Big Rock Brewery Harvest Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5% ABV (C$6.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)
Appearance: clear pale amber, one fingers of rocky ivory head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: biscuity pale malt, caramel, honey, grassy hops. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering and building bitter finish. (3/5)
Initially I was going to castigate this for not being very representative of the APA style – and it’s not. In fact, at first it smells and tastes very much like any number of their standard offering, particularly their Honey Brown. However, the hop bitter, which seems so unassuming at the front end, gradually builds in the finish, becoming almost interesting. Still a fairly uninspired offering, however – the over-filtered bright colour sort of tells the whole story: pretty, but insubstantial. (12/20)
6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
