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Beyond The Pale Brewing Co.
250 City Centre Ave. | Ottawa, ON | Eatablished: 2012
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saison tropicale - Good +
ABV: 7.7%
IBU: 40
Style: Saison
IBU: 40
Style: Saison
Beyond The Pale has recently further cemented it's place as one of the top breweries in the Ottawa area when they permanently released their 5 staple beers in the handy-dandy can format. I also feel like their focus on perfecting 5 permanent beers, rather than their previous practice of releasing 500 different beers every month has done wonders for cementing their brand. Pale Ale Project, Aromatherapy, The Darkness, Pink Fuzz, and Saison Tropicale are all well above-average beers, and their LCBO presence is now tip-fucking-top.
Saison Tropicale is the latest addition to the canned party, and it might be one of BTP's finest efforts yet. Saison's still aren't for everybody, but BTP has blurred some lines to make Saison Tropicale a little more universally appealing to the beer guzzling masses. Big noticeable additions of a medley of tropical fruits add a sweetness and juicyness to this beer that takes a bit of the edge off of the traditional farmhouse ale. The result is a more balanced and easy-drinking beer...well...except for the big ole 7.7% ABV. Honestly though, Saison Tropicale doesn't taste like or drink like a beer with that much alcohol coursing through it. It'll get your ass plenty drunk though, so drink with caution on those hot summer days.
Saison Tropicale is the latest addition to the canned party, and it might be one of BTP's finest efforts yet. Saison's still aren't for everybody, but BTP has blurred some lines to make Saison Tropicale a little more universally appealing to the beer guzzling masses. Big noticeable additions of a medley of tropical fruits add a sweetness and juicyness to this beer that takes a bit of the edge off of the traditional farmhouse ale. The result is a more balanced and easy-drinking beer...well...except for the big ole 7.7% ABV. Honestly though, Saison Tropicale doesn't taste like or drink like a beer with that much alcohol coursing through it. It'll get your ass plenty drunk though, so drink with caution on those hot summer days.
Too Late For The Party? - Good
ABV: 5.0% I IBU'S: 35 I Style: Ale
Because Beyond The Pale usually sells out of their beer instantaneously, and because Too Late For The Party? is limited release, this review might actually be too late for the party, but I'm writing it anyway because I don't have anything else going on tonight. Fall is coming to an end, and I've really started to enjoy all of these autumn beer releases now that the latest trend is towards a variety of wet hop, harvest and Oktoberfest ales. Although BTP is calling this one an "Oktoberfest inspired Munich ale," it actually reminds me more of a harvest/wet hop ale, which is music to my tastebud's ears.
The thing that I like most harvest ales is that they bring some really nice grassy character and combine it with some sweet malt. Too Late For The Party? provides plenty of this, and also bangs out some pretty serious bitterness on the back end as well. There is a lot of flavour and depth to this beer, and it has a bit of that liquor-y sting as well, and as a result Too Late plays much bigger than its advertised 5.0% ABV and 35 IBU's. Too Late has a fairly heavy and syrupy body which plays well with its rather robust flavour profile. The aromas are almost reminiscent of a Scotch ale, leading in to every flavourful sip providing ample notes of grain, grass and caramel. Mid-sip there are also some twinges of fruity and peppery yeast, leading directly to an earthy and grassy hop profile which provides a healthy but pleasant bitterness. For a beer with this much going on, the hops really clean up the finish, and the aftertaste is clean and pleasant. Too Late is also very smooth, with some lively but soft-feeling micro-carbonation coating your tongue from start to finish, providing a surprising amount of drinkability.
The in-your-face flavour profile and syrupy texture of Too Late make it a cold-weather sipper all the way, which puts it right in my sweet spot. And like most beers of this nature it gets better as it warms up, so throw some sausages in the oven and take your time with this one.
The thing that I like most harvest ales is that they bring some really nice grassy character and combine it with some sweet malt. Too Late For The Party? provides plenty of this, and also bangs out some pretty serious bitterness on the back end as well. There is a lot of flavour and depth to this beer, and it has a bit of that liquor-y sting as well, and as a result Too Late plays much bigger than its advertised 5.0% ABV and 35 IBU's. Too Late has a fairly heavy and syrupy body which plays well with its rather robust flavour profile. The aromas are almost reminiscent of a Scotch ale, leading in to every flavourful sip providing ample notes of grain, grass and caramel. Mid-sip there are also some twinges of fruity and peppery yeast, leading directly to an earthy and grassy hop profile which provides a healthy but pleasant bitterness. For a beer with this much going on, the hops really clean up the finish, and the aftertaste is clean and pleasant. Too Late is also very smooth, with some lively but soft-feeling micro-carbonation coating your tongue from start to finish, providing a surprising amount of drinkability.
