Steam Whistle Premium Session Lager
Steam Whistle Brewery Biergärten and Taproom

Probably the most flavourful light beer I’ve had. Nothing exceptional but still a decent brew.

 

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Sept 23 2020 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a crystal clear golden-blonde colour, topped with one finger of soapy, frothy white head that dissipates within two minutes' time. A modest band of messy lace is left in its wake, in addition to a thin collar and filmy layer on the surface; looks fine for a pale lager. Hints of grainy pale malts and mildly bready, doughy sweetness on the nose, with suggestions of biscuit and faintly floral hops.

The flavour is along the same lines - it starts off with grainy pale malts, followed by bready, slightly biscuity sweetness that continues on through mid-sip and towards the finish. Hints of grassy, floral, weakly spicy hops join in at the tail end of the sip, which finishes relatively clean; just a touch of bready malt lingers briefly into the aftertaste. Light in body, with moderate carbonation that supplies a light prickliness to this brew's surprisingly smooth, satisfying mouthfeel. Bring a case of this to the beach or the campsite and you're good to go all night.

Final Grade: 3.85, an above average B+. I've been on a light lager review streak this week - largely just to free up the fridge space, but also because I prefer to review beers of the same style one after another (where possible, for ease of comparison purposes), particularly for 'blander' styles without a lot of variation, or styles that I don't consume on a regular basis. That's why I'm pretty confident in saying that Steam Whistle's Premium Session Lager might be the best 'pure' example of a light lager I've reviewed to date. That being said, it's the exact same price as Steam Whistle's other products - so until I have a good reason to drink light beer in the first place, I'll most likely be reaching for their pilsner or pale ale over this one.

The beer pours quite pail, without much colour. The head is fine, and it has a reasonable, but not what I would consider full bodied. Good aftertaste.

Appearance: Golden body with a decent carbonation that poured with a thumb of head that did not lace or retain very well. Carbonation died off fairly quickly.

Smell: Strong biscuit malt with only a hint of straw with admirable potency for a light beer. Not much more to it then that though.

Taste: Biscuit malt and white bead and a tame bitter touch at the end, so slight that you can't describe it. I'm actually surprised that there's no corn or wet grass that I can detect.

Mouthfeel: That bitter touch ensures this beer is a quick and easy guzzler, disappointed though was that the carbonation quickly departed from this offering. Not much in the way of transitioning here but glad it doesn't come off as water.

Drinkability: Light bodied, but not to the absurd watery degree so many light beers suffer from. Easy to drink and the low carbonation and ABV make for what it's clearly meant to be. A quick to drink session lager.

Final Thoughts: A lot of craft brewers got into making light lagers this year in Ontario, and I feel this one is the pick of the litter. I'd say it is probably the best light beer I've had, apart from possibly Sleeman Light. All in all, something perfect for a hot day and something you buy your friends to replace their Bud Light.

 

473ml can served cold into an MGD pint glass. LCBO purchase for $3 or so. Looks to be canned March 25, 2020.

Appearance - Tepid yellow color from the can but in the glass its looks more elegantly pale golden colored. Two big frothy fingers of head, great clarity and staying power.

Smell - Light and grainy with a huge dose of crackery and biscuity goodness. Quite surprised at the aromatics.

Taste - Clean and grainy with lots of crackery goodness, rich and buttery but only minorly, not oversold or done here. Rich bready qualities.

Mouthfeel - Soft carbonation, light feel and watery finish, what you'd be looking for in a light lager.

Overall - Solid, solid light beer packed with lots of flavor, I came away quite impressed and may need to go back and revisit Steamwhistle Premium Pilsner, I might be underselling them a bit. Good beer overall, quite impressive for the style.

Pours a light straw colour with a midsized head. Yeasty and corny on the nose. The taste is pure Steam Whistle. If I closed my eyes and tasted this beer I’d know it was a Steam Whistle something. Good not exceptional, but still one of the better light lagers out there
May 7 2022