Sgt. Major India Pale Ale
Scotch Irish Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

12oz Bottle – Thanks Swedes21

Appearance - Clear orange/copper colour with a fairly large size frothy beige coloured head. There is an average amount of carbonation, and there is some faint lacing on the sides of the glass. The head lasted for only 2 minutes before it began to dissipate.

Smell - Malts, caramel, hops, hay/straw

Taste & Mouth - There is an average amount of carbonation and the most noticeable flavours are malts, caramel, and grains. There is a little bit of a hop presence and also a metallic taste. Only at the very end could I taste a little bit of a grapefruit zest flavour. There is a malty aftertaste with only a little bit of a hop/grapefruit bitterness.

Overall – I’ll admit that the beer seemed to get a little bit better as it got warmer, but something still just wasn’t quite right. It’s sad that this is one of the few choices of IPA’s available at the lcbo. I wouldn’t drink this beer again.

Appearance - very clear coper in colour, some good carbonation, head is about 2 fingers then sticks around. off-white with some nice lacing occurring.

Smell - hops, caramel and slight earthy tones, very good smelling beer.

Taste - found this to be very disappointing, actually think i'm drinking it from a plastic bottle. there is a slight flavour of hops, but min caramel and other earthy tones. there is almost a plastic taste to this beer.

Mouthfeel - little added carbonation brings the hops out, no bitterness or lingering taste.

Overall - little upset i cracked a 6 pack open at the lcbo to get this single beer, not worth the risk! overall the smell and app are nice, but then the wheels came off.

Single squat bottle from the LCBO. Poured into a nonic pint glass.

Amber-golden in colour, slightly murky. Thin, creamy head that holds well and creates some nice bubbly lacing patterns. Looks pretty good to me.

The nose is surprisingly mild - mostly caramel, pale malt, chocolate, with only the faintest use of aromatic hops.

Not to worry - the hop character is all here in the taste. Hops abound with notes of citrus, tropical fruit and pale malt sweetness to open things, with earthy and grassy tones to close things off. A mish-mash of bitter and sweet, citrus and earth. A bit frazzled, but it still works.

Medium bodied, good crisp carbonation that doesn't feel overbearing. Slight creamy texture.

Would I drink this again? Probably, considering the dearth of IPAs in the LCBO. It's a bit harsh, and I think the brew needed some more aromatic hops and a bit more balance, but nevertheless I still enjoyed it. When I first had this brew years back (before I truly began to explore craft brews), my friends and I thought Sgt. Major was a foul, evil piece of work; now I consider it to be a serviceable IPA, well worth sampling. Tastes like something an officer of the 19th century would have consumed, which I imagine was the goal in mind. Good work from Scotch.

A: Pours a clear, coppery orange with a generous, dense tan head. Slowly dissipates to a layer of foam with a fair amount of lacing.

S: Sweet, slightly roasted malts dominated by herbal, fruity hops with a bit of a spicy edge.

T: Somewhat bready caramel malts, but the hops dominate the flavour profile. They come on with a somewhat vegetal bitterness that gives way to grassy, floral overtones and a prominent, tart citrus taste (grapefruit, particularly - I suspect Cascade hops).

M: Smooth, light carbonation, a somewhat light body, and a clean finish with long-lasting citric bitterness. Feels a bit cask-like altogether.

D: The flavour profile is definitely off-balance as a lot of others have noted, but it's still a decent IPA and sessionable (if on the heavy end of the ABV).

A - Pours a copper body with minimal carbonation and one finger of off white head that fades to a cap. Bright.

S - Juicy hops, mild biscuity aromas, and some pinesol.

T - Hops dominate with that pinesol/pine taste. Could use more balance with that biscuity character that came through in the aroma but this is nice.

M - Sort of thin. Body is too light and not enough carbonation.

D - Slightly more balance would make this better and it could use more body but otherwise tasty.

Pours a copper colour with orange highlights. It yields a creamy off-white head of moderate size that leaves a good amount of lacing.

More malt and less hop than expected in the nose... largely a bready malt aroma with bits of grassy hops and grain

The taste is once again of the bready malt with hints of caramel, along with decent grassy and citric flavours from the hops. Overall, the flavour profile was pleasant but the level of hoppiness was underwhelming.

Medium-bodied, slightly creamy mouthfeel. Goes down almost too easy; is so well-balanced there is no lingering bitterness as I expected. While not as hoppy as I first expected, would occasionally reach for this as a session ale.

Served on tap @ Kingston Brewery.

A: Served a copper color with a decent head that fades quickly to lacing.

S: Clean aroma with a citrus overtone.

T: Citrus with a sweetness & bitterness mixture.

F: Medium body that is smooth. Hits the spot.

D: Good brew well worth a try.

On tap at Volo. Pours a copper-orange colour with a nice white head. Smell has floral hops, but it's a bit muted. Flavour is also not huge, but still pleasant bitterness and floral hops. It doesn't seem to have a lot of malt balance, which seems a bit weird in an IPA that isn't anywhere close to a hop bomb.

Had on cask at Bar Volo as part of IPA cask challenge. Served as a half-pint in a tulip glass.

