lychee and concord grape, and much more rich than you'd expect for the ABV. Just enough grain flavour and bitterness to round it out. Definitely stands out from the range of thinner ~5% hazy pale ales out there, with more typical hop profiles. I bet it's a beer you have to get fresh though, so watch out.

 

 

355 ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for around $3.50 CDN.

Appearance - Hazy yellowy gold colored brew with a finger plus of frothy white head. Moderate staying power but nice large swaths of lacing left behind.

Smell - A little grapefruit, some sweaty gym socks and grainy backbone.

Taste - Moderate sweetness, some nectarine maybe with some mandarin orange in behind. Plenty of grainy qualities as well with a slight hint of weediness.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, modest carbonation and semi-dry finish. Works well with the flavor profiles.

Overall - A pretty solid APA, good flavors, appropriate intensity and quite balanced. A new brewery for me, but definitely a pale ale worth trying. Down the Hatch!