High River Brewing Co. Floating Barn Pale Ale (Batch 18-006) American Pale Ale at 4.5% ABV (C$12.00 at High River Brewing Co., 946 ml, packaged on 15-Sep-2018, acquired 15-Sep-2018, reviewed 16-Sep-2018)
Appearance: clear medium gold with one finger of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, grainy pale malt, citrus, pine, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry short slightly watery finish. (3/5)
First time for me with this brewer, another new local startup who were flogging their wares at the Millarville Farmer’s Market yesterday. A touch pricey, but that’s par for the course for that market, and I like to support the local guy, so I grabbed a couple of crowlers. (I got this Pale and their IPA. They have a Brown and a Stout as well, but I don’t care if it is freezing outside, I’m still pretending it’s summer. I’ll get those two if they’re at the market next time I go, probably for the xmas weekend in November.) No idea what the story is with the name – I assume some local thing, possibly in conjunction with the massive flood a few years back? Anyway, I like the fact that this is brewed with local malt, so there’s that in its favour. Unfortunately, it’s also very mild in aroma and flavour, malt dominant, and drops off relatively rapidly to a watery finish. There’s nothing offensive here, if that floats your boat (barn?) but it doesn’t so much mine. Solid (except for that watery finish) but fairly unremarkable. (14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
