Publican Square Nail Pale

schomberger · Post by **schomberger** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 9:21 am

Let me preface by saying I knew nothing of this beer until yesterday. It was labelled on the can as "West Coast Style', so I decided to give it a try.

Poured in a OCB pint glass, an inch thick head developed. Aroma was surprising muted as I was expecting pungent layers of citrusy hop. Taste immediately struck me as malt forward with some sweetness (perhaps honeyish?)---not really what I was expecting. Some citrusy hop flavours evident but seem buried. Firm hop bitterness on the back end. Overall, seems to remind me of a Junction Craft Ale more than say, a Naughty Neighbour or Rhyme Reason. I thought it was decent all in all, but I would say that NN and RR are light years better if APA is what you want.

S. St. Jeb · Post by **S. St. Jeb** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 3:11 pm

I had this over a year ago and quite liked it for what it was, but I agree that "West Coast Style" is misleading.

Gedge · Post by **Gedge** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 5:59 pm

This one was a disappointment. I remember liking it on draft but the canned version was pretty meh.

liamt07 · Post by **liamt07** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 6:29 pm

S. St. Jeb wrote:I had this over a year ago and quite liked it for what it was, but I agree that "West Coast Style" is misleading.

More of a flat out lie.

schomberger · Post by **schomberger** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 7:09 pm

^Which makes me wonder, why call it that??? Calling it West Coast style doesn't make any difference to those who aren't familiar with the style and just invites criticism from those that are.

icemachine · Post by **icemachine** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 11:07 pm

Haven't tried the current batch, in fact it's been a few years since I grabbed a growler, but when they came out with it, it was an assertively hopped APA. Publican's main competition in the Peterborough market with that beer was Church Key West Coast so the branding made sense from that standpoint as well

liamt07 · Post by **liamt07** » Sun Mar 23, 2014 12:00 am

icemachine wrote:Haven't tried the current batch, in fact it's been a few years since I grabbed a growler, but when they came out with it, it was an assertively hopped APA. Publican's main competition in the Peterborough market with that beer was Church Key West Coast so the branding made sense from that standpoint as well

Church Key West Coast doesn't even begin to approximate "west coast" anything either.

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Sun Mar 23, 2014 2:58 pm

Interesting - I'll have to give this batch a try, too...I used to grab cans frequently from the brewery a couple years ago, and thought it rivalled Crazy Canuck back then. hmm....