Review: Brasserie La Shoppe Caddy Pale Ale Bière Bricolée

Je veux écrire une critique en français mais j'ai pas le temps et l'énergie si je fais ce critique en anglais. Peut-être je ferrais une critique en mauvais français (ou en franglais un jour), dites-moi si tu la veux!*

Last autumn I found out about a new brewery out of Winnipeg called Brasserie La Shoppe, a Franco-Manitobain brewery that currently brews over at Torque Brewing. As of writing, they currently only have one beer called Caddy Pale Ale, une bière bricolée (craft beer). 4.9% ABV

The first time I ever tried this beer was when I went to Quality Beer Store (will never NOT promote them!) back in November. I sent a picture to my buddy Ryan (who is reading this right now) and he said the label reminded him of Tuque du Broue's label and now I can't really unsee!

From the label: "An original La Shoppe crafted beauty. Clean and crisp like our 100,000 lakes. Golden like Manitoba, straw with a floral and hop finish. Best paired with good times."

Appearance: Pours a dark orange that's almost an amber/honey-like colour to it. It has a mild amount of cloudiness in it. There's a snow white head that starts out with two fingers of foam but quickly diminishes to a thin amount of foam on the beer and a sprinkling of lacing on the glass.

Aroma: A malt-forward Pale Ale with notes of caramel, a tad bit of nuttiness, lemon, and a hop presence that has a floral, slightly bitter and a slight grassiness to it.. it reminds me a bit of fresh cut alfalfa.

Taste: The taste starts off hop forward with notes of grass, pine and alfalfa. The maltiness of the beer is a bit of a caramel sweetness but also has a bit of a wet barley graininess to it. It also has a bit of lemon that pops out decently, and ends with a mild doughy presence that reminds me of the homemade pizza I made the other day. The mouthfeel is a bit carbonated, tad bitter, while the aftertaste is lemongrass and a bit of yeast.

Overall Thoughts: I find this to be a classic-style Pale Ale, not overly hoppy and bitter like you see on many American Pale Ales now days, more of the malt-forward ones I was familiar with when I was starting to drink craft beers more than Moosehead/Sleeman beers in the mid-late 2000s. Caramel, notes of alfalfa and a bit of nuttiness. I used to have to go all the way to Winnipeg to get this but it's now available at the LC right near my place in Brandon.


*Disclaimer for Ryan: Damn it, Ryan.. I don't write French en français anymore so don't need to be criticize my writing!