West Coast Pils
Burdock - Kensington Market

 

 

Had this on tap at the brewpub. It was crisp, but surprisingly sweet and flavourful for a pilsner — it tastes like a pilsner married a tripel and they had slightly hoppy babies. Very well made, with just enough aromatic hops to spice things up. This is the beer you should give to your non-beer friends: it's approachable, tasty, well balanced, interesting, very refreshing. I was quite pleased.

 

 

 

Look: The beer has a clear, transparent, Lager and bright yellow body. There is a moderate carbonation and the beer produces a white head of two fingers high. There are also specks of lacing and the head is pretty resilient even though it ends up being a thin white layer with a few small holes.

Smell: Anyone can recognize right away the notes of citrus, lemon and grapefruit's meat. All in all, the malt dominated the nose more than the hops.

Taste: Strangely, the palate is not a replay of the nose. Whilst the malt profile was assertive on the nose, it has a low profile once the beer is consumed. The taste on the front end is zesty. The finale has a smoked taste of pine woods. It is reminiscent of a light beer from the West Coast that packs a more complex bitter punch then most North American lagers. Despite that finale, the bitterness is hopefully below that of a Pale Ale.

Feel: The beer is medium-bodied. It has no taste of spices on the back-end. It has a slightly dry and clean finish. It has a juicy texture and a slightly refreshing feel.

Overall: Even though the beer is enjoyable, some might find that the taste is a little unbalanced. The sweetness on the nose is not present enough on the palate. This means that the notes of citrus and grapefruit's meat vanished. Other than that, the finale was great.

 

Bottle from the source. Served in barVolo 2014 Zwanze glass.

A - White foam settles to a partial cap and thick collar, leaving behind specks of lace. Transparent pale golden body.

S - Juicy lemon, faintly tropical, grassy, and mildly spicy hops. Mildly sweet, crackery malt backdrop. A clean, hoppy lager.

T - Taste is pretty nice too, with a bit more sugar malt mid-palate before yielding to moderate bitterness. Heavy on the lemon and grapefruit, with a bit of grass in there too.

M - Crisp, clean, dry, lager. Higher carbonation, with lingering hop oils and resins on the palate. No obvious alcohol.

D - A really solid, drinkable, hoppy lager. Not quite on the Hoponius Union level, but in the same ballpark. Will definitely be having this one again and hope it shows up more broadly around town.

Not a style that I typically enjoy very much, but this is very good. Flavour is crisp and clean, with a nice bready malt base but complimented with citrus and pine flavours. There is a pleasing bitterness, but also notable sweetness from the malt. Definitely a pilsner for the pale ale fan. Refreshing.

Lightly hazed golden colour, one finger of white head and some lace. Smell is bursting with citrus fruits, grapefruit and peach, a subtly sweet bready backbone is present along with some fragrant floral hop as it slightly warms. Taste is also quite hoppy, big hop flavour with a mild-moderate bitterness, some sugar coated grapefruit, mango and a long drying finish. Medium carbonation, medium body. This was very good, incredibly drinkable, reminds me of a APA more than a pilsner, reminiscent of some of the Jacks Abby beers I have tried.

 

 

On tap at the new brewpub. Very floral hop aroma. More of a session ale though pils ingredient may have been included, sort of a trend among smaller new brewers.