Trolley No. 5 Brewpub Lil’ Haze – Session IPA at 3.9% ABV (C$3.95 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 10-Jun-2021, reviewed 19-Jun-2021)
Appearance: hazy straw with two fingers of loose off-white head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: oily lemon zest, gritty cereal grains, resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: light body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry short duration lightly astringent finish. (4/5)
Similar in a lot of ways to their very excellent Uptown Haze, which at the time felt like an anomaly to me based upon my prior (limited) experience with this brewer. This isn’t quite as good, but has a lot of the same aromatics going on, albeit on a much lighter, almost watery body. In my scoring, I try not to penalize a SIPA for being light, but ultimately although this is quite good in both aroma and taste, it just doesn’t have the same oomph as its heavier brother. It’s close, and it’s pretty good for what it is, but at the end of the day it’s just a little bit too much what it is, for me to score it higher. On the other hand, to be at roughly 90% of the performance at less than half (!) the ABV is no mean feat at all, and this is definitely one you could literally drink all day long. (15/20)
7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze
