Deluxe
Burdock - Kensington Market

 

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From my favourite LCBO at Tecumseh Mall in nearby Windsor. Canned November 22/24. My ninth beer from the Toronto, Ontario brewery, and sixth for 2025. Simply adored by Gracie the cat...

can from LCBO - racking date March 29....pours a lightly hazed gold with a 2 finger white cap.....aroma is demure; light wisps of boiled grains some herbal hoppiness, sulphur tones from the lager yeast.....medium bodied, rounded and malty but very sharp effervescence......flavor has a good chew of pale malts in front with perfect bittering balance from the tettnangers, very low sweetness......finish is 2 dimensional with more bittering...a decent Helles but the commercial German stuff is still better

cold 355ml can poured into a half-pint mustard mug. Packaged June 9, 2025. 4.5% abv

Pours a beautiful translucent golden colour, as the name would imply. Nice finger and a half of medium white head overflows this small glass and makes a picturesque vignette. Head recedes slowly, leaving a little lace on the side. really great looking beer.

faint musty, grassy kind of hops smell. Not very strong, and reminds me of alot of northern European lagers.

Smooth, well carbonated feel. a little slick. Pretty balanced beer, leans slightly to the sweet side. You get a little of that grassy bitterness on the way out, but it's not strong.

A good straight forward, easy-drinking lager. good clean taste and a nice feel, but not really anything exceptional. Would happily drink again, but I wouldn't stock up on it.

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Feb 11 2025 and listed at 4.5%. Served slightly chilled. Trying this right after a bottle of Hofbräu Original for comparison purposes.

Pours a relatively clear golden colour with some sandy sediment clouding its complexion; rising to the surface is an inch of soapy, foamy white head that lingers for three minutes or so. A frothy collar and filmy cap are left behind, with stringy lace deposition after each sip - looks fine to me. Clean, wholesome aroma dominated by bready, biscuity malts and grains, with subtle hints of grassy, herbal, somewhat spicy hops. Spot on.

Tasty stuff. Freshly baked bread, grains and biscuity sweetness figure in strongly, with noble hop flavours coming through later on. Grassy, herbal hop bitterness and a touch of spiciness on the back end, with bready, biscuity malts rounding out the finish, carrying on momentarily into the aftertaste. Light in body, with vigorous carbonation that prickles the palate continuously during each sip; its smooth & satisfying mouthfeel makes for an extraordinarily drinkable lager.

Final Grade: 4.08, an impressive A-. Burdock's Deluxe is a darn good German-style lager that matches up well against its competitors, both imported and domestic. While I'm sure I'll be drinking this again many times in the future, its price point may prove to be hurdle for some consumers: it's $4.50 per tallboy, which is considerably pricier than the alternatives (including the aforementioned Hofbräu Original, one of my preferred Helles lagers). That's beside the point, though - this is still a great brew that I highly encourage other lager-loving beer geeks to seek out and try for themselves.

 

Poured a 473ml can into a pint glass. A two finger bubbly white head on a slightly hazy gold. Good head retention. Some patchy lacing.

Spicy malts in the nose. the taste is clean and smooth. bready grains. Slightly sweet with a very mild hop finish.

The mouthfeel is clean and crisp. Medium light body with good carbonation. Overall a fine Helles. true to the style and well worth a try.

 

March 16 2026

I bought 4 cans from the brewery 355ml at 4%abv.
Poured into glass with a 1 to 2 finger head leaving a lace as you drink it.
Tasty and very easy drinking
Very enjoyable
Overall a nice light tasty smooth Helles lager beer.
Would definitely buy this again
Cheers