Mill Street Tankhouse Ale

This Toronto-based microbrewery turns out a mighty fine brew.  Tankhouse Ale is a cheery reddish copper crowned with bright white.  Hops and mild maltiness greet the nose, and the palate follows suit with flavors of slightly sweet malt, caramel, grass, and hoppy bitterness.  Finish is bitter but rounded and clean.

The Bottom Line: A sturdy brew with more depth than many American Pale Ales.

The Rating: Good Stuff

Wychwood Hobgoblin (Pasteurized)

I noticed this brew from the UK brewer Wychwood at the local MLCC and thought I'd give it a whirl.

Hobgoblin is a pale reddish brown with a light tan head.  The head sticks around and laces nicely.  The aroma  isn't bad, smelling of malt, caramel, and tea, but the alcohol overpowers it a bit.  It dominates the middle half of the flavor profile, too, which has a medium burnt sugar bitterness that fades into prickly alcohol and then to a hops finish.

I found the alcohol flavor to be fairly distracting and odd, especially considering that it's only 5.2% ABV.  If it wasn't for that, though, Hobgoblin would fall fairly flat, as the only other major theme is the same hops and malt you can get from most any other brew.

The Bottom Line:  Not a horrible beer, but not a good one either.

The Rating:  Eh.

Devil's Pale Ale

This novelty beer by the Great Lakes Brewing Company in Ohio is aptly named.  Dark, stocky, and full of guile, this darker-than-most pale ale is a barky blend of 666kg of malt and 6.6kg of hops.

The aroma is delightfully dark, full, and hints of licorice and, perhaps, a certain indefinable earthiness.  Unfortunately, the taste was not entirely satisfactory.

Devil's Pale starts off nicely rounded and enjoyable, with depth and strength that matches the aroma.  The hops kicked in unexpectedly mid-finish and grappled my palate to the mat, leaving a decidedly bitter and unpleasant aftertaste.  It's not a subtle bitterness, either, it's a Kick-Your-Butt-And-Send-You-Running-Home-Crying-For-Your-Mommy kind of bitterness, practically exploding out of nowhere with blaring notes of cigarette butts and burnt rubber and, perhaps, a teaspoon of brimstone thrown in for good measure.

I could see enjoying this once a year on Halloween, but since bitterness isn't my thing this isn't a beer that I would enjoy drinking more frequently than that.

The Bottom Line:  Expect the flavor equivalent of a crotchkick from the Devil's brew.

The Rating:  As it stands, this one is a tie between Eh and Yuck.

Fort Garry Pale Ale

I'm trying to think of something nice to say about this pale ale from Fort Garry, but I'm at a loss for positive words.

There's hardly any head on this amber-colored brew to speak of, and what little there is disappears quickly.  The aroma is simply of hops and not much else, but even that isn't particularly strong or memorable.  The taste starts off with a faintly oaky element, but this fades quickly into ever-so-slightly bitter hops that is almost completely drowned out by the sharp prickle of carbonation.  The finish is vaguely sour, like grandma's armpits after a marathon knitting session.

And that's it.  An astonishing one-dimensional and boring mess that was obviously intended for people who are more interested in washing down the deep fried, salt encrusted slop that passes for pub fare these days than enjoying a well-crafted brew.

The Bottom line: The boys at Fort Garry definitely fell down on this one.

The Rating: Yuck.