The in-your-face flavour profile and syrupy texture of Too Late make it a cold-weather sipper all the way, which puts it right in my sweet spot. And like most beers of this nature it gets better as it warms up, so throw some sausages in the oven and take your time with this one.
Orange Is The New Pink - Good
ABV: 6.0% I IBU'S: 21 I Style: Orange wheat ale
Quite simply, Orange Is The New Pink is basically Pink Fuzz except that it uses oranges instead of grapefruit in the brewing process. As a result, this beer is obviously very similar to Pink Fuzz, which is also reviewed on this page if you want to scroll down and find it. Orange Is The New Pink is good, but it's just not quite as good as Pink Fuzz, which isn't a terrible thing considering Pink Fuzz is one of the best beers in Ottawa. But because of this I would never choose this beer over Pink Fuzz. Not because it isn't good, but because why drink an inferior version of basically the same beer.
The differences are subtle, but noticeable. The oranges don't provide the same fruity zing as grapefruits, which I find strange considering I love the shit out of oranges, but pretty much despise grapefruit. Somewhere during the magical process of brewing, grapefruit is made to taste outstanding and oranges are made to taste "meh." This is science, and it can't be explained without lengthy and verbose descriptions or complicated but cool-looking diagrams, which I am not willing or able to provide. As well as the subtle differences between oranges and grapefruits, this beer just doesn't seem as refined as Pink Fuzz. Carbonation and mouth-feel are fine, but not quite the exceptional and silky-smooth characteristics that Pink Fuzz provides.
I suppose some might prefer Orange Is The New Pink, and it's certainly better than a lot of other beers out there in this style, but honestly I couldn't imagine buying this beer if Pink Fuzz is available.
The differences are subtle, but noticeable. The oranges don't provide the same fruity zing as grapefruits, which I find strange considering I love the shit out of oranges, but pretty much despise grapefruit. Somewhere during the magical process of brewing, grapefruit is made to taste outstanding and oranges are made to taste "meh." This is science, and it can't be explained without lengthy and verbose descriptions or complicated but cool-looking diagrams, which I am not willing or able to provide. As well as the subtle differences between oranges and grapefruits, this beer just doesn't seem as refined as Pink Fuzz. Carbonation and mouth-feel are fine, but not quite the exceptional and silky-smooth characteristics that Pink Fuzz provides.
I suppose some might prefer Orange Is The New Pink, and it's certainly better than a lot of other beers out there in this style, but honestly I couldn't imagine buying this beer if Pink Fuzz is available.
Leisure Suit - Good+
ABV: 6.1% I IBU'S: 58 I Style: IPA
Leisure Suit is one of the latest hoppy pale ale offerings from Ottawa's notoriously hop forward Beyond The Pale Brewing Company. When I read the tag (Beyond The Pale has Ottawa's best looking bottles and tags by the way) and saw 58 IBU's I was kind of expecting another super bitter and citrusy American style pale ale. To the contrary, Leisure Suit is a remarkably smooth, creamy and subtle IPA that balances out all those hops with a really nice malty sweetness. The result is a refreshing and easy drinking IPA with a little extra character than most.
For an immediate comparison, Leisure Suit is much closer to Muskoka Detour than Amsterdam Boneshaker. This is a beer that is full and flavourful enough to drink on a cold winter's night, but sprightly and refreshing enough to drink on the dock at a cottage, if you're lucky enough to have a cottage. The hop profile is more earthy than citrusy, and while it has some punch but it's mellow at the same time, and Leisure Suit definitely puts the focus more on refreshing drinkability and less on providing a huge citrus bitterness. This is partly accomplished by maintaining the beer's sweet malt character to balance out the bitterness. This sweetness is maintained right through to the back end of each sip, which limits the amount of bitter aftertaste found in most hoppy beers. This is one of the reasons I love this beer, because frankly I hate the bitter aftertaste found in most hoppy beers. Leisure Suit also has a great mouth-feel, as each sip stays rich and full all the way through, and the carbonation level seems to fit perfectly with the style.
One thing working against Leisure Suit is it's relatively high ABV. At 6.1%, it's miles away from being sessionable, which for some reason is all of the sudden hugely important to a large group of beer drinkers who hadn't even heard of he word until 8 months ago. For most beer styles I couldn't give a shit whether they're sessionable, but for a beer this refreshing and drinkable, it would have been nice to see it under 6.0%.
