Brewery: Clifford Brewing Co
Origin: Hamilton ON Canada
Style: Porter
Abv: 5.9%
Marketing: Copper and white color scheme on the can and a simple label with the name of the beer and brewery.
Gold medal winner badge and some additional verbage is always welcome.
A signature beer of the brewer
That's always a good sign.
Overall the can is pretty boring to me. I'm not a big fan of the colors or the imagery (or lack there of). Marketing isn't the most important thing in a beer though, I still bought it, so it must have worked on some level I suppose.
Let's see what else this beer has to offer.
Color: The beer poured a rich chestnut brown color with a tan head of loosely packed bubbles. The head stuck around for a while before dissolving into a thin layer of creaminess floating on the surface of the beer.
Nose: Predominant roasted aroma, coffee notes present, smokey leather, and some hints of chocolate.
Taste: The beer was mildly sweet in the begining and quickly moved to a strong bitter finish. It was decently balanced overall with a rich flavor profile of roasted malt, cocoa, and coffee.
Texture: Nice carbonation. Sharp bubbles on the tongue with a soft texture underneath. I found the beer to be medium bodied.
Impression: This beer was quite nice for the Style. It had lots of roasted smokey flavor and was very tasty overall. I quite liked it and would buy it again.
Brewery: Gateway City Brewery
Origin: North Bay ON Canada
Style: Rye Pale Ale
Abv: 5.1%
IBU: 25 - I like when they adds this additional info about a beer.
Marketing: A busy design on the can with a lot going on. A monochrome blue color scheme with brown and orange accents. For imagery is had a beaver character (very Canadian) paddling on swirly designed water. I think his paddles might even have been guitars or some other string instrument.
I'm intriguiged by the name 137 but couldn't find any additional info about it. I feel like this can means something to the Brewers or founder of the Brewery. I like the marketing overall. It's both interesting and fun to look at. 10 points for Gryffindor!
Color: The beer poured a beautiful, hazy, deep yellow color with a light orange hue to it. The foam was frothy and hearty and lasted for some time leaving a soapy lacework on the glass.
Nose: The beer had a fragrant aroma with citrusy orange notes and some floral smelling hops. There were maybe some cereals and bread notes in the background.
Taste: The beer tasted somewhat tart at first moving to a hoppy bitter finish that lingered for quite some time. It was fresh tasting without any skunkiness to it.
Texture: It had a mildly sharp carbonated bubble feel over a very smooth and velvety texture underneath. It drank medium to full bodied for me. It was almost chewy.
Impression: The beer was decent for me. It wasn't my go to style and more on the hoppy side than I tend to like but I liked that it was a little different and I'm glad I gave it a go.
