Wellington headstrong APA now in bottles

[pootz]

Bought a half dozen Wellington county brwed Headstrong at the LCBO today. Glad to see they are putting good ale in a 650ml bomber again.... the package was just made for premium craft ales.

The bottled product is good ...just a tad fizzy until you let it set for a while then it comes into approximation with draft HS.

I like the malt spine and color of this ale and the bittering without being palate shocking is just right. A nice APA on par with Liberty.

I'll buy it and always have a bomber in the fridge...hop they keep the contract...I have to say this is the only ale they make I really like well enough to drink all the time...other than their Imperial stout.

[DougShoemaker]

pootz,

Headstrong is actually an English Pale Ale.


Cheers, Doug

[Jon Walker]

Actually I kinda think it's both. While it has primarily Goldings as the bittering hop it also has some Cascades in the mix, added for their aroma more than anything.

[borderline_alcoholic]

I think that regardless of variety of hop, you are crazy if you think Headstrong is an English pale ale. It is absolutely American in style (if not 100% in ingredients).

And I for one would be very happy if someone chose to make a Canadian beer in the style of an English golden ale. I will not be holding my breath, however.

[borderline_alcoholic]

And a quick heads-up in case anyone missed my post in the cask F&M Dark thread, the Headstrong is currently available in its cask conditioned form in at Volo.

[Steve Beaumont]

I must disagree about the characterization of Headstrong as American in style. The malt profile is classically British -- rich, robust and 100% floor-malted Marris Otter to boot! Bittering hops are all Brit. About the only American quality is the Cascades in the dry-hopping.

[borderline_alcoholic]

I disagree completely. Whilst I am aware that the common consensus is that the Country of a style is determined primarily by the origin of a beer’s ingredients. I tend to disagree and think that such a determinant is a gross over-simplification. I think that there is a far more obvious difference in the typical overall flavour profile of English vs American Pale Ales. English Pale Ales tend to concentrate far more of their flavours in the body and finish, whereas US beers do not play about with subtlety quite so much and put the emphasis very firmly on the initial up front flavour.

While Headstrong Pale Ale is a relatively delicately flavoured ale, its emphasis is very much on the initial up front hop flavour, which firmly places it in the American Pale Ale category for me. It is robustly malted, but so are a number of other American Pale Ales. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has a nice robust malt balance to it as well, and I think that such a consideration is secondary to where the emphasis on flavour appears when drinking the beer. The robustness of the malting is of more use in determining whether the beer is any good or not.

Certainly as an end consumer, it is far easier for me to fit Headstrong Pale Ale in with North American style beers than their English counterparts in terms of overall taste profiling. As you get more specific throughout analysing the tastes within each component of the beer, there are certainly English hop and malt characteristics, but that to me simply makes it an American-style pale ale with English ingredients, which is very different from an English style ale.

[Steve Beaumont]

I'd be the last one to suggest that the country of origin of a beer's hops and malt should necessarily dictate its style, but in the case of Headstrong, I believe that there's a point to be made. It's the robust maltiness generated by the use of large amounts of Marris Otter that I think gives this beer its British profile, slightly reminiscent of Black Sheep's Riggwelter, in that regard.

True, the Cascades used in the dry-hopping give a distinct American edge to this ale, but to my mind that serves only to make it a hybrid, rather than a full-on APA.

Mind you, I also believe that far too much stock is put in beer style definitions. Who cares if it's American or British, it's good!

[Josh Oakes]

While we're getting all style police, don't forget the yeast. This is crucial - APAs are characterized amongst the other qualities being debated here by the cleanliness of the yeast. Headstrong uses a British yeast and that is very up-front. Those toasty, earthy notes aren't just from the hops.

As for English golden, Dogsbody delivered that one pretty well last year. Didn't get it on my brief visit the other week.

[borderline_alcoholic]

I'd be the last one to suggest that the country of origin of a beer's hops and malt should necessarily dictate its style, but in the case of Headstrong, I believe that there's a point to be made. It's the robust maltiness generated by the use of large amounts of Marris Otter that I think gives this beer its British profile, slightly reminiscent of Black Sheep's Riggwelter, in that regard.

True, the Cascades used in the dry-hopping give a distinct American edge to this ale, but to my mind that serves only to make it a hybrid, rather than a full-on APA.

Mind you, I also believe that far too much stock is put in beer style definitions. Who cares if it's American or British, it's good!

I would agree with not worrying too much about style per se and just enjoying beers for what they are. However in this instance a beer such as Headstong would be hugely incongruous if served in a pub in England, which is why I really do not think it is in any way shape or form an English pale ale, although I do concede that it uses English ingredients. Whereas to me it is not dissimilar in flavour profile from American pale ales I have had.

I also do not think that the cascade hopping is especially relevant to this. The cascades do not seem dominant in the flavour of this beer; it is certainly goldings hops which I detect mostly (although the cascades are obviously present too). Even if cascade hops were not present at all and the beer still fit the profile described in my previous post, which I suspect it would, I would still assert that this is an American style ale and not an English one.

The type of malting is also a secondary concern to the overall flavour profile for me, and I do agree with you about the Marris Otter, which I enjoyed very much when drinking it, but I do not see its inclusion as making this beer English in style, merely lending it a welcome level of robustness and balance, which is sometimes lacking in some examples of American Pale Ale which I have tried (but by no means all).

[borderline_alcoholic]

While we're getting all style police

It is a worrying day when a man who has written about the "Modern Swedish Lager Style" indicates that you may be going a bit far in discussing styles.

As for English golden, Dogsbody delivered that one pretty well last year. Didn't get it on my brief visit the other week.

I think that was very much what it said on the tin, a boy's bitter. Not the same as an English golden ale in the current sense.

[Jon Walker]

One,two,three,four I declare a thumb war.

Who cares? It's a hybrid so why the desperate need to slap a nationality on it? Let it be reviewed on its merits (or lack for those who don't like it) and if it needs to be categorized then let the makers of Headstrong do it themselves.

[borderline_alcoholic]

One,two,three,four I declare a thumb war.

Who cares? It's a hybrid so why the desperate need to slap a nationality on it? Let it be reviewed on its merits (or lack for those who don't like it) and if it needs to be categorized then let the makers of Headstrong do it themselves.

Simply because I do not believe that it is a hybrid. Do you believe that there are no American Pale Ales which use British ingredients? Or that there are no English Pale Ales which use American ingredients? This is a purely American style beer.

I would also point out that this is a beer discussion forum, so what precisely do you have against members of this forum discussing what style a new beer (or an old one - depending upon how you look at it) being made within Ontario is?

Further, if a discussion is of no interest to you, might I suggest that you simply do not read it?

[Jon Walker]

B.A. you're becoming pedantic and more than a little tiring. Okay, it's an American Pale Ale, you WIN...hell, call it a Venezuelan Porter for all I care. I disagree with you (as do others) and THAT is what a forum is about. If you expect us to all fall in line with your divine beer wisdom then give your head a shake.

[lister]

I had a sample of Headstrong at the Summerhill LCBO on Saturday. I think that's the final nail in the coffin for me trying IPA's. I just can't take that style of beer.