Hop City Happy Hour

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

Pours a huge foamy bubbly white head. Has a pale golden appearance. Nice dirty lacing. Floral and citrus hops with a bit of a grainy malt aroma. Flavours are mostly of the citrus and floral hop variety. Good balance with malts but I think hops are more dominant, mainly cascade hops. The caramel sweetness is barely noticeable but not completely absent. Some bitterness on the palate but not too offensive. Pretty good tasting. Has a tingling and slightly creamy mouthfeel. Pretty smooth and easy going down. Almost like some soapiness to it, hard to explain that one. :p Not too bad, average.

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

Single can from the LCBO, under "Big Mouth Pale Ale". Pours a slightly hazy golden colour with a huge white frothy head that stays very, very long and gives out lots of lace. Floral hop nose with some fruit notes (orange, citrus). Mildly creamy mouthfeel because of the big head. Very light hop in the taste, but it is there. Grain malt finish, with what seems like a little roasted-burnt malt lingering in the background. Again, hints of fruits. Not a bad Pale Ale that is easy to drink, but no where near real ones.

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

550ml draught
5.0% ABV
I tried this beer on draught on July 8, 2011 at 'C'est What' in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The beer poured a clear golden-red with a white creamy head. The aroma was caramel hops, weak fruits, and citrusy hops. The mouthfeel was medium bodied with medium carbonation. The flavour was grass, some funky sweetness, and a citrusy finish.

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

On tap and bottle sample: Pours a clear burnished gold with a 1 finger white cap...moderate retention and lacing. Aroma profile: Sweet, lightly fruity, citrus and floral hop notes are muted if the beer is cold. I had to let mine warm to 50 deg. F or so to get a decent nose on this beer....but it was pleasant. Flavor profile: Cara malts in front provide sweetness which is not fully balanced off with the bittering delivered by citrus and earthy hopping...fast clean finish...no off tastes or after tastes. Body seemed a bit thin and mouth feel was a tad dilute and watery...but I assume this is part of the drinkability. This is certainly a most non descript commercial ale. I had a hard time deciding if I was tasting a cream ale or a mild sweet pale. It has some proper ale character like the floral-fruity bouquet and light bitterness but it just seems like it’s been either over filtered or too diluted to satisfy a confirmed micro ale drinker. I’m sure this beer is focused at a less demanding palates and I suspect it could sell as well as any commercial premium ale.