Looking for the original Bar Towel blog? You can find it at www.thebartowel.com.
We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.
Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
markaberrant wrote:You guys must be really hard up in Ontario, or this must be the best pale ale in the world if you are willing to overlook diacetyl.
Ehhh, there are some ok pale ales. This Canuck one seems to be hit and miss. Lots of butter some of the time. I had on last night that was great, but my first one was ass.
That said, some of the guys on this board would still be here complaining if stone opened a brewpub in their basement, cause well.....that is what hey do. This is whine towel after all.
If you`re reading this, there`s a 15% chance you`ve got a significant drinking problem. Get it fixed, get recovered!
My house-mates and I cleaned out the uptown Waterloo LCBO tonight (there were fives bottles, to be split between the three of us). I definitely enjoyed this. The butter taste was evident, but not overpowering, and it made a nice accompaniment to our pizza dinner.
Happy to see a hoppy Ontario pale ale on LCBO shelves.
I had a couple bottles last night at the project X last night and I didn't detect any of the butter overtones that people are expressing. I picked up 4 more bottles this evening and I can't wait to crack them open. I loved the hoppiness of it, not overpowering like a Southern Tier IPA (which I love by the way), but a nice well balanced ale.
For the people that have had this both on tap and in bottle, was there butter flavour in both of them? I've only had it on tap and didn't notice the butter at all.
kwjd wrote:For the people that have had this both on tap and in bottle, was there butter flavour in both of them? I've only had it on tap and didn't notice the butter at all.
The couple times I've had it on tap (both at C'est What) I didn't get any butter at all. I've had 4 bottles now and each one has a definite diacetyl (butter) presence. Not overpowering, but certainly there. Too bad. The tap version is much preferred.
Gedge wrote:I had a bottle last night (first thing I drank, so my palate was clean and unfatigued). Did not pick up any diacetyl - thought it was pretty decent.
I've had that experience but have also had the butter bomb. It is really hit and miss.
If you`re reading this, there`s a 15% chance you`ve got a significant drinking problem. Get it fixed, get recovered!
I think there's perhaps more diacetyl in some than others? I cracked my second bottle today, and while you can really pick it up in the nose, its only a faint hint in the flavour. Too bad that there seems to be issues with this one, because I've found the two bottles I've had to be fairly pleasant.
Before I go on we should be reminded that small amounts of diacetyl are normal in most ales, it's a yeast by-product that becomes more pronounced dependent on primary fermenting temps and times.
That said, I had the same experience as Matt. I couldn't finish it. The diacetyl is pronounced in this brew and gets worse as it warms. It's a shame too because notwithstanding the too buttery aroma/tastes, this pale had everything going for it that I look for in a sessioner. I really wanted to like this beer and buy lots of it, but sorry, 5 loonies for beer with diacetyl is just asking too much from loyal craft beer advocates. Ho,me brewers know Diacetyl is a sign of too short primary fermenting time or poor wort aeration or some times poor yeast attenuation. I hope they straighten out and get a decent batch out I can taste.
I'm doubly POed because this is the second time this brewery has done this to me. I was really looking forward to their green tea ale (hops and green tea have a natural bittering affinity) but when I got a few bottles home and sat down to rate and session it there was our old friend the buttery nose and slick palate to foul up the expectations. More 5 looney beers I poured....like these Canucks.
I'll try both of these ales again because I respect this brewer's past quality and I think these ales have good potential as flavourful quenchers but I'll only buy one to try before I commit 30 bucks to a sink pour.
ritzkiss wrote:Tons of butter in mine, couldn't finish it. Brutal.
Seriously, how does something as poor and inconsistent as this make it out of the brewery and into the LCBO?
The first part of your question is more important. I don't think anyone at the LCBO actually tastes the product. ( I might be wrong).
I agree, it starts at home and I'm a little disappointed the brewery would release this knowing (I assume) that it has issues. GL has made some nice moves with their Project X but this release is a major disappointment. I really wanted to like it and ended up pouring it out.
