The Pint Jockey Online: Beer # 369 Yuzu Pale Ale: Radical Road Brewing Company

Beer # 369 Yuzu Pale Ale

Brewery: Radical Road Brewing Company

Type: Brewpub/ Microbrewery Est.: 2013

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured Pale Ale

ABV: 5.0% IBU: 40

Format: Aluminium Can Size: 473 ml

Cost: $2.95 CAD Purchased At: LCBO

radical_road_brewing_co

@radicalroadbrew

Tonight we are heading down to Radical Road, a brewpub and brewery in Leslieville, near "The Beach" in Toronto (where I lived for a few years). The brewery is named after a road built around the now extinct volcano of Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh, Scotland by unemployed weavers as punishment for their involvement in the "Radical War" of 1820. The uprising was a national strike brought on by workers complaining about fair wages and working conditions. Eventually, the strike action was crushed, and the organisers were imprisoned or executed. King George the IV upon visiting Edinburgh later said the workers could build a road to occupy their time. Named Radical Road as a sort of tongue in cheek "honour" of the worker's strike, today it is a peaceful walking path through Holyrood Park.

Inspired by the idealism of the Radical road when he visited Edinburgh Founder Simon da Costa dreamt of building a microbrewery. In 2013 he realised his dream and named it Radical Road.

Yuzu

Tonight's beer is a pale ale, American style flavoured with the distinctive yuzu fruit from Japan. About the size of a tangerine, the small thick-skinned yellow fruit is like a cross between a lemon and a bitter orange. It is mainly used for flavouring, and sauces in it's native Southeast Asia. Let's try it out.

Pours a clear light gold colour with a short head made up of small white bubbles. Aroma is decidedly citrus with minglings of bitter orange and lemon and a slight hint of green hoppiness. First sip is quite sour, with hints of orange zest and lemon pith. Fruity zesty hops are present but not stand-outish. The pale ale style is barely discernible, drinks more like a shandy than a straight-up beer. Aeration gives up hints of clove in with the orange peel.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 4/6 PASS

Re-Order: 4/6 PASS
Experience: 4/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

Not outstanding. Bitterness overwhelms, the pale ale notes are too muted, and it needs a sweetness to balance it. Hops are there but way too far in the background to allow me to think this is a pale ale. If I were told this was a shandy, I would believe it, as it tastes like unsweetened lemonade in an average beer. Not bad, I still was able to enjoy it but it doesn't live up to its description. Try it out yourself and see.

Cheers

CJT

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