Perth County Conspiracy Pale Ale
Heritage Hops Brew Co

This was terrible. The can sold to my wife directly from the brewery shop was 362 days from canning. This was extremely stale tasting, about as unpleasant a stale IPA as I have had the misfortune of drinking.

 

 

 

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase.

Appearance- hazy dark coppery orange colour and a small half finger of white head. No lacing and short retention time.

Smell- somewhat leafy, some citrus and a touch of stone fruit. Earthy notes too.

Taste- moderate bitterness with mostly earthy and leafy flavours, a bit of citrus and maybe stone fruit with some light grainy roasted malts backing things up.

Mouthfeel- medium light in body, decent carbonation and drinks a bit heavier than you’d expect even though it is medium light in body.

Overall- good but unspectacular pale ale, it’s easy drinking and would be remarkably easy to drink in a pub session but as a stand-alone brew, lacking a bit of the pop both in the nose I’ve come to enjoy with many a local pale ale.

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Mar 29 2021 and served barely chilled. I remember reviewing a pale ale of this same name (from an apparently defunct brewery based at the exact same address in Stratford) a few years ago, and liking it quite a bit. I'm assuming that this is at least based on the same recipe, if not the exact same product.

Pours a clear golden-amber colour blemished with sandy flecks of sediment; two fingers of foamy, sparkling white arises from the surface, fading within three or four minutes' time. A gorgeous, webby coat of sticky lacing is left in its wake, in addition to a fat, frothy collar - looks very good, indeed. Smells a bit earthy and resiny, with suggestions of tangerine and pine, as well as some bready, lightly caramelized malts.

A quality pale ale, well-balanced and flavourful - bready pale malts and mild caramel sweetness at the forefront, joined by hoppy flavours of mandarin orange and stone fruit. Hints of grapefruit pith and resiny, slightly floral bitterness tie things up nicely at the finish, concluding with fading hints of stone fruit and citrus in the aftertaste. Medium in body, moderately low carbonation levels that weakly brush against the tongue, resulting in a smooth, satisfying mouthfeel. I could easily drink a few of these in a row and not get sick of it.

Final Grade: 4.01, an A-. Heritage Hops' Perth County Conspiracy isn't the fanciest pale ale I've ever had, but it's a damn good one. I was bummed when the old PCC cans stopped showing up on shelves, as it had quickly become a weekly pick-up for me - needless to say, I'm glad to see that the beer has survived in some form, and plan to purchase it on a regular basis if it remains in stock. I really do think that it's one of the better American-style pale ales made in Southwestern Ontario, and I highly encourage all local BAs to seek this one out and try it ASAP.

Pours a nice dark gold colour with a 1 cm head. Somewhat bitter on the nose and the taste. No tropical notes, unlike a lot of APAs these days. This is a better than average APA.
Jan 31 2022