Rocky Mountain Genuine Lager
Fernie Brewing Company
Fernie, British Columbia, Canada
Independent
Lager 5.0 % ABV Aluminum Can 355 ml.
$1.85 (Canadian) At BC Liquor Stores (12 pack for $22.25)
Twitter: @ferniebrewingco
Well I'm back and breaking the silence with a four-parter for you. This summer I had the fortune to acquire four beers from a brewery that I had only read about and was quite excited to try. They are from B.C. and yes they were brought "illegally" into the province . It astounds me that in this day and age there is still laws on the books that prevent the movement of alcohol across provincial borders. Granted, the only time I have heard of the law being enforced was when certain bar owners were purchasing beer in one province and carting it over to another to avoid taxes. This summer we saw laws governing the sale of wine across inter-provincial borders struck down so isn't it about time we do the same for our beers? Our craft brewers need our help! Write your MP. (for a great story on the topic read the Cranky Beer Blogger's post on the topic here) #freemyhops.
Onto Fernie!
Fernie B.C is a small city of about 5,000 people in the South-eastern tip of the province.
Home to one of Canada's largest ski resorts and the only city in Canada fully surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, Fernie also plays host to a hockey team with the coolest name ever: The Fernie Ghostriders. Fernie is also home to The Fernie Brewing Company. Opened in 2003, the small brewery has grown so fast in it's 9 years that it has already had to build larger facilities. They also added a bottling line in 2010 to start producing bottle in the new micro-brew norm size of 650 ml.
Here is the first of four:
Clear gold with a thin white head, with medium sized bubbles. Citrus, metallic, and herbal hops with a touch of roasted malt. Slightly sour citrus and malty. A typical American lager. Not a lot of flavour but certainly more that the major labels. Aftertaste is metallic and caramel malt.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order: 4/6 PASS
Experience: 5/6 PASS
Final Thoughts:
Crisp and clean, yet suffers greatly from being put in a can. I would prefer to drink this on tap in a pub a mile or so away from the brewery, I feel it would taste much better. Lagers have really taken a hit lately, everyone is trying to water them down and make them like the majors: Blue, Bud, Coors, almost flavourless, and... if I may say it... unoffensive. Which is just wrong on so many levels. A good flavourful lager is a wonderful thing. At least this beer shows some backbone, a hit of flavour. I would look forward to trying this again if it comes to Ontario in a bottle or if I take a trip through the Crow's Nest Pass, and visit Fernie... and maybe take in a Ghostriders game.
Cheers
CJT
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