Hockley Valley Amber

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Available only in cans, no draught anywhere. A clear rust coloured pour, with an off-white foamy head. The aroma is dominated by notes or caramel, hops, weak cereal grains, and a hint of yeast. The flavour was completely devoid of any hoppy notes, just caramel sweetness and yeast. Maybe only in cans is a good thing…easier to avoid!

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

473ml can
4.2% ABV
King/Spadina LCBO Outlet (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
August 1, 2012
3-pack of Hockley
The beer poured a translucent copper colour with a thin light tan head that quickly disappeared. The aroma was caramel malt, grains, and some earthy hops. The mouthfeel was medium bodied with mild carbonation. The flavour was primarily caramel with a definite veggy feel in the back. Not a lot of bitterness in the finish.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Can : Clear reddish copper ale with a decent 3 finger cap. Malty-caramel dominates aroma with some fruitiness and grassy hop tones in the background. Sturdy mouth feel, good malt backbone. Tate profile has the big chewy bite of cara-malts in front, almost gets sweet but there is sufficient hopping to balance. Finish lingers and gets more bitter with a clean hoppy bite at then end. All in all a very decent and servicable amber - and very drinkable. I’ll buy more.

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

Single can and new, from the LCBO. Pours a deep amber colour with an off-white cap that leaves decent lacing. Sweet caramel malt nose with hints of butterscotch and light hop. Smooth, slightly creamy, mouthfeel. The taste is quite mild, with the caramel and grain. Very light bitterness in the finish from the hop and a little roasted malt in the aftertaste. Not a fan of ambers, but this one is actually quite nice, especially for a lighter 4.2% ABV one. Goes down well for summer... even room temperature.