Grand River Ploughman's ale

JesseM · Post by **JesseM** » Mon May 05, 2008 11:17 pm

I had a growler just this weekend, and enjoyed it very much. But I'm a little alarmed by something. I'm aware of the change from Cascade hops to Centennial, which as Rob said adds sort of a spicy coriander flavour to the Plowman's. I'm afraid that these spice flavours seem to over-power everything else, at least on my palate, and it changes the over-all dynamic of the beer. I really don't get much of the toasty caramalts I fell in love with

. I guess it's probably just my palate, but I'm afraid the Plowman's isn't as high on my personal list anymore. That being said, the Galt Knife seems better than ever to me, and it seems to have the same spiciness to it that it never had originally. I'll be happy to enjoy more and more of that in the near future!

Also, please tell me the High Baller Pumpkin Ale will be brewed this year? That stuff was amazing, second only to the Galt Knife in my own personal ranking system. I seem to go against the grain in that respect, my two favourite beers from GR are the two lowest rated on ratebeer. Go figure

.

Rob Creighton · Post by **Rob Creighton** » Tue May 06, 2008 7:35 am

Interesting dance with your taste buds Jesse!
The flavours you have identified as liking the most seem based on the Centennial as the Plowman's has been back to the original recipe for over a month now which has eliminated the spiciness from the mix. It's interesting that you don't like the cascade as much but you could use that as a reference point for future tasting.

To really disturb your taste buds, the Knife will be partially returning to its original recipe now that I have some Warrior in stock but I will be leaving some Centennial in the mix so fasten your beer tasting belt.

And, yes, the Highballer pumpkin will return in the fall. Before then, we will be releasing our summer Helles/Pils (you pick where it fits), a summer wheat ale when the berry crops come in and I'm hoping to slide a bock in there somewhere.

Cheers!

grub · Post by **grub** » Tue May 06, 2008 8:36 am

that helles/pils was delicious, wherever you decide to put it. looking forward to seeing that one popping up at the usual spots.

mill race mild on tap in my basement kicks ass! i have a feeling this will be a fairly regular one in my kegerator. thanks rob!

JesseM · Post by **JesseM** » Tue May 06, 2008 12:44 pm

Thanks a lot for the info Rob!

I guess it was the modified version which I loved so much. I'm pretty sure that growler I had was around Christmas time, when the recipe had been changed right? My mistake.

As far as the Galt Knife goes, I loved the older version a lot too, so I'm sure reverting back to it will be fine by my strange palate. And that's good news about the Highballer!

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Tue May 06, 2008 1:43 pm

With the plowman's, I think the hops are a little more forward in a FRESH growler. On draft, the quality malts seem to be more noticable.

On a related note, the anniversary ale at Volo was quite quaffable. It was originally listed as half mild, half pale, but I thought it seemed a little hoppier than either one typically does on draft. I suspect the cask was dry-hopped?

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Tue May 06, 2008 6:56 pm

Rob Creighton wrote:
To really disturb your taste buds, the Knife will be partially returning to its original recipe now that I have some Warrior in stock but I will be leaving some Centennial in the mix so fasten your beer tasting belt.

!

We are returning to a more mediaeval age of 'brewing with what you've got'.

I like this very much.

Rob Creighton · Post by **Rob Creighton** » Wed May 07, 2008 8:36 am

Derek wrote: I suspect the cask was dry-hopped?

Nope. Straight up.

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Thu May 08, 2008 9:03 pm

I've really preferred Plowman's recently (over the winter months) as compared to the original recipe - I'm getting a little confused but I think I mean the Centennial version is the one I like. I've also really liked the sour Red version at Volo - that is Centennial-based, I presume? Anyway, I agree that variations depending on what ingredients are at hand keep things interesting and are a positive.