As you can see from the Garrison Brewing site itself, this IPA has won Beer of the Year twice at the Canadian Brewing Awards. If you check other beer review sites, you’ll see some decent ratings. All of this leads up to a really nice review here. Or at least it should. Besides, shouldn’t I be pro Canadian beer?
I fancy myself an IPA lover. I’m always eager to try a new one. The Garrison Imperial just didn’t measure up for me. I didn’t even find it overly hoppy. While some great IPAs come across as complex, this just came across as confused.
My advice would be to check out something from Brew Dog like their Hardcore IPA, or even track down the Jockamo we reviewed here in October 2011.
As for the Garrison Imperial IPA, I probably won’t drink it again. Especially with so many great IPA’s popping up all over the place these days.
I’ve had this bottle kicking around for a few months. Not being familiar with Barley wines, I bought it in the summer before learning it would be best enjoyed in colder times. So I waited. And it got colder. I cracked it open the other day, trying not to let months of anticipation blind me to simply tasting this beer.
I’ll keep it short. It wasn’t bad. I don’t, however, need to drink it again. The jury is still out on whether my dislike is for Barley Wine in general, or this particular Barley Wine. Further research is probably necessary.
I had seen Steamwhistle Pilsner around for a while but I was hesitant to try it, thinking that it was probably just another macro produced light beer. However recently I was in a Liquor Barn or Liquor Mart or Liquor-rama or something like that and saw singles of Steamwhistle Pilsner in a can for $1.99 so I thought, why not.The can sat in my fridge for a week or so but I finally got around to trying it this weekend.
Serving Type: 500ml can
ABV: 5%
Pour
It poured a golden yellow with a thick head which dissipated after three or four minutes. Left a thin foam on top with small bubbles rising the entire time I drank it. No surprise there.
Steamwhistle Pilsner
OK, I know the photo is terrible, I took it on my Blackberry. If someone wants to buy me an iPhone or Android or whatever with a better camera, feel free. Also, the halloween cat glass is the best glassware I have for beer. Once again, if anyone wants to buy me the proper glassware for my beer I will gladly accept!
Nose
I smelled malt and fruit, apricot maybe. It also had the expected slightly sour hops smell I associate with a pilsner.
Taste
Surprisingly toasty malt. Pleasantly bitter. From the nose I expected it to be sweeter and fruitier however it was not overly sweet and none of the fruit came through. I found it to have a nice balance of malt and hops. I felt some fizzy carbonation at the back of my mouth but not too much. I drank this while sitting outside in the sun and as it warmed up I enjoyed it more and more, which is a good sign for a beer. If your beer has to be drank ice cold maybe there is something bad hiding in there. It’s possible that due to being in the sun the beer may have been struck by the sun a bit as I picked up a bit of skunkiness in the aroma right at the end. Overall a pleasant beer. I am not too familiar with pilsners but this was good.
Drink again?
I wouldn’t go out of my way to get it but I’d have no problem drinking it again, especially if you bought it for me! My niece lives near Toronto and tells me that she prefers Mill Street Organic Lager over Steamwhistle Pilsner, sort of an apples and oranges comparison but I guess I’ll have to give the Mill Street a try!
