Plowman's Ale
Grand River Brewery
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Amber Ale 4.7 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.
$3.75 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Twitter: @GrandRiverBeer
This is my second beer from Grand River Brewing in the first was their Tailgate Pilsner and I wasn't a big fan. But I was excited to try this one from them and I wasn't disappointed.
Onto the tasting...
Pours a medium amber colour with an off tan head made of small bubbles. Aroma is light fresh and malty, with hints of leather and fresh grain. The beer opens up with a good malt profile and a good hit of bittering hops to balance it out. Drinks like an export ale but not as sweet. There is a mild fruitiness beneath the malt. Very hardy and drinkable, lives up to the term liquid bread, for the beer is slightly filling and tastes like a meal. Aeration gives a slight spice and some more of the bitter hops.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order: 5/6 PASS
Experience: 5/6 PASS
Final Thoughts:
Very good indeed. I know I had issues with the maltiness in their Tailgate Pilsner, but here, they got it just right. Perhaps they are best suited to making ales because this beer I enjoyed very much.
Cheers
CJT
Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
Tailgate
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Pilsner 4.5 % ABV Brown Glass bottle 500 ml
$3.50 (Canadian) At LCBO
Twitter: @grandriverbeer
There is not a lot of information about Grand River Brewing on the web, and they haven't been on my radar long enough for me to know a lot about them. They are from Cambridge and they are situated in an historic 100+ year old Victorian factory. that was home to the Galt Knife Company. (Galt Knife is the name of one of their beers too!) Galt was actually the original name of Cambridge It was changed in the Second World War during sweeping anti-German sentiment. (The city next door Kitchener... used to be called Berlin). Interesting side note is that Galt's hockey club played for the Stanley Cup (pre-NHL era). On January 5th and 7th 1910 the Galt Hockey Club Challenged the Ottawa Hockey club for the Stanley Cup and lost.
Enough history... onto the tasting.
Clear gold in colour with a thin white head that disperses almost instantly leaving a soap suds slick across the top of the beer. Nose is very grain forward, almost skunky when I first sniffed it. slight hints of ammonia and wet grain. The wet grain and ammonia carry over into the taste. grain is way to strong. what little citrus I can sense is stomped all over by the malt. Finish is sour. Body is very thin, and lacking in character. Aeration brings more grain forward, and a touch of citrus, aftertaste is thin and watery.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 2/6 SO-SO
Re-Order: 0/6 FAIL
Experience: 3/6 SO-SO
Final Thoughts:
Well I didn't know what to expect with this beer and it really threw me for a loop. when I first got my nose over it I thought it had gone skunky. but the "brewed on" date said June 2014. Something just never sat right with this beer. There is the bones of a pilsner in there, but they are hidden. There is too much malt, it overwhelms. A pilsner is and easy drinking crisp clean beer, it should not be weighed down with a ton of malt. I have had, however, some malty pilsners that were good... this was not one of them. Very disappointing indeed. I don't often say this, but this is probably one of those beers you can avoid.
Cheers
CJT
Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
