Black Creek Pale Ale

Black Creek Historic Brewery
Brewed at Trafalgar Brewing
Style: English Pale Ale
Toronto, Canada

Serve in English pint, Shaker

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Tres bonne Pale Ale de Toronto. Belle couleur orange. Aroma, caramel, floral. Hoppy finale. Mieux que la St. Ambroise.

500ml bottle. Deep copper-brown cloudy body with a medium latte head, good retention and good lacing. Aroma is spicy, coriander, yeast, rye bread, nice dose of hops, some caramel. Malty taste, grassy hops bitterness, cereals, resinous. Dry mouth feel. Very decent.

UPDATED: MAY 5, 2012 May 2 2012. 341ml bottle pours cloudy dark apricot with 2 inch off white head. Head settles to thick cap before washing away with lacing. Aroma is rich malt off top followed by mango and sweet fruit. Unfortunately, taste is horribly bitter and sour. Flavour is light but distinctly grapefruit. The taste is corrupted by the overwhelming tart mouthfeel. Luckily there is a strong hops aftertaste but still not enough to balance the palate. This is more comparable to an IPA I think. It would score higher.

341ml bottle, 5% a/v from OCB Spring 6 pack 2012 Dark gold colour with a thin offwhite head. Aroma is largely neutral, a bit of malt and a bit of hops but fairly unobtrusive. Taste is a bit more hoppier than the aroma suggests, but otherwise blended well with the malt. Really, a not bad beer, but just NOTHING that stands out at all.

Clear, dark amber colour topped with a frothy, off white head. Crystal and caramel malts with grassy and piney hops in the aroma. Bitter resiny hops with citrus notes in the flavour and malt sweetness. There is a toasted quality evident too. Satisfying biter finish.

(bottle - 500 ml) Clear amber pour with a soapy white head. Citrusy and floral hops at the beginning of the aroma with some light caramel malts underneath. Flavor is incredibly bitter at the start with a slightly malty middle but a very dry and bitter hop bite at the end. Not very balanced.

Hazy dark orange - slightly off white thin but persistent head. Aroma is fruity/citrusy hops. Didn’t know they grew Citra’s in the 1800s! Aroma also promises some caramel. Fragrant hop aroma is much more subdued in the taste. More grain-led with straight bitterness. Something not quite right in there, as well. Maybe a little old?

pours a nice slightly hazy orange with a very nice off-white head, good retention and lacing. nice toasted caramel maltiness, oranges, english floral-citrusy medium hopping. a bit aggressive carbonation, medium body, medium grapefruity finish. good brew.

Bottle from the LCBO close to expiry date. Pours hazy orange. strong hop aroma. hops are somewhat dry. Pretty decent.

My Bottom Line :
This bitter Pale Ale aligns subtle oranges and green wood onto toasted bread and caramel in a mouthfeel awash with bubbles.

Further Personal Perceptions :
-A healthy head of foam clings to the deep amber orange haze, leaving plenty of lacing.
-This is brewed at Trafalgar?! Well, at least we know the equipment is not problematic there...
-Effervescence is a tad too much. I can see this flavor profile seducing me even more in a cask-like natural mouthfeel.
-The wooden, peppery hop bitterness is lengthy.
-This is on the dry side for the style. Quite the enjoyable quaff!

Bottle.

Bottle 500ml lcbo, pour dark amber hazy opaque color, tan head. Woody, vanilla hint caramel. Bitter with some sour note, medium body with a creamy texture and bitter ending. Overall different for a dark pale ale, somewhat complex beer, not bad.