Beaus Lug Tread Lagered Ale

Brewed by Beaus All Natural Brewing Co.
Style: Kölsch
Vankleek Hill, Canada

August 2007. Golden Tap Awards. Crisp pale yellow body with a good white head that fades (3+). Grassy hops have floral lightly "cheesy" notes of noble hops. (6+) Light bitterness throughout, mild pale malt support. More of the floral hop notes. (6+) Average palate. Quafffable, and technically well executed but on the mild side, and the hops are not to my personal taste. 6+/3+/6+/3/13 - 3.2 <P>October 2006. Draft @ The Black Tomato in Ottawa. Bright yellow body, small white head. Muted hops in the aroma, is mild and muted to start with and further muted by the cold temperature. Comes out slightly more as it warms. Light fruity notes in the flavour, pleasant mild noble hop flavour and bitterness. Average palateis slightly fuller than some. Pleasant-ish, strongly reminds me of some other beer I can’t place. Not to my tastes but sort of drinkable. 5/3/6/3/11 - 2.8

Draught @ beerbistro: Pours a vibrant yellow with a thin white head; very little lacing or head retention. Aroma is quite faint but seemed to me to be of a slightly off malt, almost like composted vegetables. Not that bad, but there’s a similarity there. Flavour is fine for what is visually a pale ale, and it does offer a lager-like crispness to it. Some complexity in sweet citrus fruits and a plum/peach tone. Not at all bad, but I question how it won the Golden Tap Award.

Tap. Pours gold with large white bubbly head. Gentle sweet aroma, malty lagered ale. Chewy texture, caramel and toffee, Sweet in short. Short lasted finish.

Draught. Clear yellow with a small white head. The aroma is grainy, toasty malt, and sweet fruitiness. Not a terrible flavour, really. It’s fairly sweet with mild frutiness, grain, and some alcohol warmth. Could have been executed a little bit better though.

RE-RATE: Draught sample at the 2007 GTAs. A year after presenting the controversial “Kölsch-Bock" version at the 2006 GTAs, Beau’s returns with the real thing for the first time in Toronto. Has a light gold colour with a small cap of creamy white head. Aroma is quite herbal, reminding me of some of the better Euro-lagers we can get at the LCBO. Body is crisp and light, I could see it being very refreshing on a summer day. Flavour is sweet too start - a bit too sweet, IMO - but the herbal hops come back in the finish, which is a touch too short for my liking. I haven’t tried enough kölsches to say how on-style this is, but it’s a nice enough summer ale.

ORIGINAL RATING: Draught sample at the Golden Tap Awards - first batch “Kölsch-Bock" version. Pours a clear golden-yellow with a good sized white head. This version is well above the expected 5.4% abv, so it definitely has some boozy notes in the nose and flavour. But it also has a nice sweet, fruity and slightly floral character. Reminds me of King PilsBock, actually. I can understand not liking this if you’re going in expecting a straight-up Kölsch, but as a strong golden ale, it’s not too bad. I look forward to trying a later batch once they’ve worked the kinks out. [6/3/6/3/12 - 3.0]

Stale fruity malt aroma,yellow. small white head. Soft malt flavour, with some mild hops. Light bodied, drinkable. Almost macro-like. Not kolsch-like!

Draft at the Cottage and a Kitchen, August 25, 2006, with GRM. Golden lager with a thin white head. Sweet fruity aroma with notes of watermelon and light sulfur. In mouth, a rather sweet unbalanced kolsch, with lots of phenolics, nail polish remover, and an oily mouthfeel. A rather cloying offering. I will have to give it another chance when the second batch is available as this is the first batch by these courageous entrepeneurs (just consider what happened to OVBC, Harts, Masters, Abe and Roscoes, Copperhead...in the difficult eastern ON market!...Ottawa is a hard nut to crack!).

Draft at The Cottage & The Kitchen; eye: golden, clear, not much of the white head, light effervescence; nose: malt, sulphide, sweet, light hops; mouth: malt, sulphide note, caramel, unbalanced finale with acridness, average boyd, good carbonation, mildly sweet, lightly bitter; overall: filling as a result of its sweetness FRANÇAIS En fût, bue à The Cottage & The Kitchen; oeil : dorée, claire, peu de mousse blanche, légère effervescence; nez : malt, sulfure, sucré, léger houblon; bouche : malt, notes sulfuriques, caramel, finale non balancée avec une pointe d’âcreté, corps moyen, bonne carbonatation, moyennement sucrée, légèrement amère; en résumé : toquante