Johnny Simcoe
Great Lakes Brewery
- From:
- Great Lakes Brewery
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- American Pale Ale
- ABV:
- 6.2%
- Score:
- 87
- Avg:
- 3.9 | pDev: 4.87%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 5
- Status:
- Inactive
- Rated:
- Jun 05, 2020
- Added:
- Mar 13, 2011
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 1
SCORE
87
Very Good
87
Very Good
No description / notes.
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Reviewed by biegaman from Canada (ON)
4.21/5 rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.21/5 rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Johnny Simcoe is both really bright and really pale, which comes as a bit of a surprise given that a chunk of yeast sediment the size of bread-roll sneaked out with the last couple ounces of the can. This certainly destroyed the clarity but failed to put a damper on either the dazzling colour or shine.
This pale ale smells just like a heaping bowl of freshly cut mangoes. It's also got notes of papaya, pink grapefruit, pineapple and just a general, overall citrusy feature to it. But the notion of mango nectar is incredibly lifelike - I'm surprised not to find chunks of puree floating in the glass.
If I was to market a brand of "iced beer" treats - something along the lines of frozen yogurt or slushies - Johnny Simcoe is a clear no-brainer. It rolls all kinds of sweet tropical fruity flavours into crisp bitterness, with a lively acidity to give it super refreshing powers. To be quite honest it already tastes remarkably like a combination of mango, lemon, and green tea sorbets as it is.
With so much overt hoppiness but a reasonable 6.2% alcohol and surprisingly low 30 IBU (I would have guessed it a little higher), Johnny Simcoe straddles that line between sociable pale ale and gratifying IPA and manages to hit close to the mark for both. It's probably a little too strong for sessioning and leaves some room for indulgence on the lupulin front but still could be subbed-in at either position.
When the sun finally managed to start peeking through the clouds as I made my way home from work after a busy, stressful Friday, this was exactly the juicy, hoppy, refreshing pale ale I was craving. Johnny Simcoe is very similar to Crazy Canuck but scratches the hop-itch with a little more intensity and effectiveness while still being every bit as approachable. Another solid GL offering.
Apr 24, 2015This pale ale smells just like a heaping bowl of freshly cut mangoes. It's also got notes of papaya, pink grapefruit, pineapple and just a general, overall citrusy feature to it. But the notion of mango nectar is incredibly lifelike - I'm surprised not to find chunks of puree floating in the glass.
If I was to market a brand of "iced beer" treats - something along the lines of frozen yogurt or slushies - Johnny Simcoe is a clear no-brainer. It rolls all kinds of sweet tropical fruity flavours into crisp bitterness, with a lively acidity to give it super refreshing powers. To be quite honest it already tastes remarkably like a combination of mango, lemon, and green tea sorbets as it is.
With so much overt hoppiness but a reasonable 6.2% alcohol and surprisingly low 30 IBU (I would have guessed it a little higher), Johnny Simcoe straddles that line between sociable pale ale and gratifying IPA and manages to hit close to the mark for both. It's probably a little too strong for sessioning and leaves some room for indulgence on the lupulin front but still could be subbed-in at either position.
When the sun finally managed to start peeking through the clouds as I made my way home from work after a busy, stressful Friday, this was exactly the juicy, hoppy, refreshing pale ale I was craving. Johnny Simcoe is very similar to Crazy Canuck but scratches the hop-itch with a little more intensity and effectiveness while still being every bit as approachable. Another solid GL offering.
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)
3.92/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.92/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Had this on-tap at Bryden's and then picked up a can at the brewery. Served in a taster pint glass.
A - White foam settles to a partial cap, thick collar, and a few specks of lace. Hazed golden body.
S - Loads of Simcoe hops! Zesty, with notes of lemon and tropical fruits, and a hint of cattiness in there. Malt bill is pretty understated.
T - The taste is quite similar, with a hefty dose of melon, and grapefruit rind over top of a sugar cookie malt bill. The taste is surprisingly bitter for an APA; a few too many early-boil hops for my tastes I guess.
