Honey Cream Ale
Point Brewing Co.

 

355 mL can from the brewery; no packaging date. Served slightly chilled.

Pours foggy golden-amber with some silty sediment suspended throughout its body; floating atop is about an inch of soapy, foamy white head that melts away over the next three or four minutes. A frothy collar remains, with a modest smattering of lace clinging to the glass. There's a light note of honey sweetness on the nose, along with coarse, grainy malts and an understated earthiness.

It's not bad - moderately sweet flavours of honey and doughy, grainy pale malts come through, with hints of caramelized sugars and earthy, grassy hops coming later on. A drizzle of honey dissipates into a grainy aftertaste. Fairly light-bodied, with slightly assertive carbonation that prickles the tongue, contributing to this cream ale's crisp, smooth mouthfeel. Quite drinkable, maybe even sessionable if you enjoy honey browns and the like, but I think I'd max out at two before needing to move on to something less sweet.

Final Grade: 3.74, a B grade. Point Brewing's Honey Cream Ale isn't going to rock your world, but I still found it more flavourful than average for the style. The honey certainly helps, but the malt bill also comes off as well-rounded, wholesome even - I'm not sure if this is an all-malt brew, but the lack of any adjunct notes suggests that to be the case. This is probably the closest thing to an 'everyman's ale' in their line-up - universally approachable, and likely to satisfy most beer drinkers who are just looking for something light and a little sweet.