Pours a really nice hazy yellow & light orange with a nice head and light lacing. The aroma had a bit of bready malt and a slight whiff of what seemed to be a C hop, but was stunningly light. This was a premonition of the body of the beer that was thin, not terribly bitter and lacking utterly in hop flavours. No discernible malt could be tasted either. The cask nature allowed for an enjoyable sip, even with the rather thin beer.

Served from a 341 ml stubby into a snifter. Production date of june 10. I guess?

A- pours a nice clear copper red with very minimal head to speak of.

S- Aromas of grain and malt with a hint of floral hops and citrus.

T- Malty sweetness, caramel, slightly herbal, hops in the finish are grassy and somewhat citrussy but subdued.

M- mouthfeel is smooth and medium bodied. Carbonation is ok.

D- Drinkable.

Overall not a bad beer but just a little bland.

341ml bottle from a six pack purchased at the Cooper Street LCBO in Toronto, ON. Pours a slightly hazed amber/bronze with a thin ring of white head and strings of lacing on the pint glass. Smell and taste are toffee, caramel, doughy bread, a bit nutty, floral, maybe some perfume, sweet pale malts, and a huge grapefruit hop bitterness to end. I also get a tiny trace of buttery diacetyl. IBUs are in your face, especially for a beer of this weight (5.5%). Mouthfeel is light side of medium, a little juicy, almost cask-like, bitter and citric. Drinks like an excellent pale ale, rather than an IPA. Not amazing, but still flavourful and quaffable. I personally enjoy it. More goodness from Scotch Irish.

Purchased directly from the brewery on a recent trip to Ottawa.

Enjoyed last Friday night with my supper, ribs!

Poured from a 341ml. bottle. Label has no months, days and years to notch, different from the Corporal.

Appearance: Pours an orange honey-like body, rather clear with a creamy head that's barely 2 fingers though it does hold strong.

Smell: Biscuity with a dose of hops though not as strong as i would have liked. Smells a little chemical but not much. A little weird.

Taste: A bold hops taste right off the bat, a bit vegetal though not entirely unpleasing. Bitterness lasts quite a bit of time on my tongue. I was on the fence at first as i thought the hops tasted a bit weird but i really liked how it was present and it grew on me. It was good.

Mouthfeel: Remarkably clean. One thing i didn't like though was that it was kind of unbalanced. It was like the hops and malt were entirely separate entities. No segue or anything between initial hops and subsequent malt character. Didn't mesh at all. It wasn't unpleasant but certainly demonstrated a flaw IMO.

Drinkability: I'd have to say yes. Not a regular purchase maybe but i'm open to try it again for sure.

Overall: Worth seeking. Though it's not the best example of the style, it was rather good.

Poured into tall Pint Glass...

A-Pours a nice golden reddish colour with a long lasting head.

s-Hoppy spicey and very prevalent hoppiness.

t-hoppy...reminiscent of an american IPA. Very slight malt flavor....bitter finish.

m-def in keeping with the 5.5% abv.

d-good drinkability but I imagine the bitterness may wear on you after 5-6 beers.

On the whole very happy to see a hoppy Canadian IPA that is actually within geographical reach. I will buy this again and again as long as it's available...my only beef is that it's not in the Beerstore where I can get it in more than 6 packs.

Pours a dark golden yellow with a small white head and no real lacing on the glass

The nose is citrus and grapefruit. My guess would be cascade hops are used to some extent.

The flavour is bitter and hoppy but there really is not enough sweetness in the malt to balance out this degree of bitterness. Either that or the hops are not being added late enough in the boil. Still a very good beer, and spicey and dry

The mouthfeel seems a little thin, but the carbonation is perfect and sharp.

Good overall beer and recommended. I'd like to see more Canadian micros making hopped up beers like this one.

Appearance - a good caramel / burnt orange color, much like Sierra Nevada. A good foamy head gets cratery as it falls, leaving chunks of lace behind.

Aroma - a soft citrusy scent with a light malt backing. Fades a bit on setup but is still pleasant.

Taste - a good opening pull reveals some biscuity, slightly buttery malts. This is covered fairly quickly by a rush of alpha bitterness. Some hints of grapefruit pith but mostly pure hops here. Pushes into medicinals a little too much for my tastes. Ends dry with intense bitterness lingering.

Mouthfeel - medium body, nicely crisp.

Drinkability - a little too ratcheted up hop-wise, but I knocked the good Sgt. major back with minimal resistance. I think it could use more citrus/floral presence or a bigger malt statement to balance out the raw bitterness. Thanks to Viggo for bringing me a bottle of this at DLD 09!

Re-drink on cask: Just tapped an hour ago and when this beer is fresh and on it's game it's a nice IPA, juicy hops, nice pillowy carb out of the cask - just make sure you get it fresh on the right day!

Edit: Again on cask at Volo. Odd vegetable notes, an "off" bitterness, one of the worst on cask that day. Inconsistent?

On cask at Volo. Pours a nice hazy, dark golden - almost looks Belgian. Thin head that doesn't stick around.

Nose is bready, hints of citrus hops, sweet caramel malts.

Taste is smooth and a good representation of the more malted English style of IPA; can't say it really reminds me of an American IPA. Lemons and oranges, caramel malts bold throughout, slight bittering finish. Smooth smooth carbonation, easy drinking.