M - Pleasant medium body, lower carbonation, and a dry, crisp, finish.
D - A nice hoppy Canadian ale. The pint I had on-tap at Bryden's was closer to an A-, but the can was unfortunately not quite up to the same level. Still, I'd drink this again if I ran across it in Toronto.
Jun 26, 2013A - White foam settles to a partial cap, thick collar, and a few specks of lace. Hazed golden body.
S - Loads of Simcoe hops! Zesty, with notes of lemon and tropical fruits, and a hint of cattiness in there. Malt bill is pretty understated.
T - The taste is quite similar, with a hefty dose of melon, and grapefruit rind over top of a sugar cookie malt bill. The taste is surprisingly bitter for an APA; a few too many early-boil hops for my tastes I guess.
M - Pleasant medium body, lower carbonation, and a dry, crisp, finish.
D - A nice hoppy Canadian ale. The pint I had on-tap at Bryden's was closer to an A-, but the can was unfortunately not quite up to the same level. Still, I'd drink this again if I ran across it in Toronto.
Reviewed by hopsolutely from Canada (ON)
3.93/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.93/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Although not enjoying this can as much as I have previous encounters on draught, still a brilliant APA that I hope to see more widely distributed.
Can pours a hazy golden colour that is fairly visually uninspiring, except for the white head that lasts an impressively long time. Mild aroma is hop-forward, Simcoe specifically, as expected - with a green, graininess. The taste profile has great hop depth, starting neutral with a bitterness that develops over the malt-backboned body to the finish. Resiny pine, citrus and "Simcoe". All I could (personally) ever hope for.
Thank-you, Great Lakes!
Jun 02, 2013Can pours a hazy golden colour that is fairly visually uninspiring, except for the white head that lasts an impressively long time. Mild aroma is hop-forward, Simcoe specifically, as expected - with a green, graininess. The taste profile has great hop depth, starting neutral with a bitterness that develops over the malt-backboned body to the finish. Resiny pine, citrus and "Simcoe". All I could (personally) ever hope for.
Thank-you, Great Lakes!
Reviewed by Yeoman9459 from Canada (ON)
3.78/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
3.78/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Johnny Simcoe
ABV = 5.2%
IBU = 45
Bottle purchased from the brewery a day after they put it in their store. Served in their 25th Anniversary glass.
Appearance - Yellow along the outside, orange inside. Sunset looking. No real head to speak of.
Smell - The best part of this beer, passionfruit bomb. Smells like it would be a great juice.
Taste - There isn't as much taste as there is smell unfortunately, little bit watery but its still quite good. Refreshing.
Mouthfeel - Not a ton of bitterness which adds to the refreshing taste with little to no carbonation.
Overall - Another good beer from Great Lakes, an interesting change because I'm used to their big IBU beers, where this one is much more refreshing and easy drinking. Great session beer.
Jul 29, 2012ABV = 5.2%
IBU = 45
Bottle purchased from the brewery a day after they put it in their store. Served in their 25th Anniversary glass.
Appearance - Yellow along the outside, orange inside. Sunset looking. No real head to speak of.
Smell - The best part of this beer, passionfruit bomb. Smells like it would be a great juice.
Taste - There isn't as much taste as there is smell unfortunately, little bit watery but its still quite good. Refreshing.
Mouthfeel - Not a ton of bitterness which adds to the refreshing taste with little to no carbonation.
Overall - Another good beer from Great Lakes, an interesting change because I'm used to their big IBU beers, where this one is much more refreshing and easy drinking. Great session beer.
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)
3.6/5 rDev -7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
3.6/5 rDev -7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
On cask at Bar Volo. Slight hop aroma, golden body with some cask-like bubbly head. It grows on me, a decent bitterness,from Simcoe I think. Some vegetable notes, yes celery sounds right. Decent cask, although nothing exceptional.Average mouthfeel, though a little oily.
Mar 13, 2011
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