Wellington County Dark Ale

Brewed by Wellington County Brewery
Style: English Pale Ale
Guelph, Canada

Can, 473 ml, purchased at the LCBO, savoured on April 23 2008; eye: ruby, clear, slight effervescence, beige head that disappears almost completely, a bit of lacing; nose: quite malty, hoppier than it shows, light nuts, acridness from the roasting; mouth: creamy, lots of malt, nuts, acridness, a bit of hops, slight fruity that comes out of nowhere, finale where the acridness is quite presente, a bit lactic, mildly bitter, slightly sweet, medium body, not much carbonation; overall: correct FRANÇAIS Canette, 473 ml, achetée à la LCBO, savourée le 23 avril 2008; œil : rubis, claire, très légère effervescence, mousse beige abondante qui disparaît presque complètement, un peu de dentelle; nez : très maltée, plus houblonnée qu’elle ne le montre (vérifié en rétro-olfaction), léger noix, âcreté de torréfaction; bouche : crémeuse, beaucoup de malt, noix, âcreté, un léger houblon, un petit fruité qui apparaît de nulle part, finale où l’âcreté de la torréfaction est bien présente, un p’tit côté lactique, moyennement amère, très légèrement sucrée, corps moyen, peu carbonatée; en résumé : correct

a nice dark malty smell, dark tinted with red and a smallish head, some dark, burned fruity tastes (even more fruity on draught). its great to get on draught because its usually only in the medium price range at bars and is cheaper than other "premium" beers at the beerstore

Dark reddish brown pour with very little head. Nutty and slightly spicey scent. Dark malty taste with a touch of toffey. Very low carbonation with a dry finish. Slightly bitter taste that knocks this down a few points for me.

LCBO can. Tinny faint yeast aroma. Dark red with foamy white head that coats glass. Tinny and hoppy taste. No after-taste.

473ml can: Amber under a medium beige head. Malty, earthy aromas. Slightly fruity with toasted flavours and bitter overtones. Quite quaffable but probably better out of a cask!

Darker amber ale with an off-white head. Rich hazelnut aroma. Malty with a faint pepsi aroma and some fruitiness. Flavour is also nutty and well-balanced.

500ml tallboy from LCBO. Wasn’t a very enjoyable ale from start to finish. Nose is of roasted malt and a small amount of chocolate. Flavour consists of roasted malt, chocolate, a bit of coffee and a hint of lager. Not a bad brew, but not good either. Wasn’t too impressed. Oddly enough it tasted like a fairly matured brew.

20-Mar-07 (341 ml bottle: Obtained 24-Mar-06 in trade with blankboy, thanks Paul!) Okay, so this isn’t the most attractive beer I’ve ever seen. It pours a lovely auburn color, but the heading is almost non-existent right from the start, the light-tan sheen dissipating in the blink of an eye. But this is really my only complaint, and since beer is to be imbibed, not gazed at, the lack of heading is of little consequence to me. Heavily toasty, chocolaty, lightly caramely and minimally sweet, this is a tasty beer. As the beer warms up, the style-driven toffee flavor finally emerges and is especially noticeable in the finish, but I must admit to liking the flavor more when the toffee wasn’t as pronounced. Hops is pretty mild, but isn’t lost, though it doesn’t really contribute any bitterness. The nose is mostly toffee and chocolate. For a malt forward beer, it’s still pleasantly dry on the palate. Medium in body, medium carbonation. Flavorful, yet easy to drink and pretty easy to enjoy too.