Last week featured the fourth and final batch of beers as part of the 2017 Coast to Coaster Canadian tour of Canada's beer scene. This year's batch was more fruit forward than previous years but this year's selection was absolutely tasty. Some of my favourites were IPA No. 2 by Collective Arts Brewing, Fuggles & Warlock's Last Mango Wit Ale, and Muskoka Ruff Draught Tropical Blonde Ale, which is not to be confused with the title of this column, First Draught. There were also a few interesting selections as part of the lineup including a cucumber beer by Steamworks Brewing and a Blonde Ale by Manitoulin Brewing, an Ontario-based brewery that has only been open for two months now.
I believe that Black Bridge Brewing out of Swift Current, Saskatchewan has been a part of the Coast to Coaster event since the beginning and I'm glad to see that they're part of the lineup again this year. Saskatchewan has some amazing breweries and honestly - I don't have a favourite as each one has a different focus. Black Bridge consistently makes some of the best beer on the prairies. As part of Coast to Coaster, this year's release is Wheat Burst American Wheat Ale. Wheat Burst is described as fruity (pineapple and guava), hoppy (El Dorado and Mosaic) and unfiltered. So far, this beer is being a bit reminiscent of last week's review, Juicy! Double IPA by Halifax's Garrison Brewery.
The appearance of Wheat Burst is a mildly cloudy straw body with a thick frothy white head on top. The head very slowly diminishes into residue on the side of the glass. The aroma is sweet, fruity and hoppy with notes of pineapple, guava, a light earthiness of wheat and barley, and a very aromatic, bitter hop presence of pine, grapefruit, and lemon. The taste is pretty reminiscent of the aroma, it's a sweet and fruity pineapple-forward unfiltered ale that has a bit of a doughiness to it. A bit sugary, notes of pineapple, guava, pine, lemon, a light amount of grassiness to it. The beer is somewhat bitter for the aftertaste, but it's clean, easy to drink and great for the hot summer days we're experiencing right now.
The beer is pretty reminiscent to last week's Juicy! Double IPA review but with more of a bready doughiness to it. The tropical flavours are a bit reminiscent to the New England Juicy IPA trend but also reminiscent to a typical unfiltered wheat ale such as a German hefeweizen or Belgian witbier. I would have preferred to see this beer in 473mL cans as 355mL portion sizes are sometimes a bit too small for me to completely get a sense of what I'm experiencing in the beer. You can find this at Liquor Marts in Brandon as well as the Keystone Motor Inn and Victoria Inn beer vendors for $2.88 per 355mL can. The beer is also being featured at the Dock on Princess as part of the Coast to Coaster event as well. 3.5/5 Pints
1 comment:
I've bought the Wheat Burst twice now for 2022 and I have to say it's great to have a Sask brewed unfiltered beer to buy and consume. The quality is good as is the fruity taste !
Post a Comment