Waterloo Brewing Amber

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Single 473ml can at the LCBO from Brick's "Seasonal Collection". Pours a clear golden-amber colour with a decent big tanned cap that has good retention and offers foamy lacing. Grainy aromas of mild roasted and caramel hops, alcohol with very light fruits and hops. Very smooth silky mouthfeel, but not much stick in the end. Soft sweet malt start with the hop kicking a bit after the middle and notes of rusty water appears in the finish. Gets better as you drink more. Interesting coming from Brick's under their Waterloo name, but still not a top Oktoberfest.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

October 17, 2011
LCBO Outlet #255 (Milton, Ontario, Canada – Main / Bronte) 473ml can
6.8% ABV
$2.50
The beer poured a translucent scarlet red colour with a thin brown head. Aroma is metal, some citrus, some caramal, and dark fruits. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. The flavour is molasses, caramel and noticeably alcohol.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

473ml can: very fresh sample from the brewery store. Pours a shimmering reddish orange lager in the stein with an ample puffy meringue white cap. Cap lasts and laces the glass walls. Moderately carbonated. Aroma is bready-caramel with some spicy and earthy tones, some oak and a wisp of smoke….great nose to this when it’s fresh. Medium full bodied, fairly well balanced. Flavor profile has a big chew of bready caramel malt in the very front then a nice mix of noble hopping balances with an earthy-herbal-woody tone, mid palate a mild complexity forms with the spicy-smoky whiskey rye malts complimenting the spicy Hallertaus. As this light malty-spicy complexity fades you get a long drying finish with a dry herbal hoppy tang at the end. I feel it’s kind of a stretch listing this as a Marzen but it is a rich amber lager with many Marzen traits plus a few unique twists. I don’t know if this saw barreling or just had oak chips pitched in the conditioning tanks but you do get a subtle oak discernment in aroma and flavor. The Rye and Whiskey malts impart a modest spicy-smoky flavor, the cara- malts a light sweetness and the ample noble hops balance it well. This is a rich satisfying (6.8%) amber lager in a quasi marzen style with enough uniqueness to keep it interesting after quaffing a couple. Certainly the best thing this brewer has made in a long time. I’m willing to rank this Amber on par with their now defunct anniversary Bock.