An English Ale and Chairity SMASH
For this #beersaturday I'm will be reviewing an English style Ale and a charity SMASH Lager. I hope you enjoy.
Atherley Pale Ale
Brewery: Couchiching Craft Brewing Co
Origin: Mississauga ON Canada
Style: English Style Pale Ale
Abv: 4.9%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
Marketing: Cream colored sleeve on this can with a wallpaper like Texture. Navy blue and burnt orange accent colors. Simple minimalist design style with stamp like images of a hops cone, a bridge, a canadian flag and the notted rope brand logo. It's not an exciting design but it's fine.
Color: The beer poured an amber orange color with a cream colored head of foam. Its a nice looking beer if you you ask me.
Nose: The beers aroma is malty sweet with notes of bread dough and fruity pear and apple.
Taste: It has a mild sweetness upfront with an almost dry quality about it. Its a little tangy and equally bitter in the finish. It tasted well balanced to me overall. There wasn't a huge amount of flavor but nice nonetheless.
Texture: Sharp prickly bubbles on the tongue with a silky velvety texture underneath. Some weightiness in the mouthfeel. Medium bodied.
Impression: Not a bad beer. Nothing too special but enjoyable. Not a strong recommendation from me just because it doesn't stand out among other beers. I'd drink it again but wouldn't go out of my way to do so. One of those types of beers.
Better is Possible
Brewery: Sleeping Giant Brewing Company
Origin: Thunder Bay ON Canada
Style: SMASH Lager
Abv: 5.0%
IBU: 10
SRM: Unknown
Marketing: Red colored can with bold black and white lettering on banners of the opposite color. No real image on the can other than a United Way logo. For those that don't know United Way is a charity organization and this beer was produced in order to raise money for charity, as outlined on the back of the can.
It's kind of a cool way for a Brewery to give back to their community, though I wonder if there is a better way to do so than donating money to an organization like United Way?? The beers is characterized as a SMASH beer (Single Malt and single hops). This is the first time I've ever heard the term.
Color: The beer poured a pale yellow color with clear filtered liquid and a foamy white head of bubbles on top. A thin layer of head actually stuck around for a while too, which was nice.
Nose: Fresh smelling aroma with grassy citrus notes. Pleasant.
Taste: Dry and mildly tangy with a nice bitter finish that was long lasting. Some flavor notes of citrus.
Texture: "Angry bubbles" texture with a somewhat silky mouthfeel underneath. Light to possibly even medium bodied.
Impression: I had low expectations for this beer when I saw that it was brewed for charity. I figured that it would be a cheaply produced beer that would be reflected in the drinking experience. I was actually pleasantly surprised by it though. It was fresh and crisp tasting and quite flavorful for a lager. I would buy this again.
Wow you have put up 2 breweries from this region that I have never even heard of!
An English ale usually bores me but is a staple in an independent brewery I understand. Hopefully at least a little malt body and a change from light ales.
I have seen SMASH beers these last couple years but not usually a lager. Light ales and lagers often have single malt and hops for a simple clean taste and that is usually used for a session ale or specialty ipa. Looks good though!
Now that I look closer, I have seen the Northern Logger beer before so hopefully I can find the ipa on the shelves down south here. https://sleepinggiantbrewing.ca/our-beer/core/hoppet-ipa/
I wasn't familiar with these breweries either. There are some many micro breweries in our province though. Somehow I'm still able to find beers that I've never tried or heard of when I go to the LCBO.
Yeah English Ales can be a little plain especially if you are used to drinking IPAs.
The whole SMASH thing makes sense no that im aware of it.
Good luck in your search!
Yah the LCBO certainly has an impressive selection for a provincial organization. What's even wilder is the number of tiny breweries who don't go through the agony of becoming a supplier and have to be discovered in person.
Yes that's true indeed. So many out there that you have to go searching for yourself. Fun process and nice when you do happen to find something new.
Cheers! 😎🍻
Nice, I learn something new every day, SMASH - single malt and single hops :)
That's also the acronym for the contest here - Show Me A SHadow :)
Of course, I'd like to taste them !INDEED
I just learned that term myself also. Lol
That must be for a photography challenge, I'm guessing
Those both look really good. I always have a hard time doing beer posts on here because I usually just drink my beer right out of the bottle or can. That doesn't really give the readers a chance to see what it looks like. It's a lot of extra work to pour it into a glass :)
Haha that's fair. Sometimes I would just like to drink the beer without going through the process of writing about it. But then I feel guilty for missing an opportunity to post on Hive 😂😅
Yeah, I can understand that as well!
Mmm.. now that looks like a good beer!
!PIMP
They were pretty good 👍 👌
Atherley beer is nice looking just as you said and the pale color is also adding vibes to the beer. But the second beer with the name better should be better because of its name.
The second has some good marketing for sure. Both beers were pretty good