For an immediate comparison, Leisure Suit is much closer to Muskoka Detour than Amsterdam Boneshaker. This is a beer that is full and flavourful enough to drink on a cold winter's night, but sprightly and refreshing enough to drink on the dock at a cottage, if you're lucky enough to have a cottage. The hop profile is more earthy than citrusy, and while it has some punch but it's mellow at the same time, and Leisure Suit definitely puts the focus more on refreshing drinkability and less on providing a huge citrus bitterness. This is partly accomplished by maintaining the beer's sweet malt character to balance out the bitterness. This sweetness is maintained right through to the back end of each sip, which limits the amount of bitter aftertaste found in most hoppy beers. This is one of the reasons I love this beer, because frankly I hate the bitter aftertaste found in most hoppy beers. Leisure Suit also has a great mouth-feel, as each sip stays rich and full all the way through, and the carbonation level seems to fit perfectly with the style.
One thing working against Leisure Suit is it's relatively high ABV. At 6.1%, it's miles away from being sessionable, which for some reason is all of the sudden hugely important to a large group of beer drinkers who hadn't even heard of he word until 8 months ago. For most beer styles I couldn't give a shit whether they're sessionable, but for a beer this refreshing and drinkable, it would have been nice to see it under 6.0%.
Breaking Bitter - Good+
ABV: 5.2% I IBU'S: 37 I Style: Special bitter
Because I'm more a fan of traditional beers over contemporary experimental and hybrid beer styles, it comes as no surprise that Breaking Bitter is my favourite offering from Beyond The Pale, seeing as how it's admittedly their "most-to-style" beer. Breaking Bitter is an English-style bitter brewed true to the style for the most part, and although they couldn't resist amping up the hop factor a little bit, for the most part it's ultra tame in the IBU department compared to most of Beyond The Pale's offerings, and the result is a very good beer.
As is usually the case with Beyond The Pale, this is a good looking glass of beer. A deep reddish-copper hue with a touch of cloudiness, sits below a thick layer of aggressive head, and it almost seems to be glowing. Aromas are relatively mild and surprisingly malt forward with some bread, leather and toffee, although it's clear that more than a touch of hop bitterness awaits under some noticeable pine and grass notes. Because I always expect huge hop bitterness from Beyond The Pale's beers, I was pleasantly shocked at the subtle nature of Breaking Bitter. Although it's clear that there are generous amounts of hops added to this beer, it's definitely reminiscent of an English bitter. A subtle, malt-forward flavour profile presents up front, allowing a nice caramel sweetness with leather and wood undertones to show through before a perfect amount of bitterness takes over on the back end. There's also a nice nutty quality in there as well, and because it's not overly hopped up, there's a nice complexity to this beer that isn't found in all of the APA's out there. There's almost no aftertaste, and the beer is perfectly balanced between sweet and bitter, which is all I'm looking for in a bitter. An equally awesome aspect of this beer is the mouth-feel, which is full, creamy, rich, and super smooth, which adds to the overall drinkability.
So good news folks, if you're looking for something a little more traditional and authentic out there in the Ottawa beer scene, you've just found it.
As is usually the case with Beyond The Pale, this is a good looking glass of beer. A deep reddish-copper hue with a touch of cloudiness, sits below a thick layer of aggressive head, and it almost seems to be glowing. Aromas are relatively mild and surprisingly malt forward with some bread, leather and toffee, although it's clear that more than a touch of hop bitterness awaits under some noticeable pine and grass notes. Because I always expect huge hop bitterness from Beyond The Pale's beers, I was pleasantly shocked at the subtle nature of Breaking Bitter. Although it's clear that there are generous amounts of hops added to this beer, it's definitely reminiscent of an English bitter. A subtle, malt-forward flavour profile presents up front, allowing a nice caramel sweetness with leather and wood undertones to show through before a perfect amount of bitterness takes over on the back end. There's also a nice nutty quality in there as well, and because it's not overly hopped up, there's a nice complexity to this beer that isn't found in all of the APA's out there. There's almost no aftertaste, and the beer is perfectly balanced between sweet and bitter, which is all I'm looking for in a bitter. An equally awesome aspect of this beer is the mouth-feel, which is full, creamy, rich, and super smooth, which adds to the overall drinkability.
So good news folks, if you're looking for something a little more traditional and authentic out there in the Ottawa beer scene, you've just found it.
Rye Guy - Good
ABV: 6.7% I IBU'S: 52 I Style: Rye IPA
Well here we go again. Beyond The Pale Rye Guy is the six billionth heavy hopped IPA that I've been subjected to in past few years. As much as I'd like to blast it for being just another in an endless sea of "IPA'S," I have to give this beer a good rating because it's actually quite tasty, and surprisingly drinkable.
Before I go any further though, let's just make sure everyone knows the difference between a real IPA and a contemporary North American IPA, the latter category of which this beer would fall in to. I'll break it down in as simple of terms as possible, while still being a dick. A real IPA is a traditional English pale ale with a bit more hop character and a higher alcohol content. A North American IPA seems to be any ale whatsoever as long as it tastes like nothing but hops. Now that I got that our of my system lets describe this "IPA."
The beer poured a cloudy yellow colour which looks more like a wheat beer than an IPA but that's just me being a dick again. In reality, a beer's colour is completely inconsequential unless you plan on staring at your beer instead of drinking it. Not surprisingly, it has a big nose full of pine and citrus hop aroma. The flavour is dominated by hop character, but thankfully not so much as to make it terribly bitter. It's heavily loaded with rye malts, but there is only a hint of malty sweetness and it happens right of the bat. Each mouthful ends with a bit of fruitiness and a lot of hops. It's hard to believe that there is so much alcohol in this beer because it goes down really easy. This drinkability is also aided by the fact that the carbonation level of this particular batch (consistency is still an issue at times with Beyond The Pale) was just about perfect.
In the end, Rye Guy may not be what it set out to be, but it is still a solid brew, and preferable to most of the uber-hoppy IPA's out there.
Before I go any further though, let's just make sure everyone knows the difference between a real IPA and a contemporary North American IPA, the latter category of which this beer would fall in to. I'll break it down in as simple of terms as possible, while still being a dick. A real IPA is a traditional English pale ale with a bit more hop character and a higher alcohol content. A North American IPA seems to be any ale whatsoever as long as it tastes like nothing but hops. Now that I got that our of my system lets describe this "IPA."
The beer poured a cloudy yellow colour which looks more like a wheat beer than an IPA but that's just me being a dick again. In reality, a beer's colour is completely inconsequential unless you plan on staring at your beer instead of drinking it. Not surprisingly, it has a big nose full of pine and citrus hop aroma. The flavour is dominated by hop character, but thankfully not so much as to make it terribly bitter. It's heavily loaded with rye malts, but there is only a hint of malty sweetness and it happens right of the bat. Each mouthful ends with a bit of fruitiness and a lot of hops. It's hard to believe that there is so much alcohol in this beer because it goes down really easy. This drinkability is also aided by the fact that the carbonation level of this particular batch (consistency is still an issue at times with Beyond The Pale) was just about perfect.
In the end, Rye Guy may not be what it set out to be, but it is still a solid brew, and preferable to most of the uber-hoppy IPA's out there.
Pink Fuzz - Great
ABV: 6.0% I IBU'S: 20 I Style: Wheat ale
Pink Fuzz seems to be rapidly becoming one of the most popular beers in Ottawa, and for good reason. If it's hot and sunny, and I'm sitting on a patio, I can't think of too many beers I'd rather be drinking.
Beyond The Pale does a great job infusing some grapefruit character into this beer without completely turning it into a typical and now trendy "radler" style beer, which tends to have overpowering tones of fruit. Actually, to be honest I don't think radlers even taste like beer at all. Pink Fuzz is just about perfect though, because it still tastes like beer. But a really, really, really refreshing beer. It's a very flavourful but light wheat ale, bringing all those characteristics to the table, but adding a really subtle but impactful fruity zing. It's smooth as all hell, tastes great from start to finish, and leaves no unpleasant aftertaste whatsoever. Gotta say though, it tastes good in a can, but it tastes significantly better on tap.
The obvious thing to say here is that this makes a great summertime beverage, which it does, but really this is a beer that can be enjoyed all year round thanks to its complexity and flavour.
Beyond The Pale does a great job infusing some grapefruit character into this beer without completely turning it into a typical and now trendy "radler" style beer, which tends to have overpowering tones of fruit. Actually, to be honest I don't think radlers even taste like beer at all. Pink Fuzz is just about perfect though, because it still tastes like beer. But a really, really, really refreshing beer. It's a very flavourful but light wheat ale, bringing all those characteristics to the table, but adding a really subtle but impactful fruity zing. It's smooth as all hell, tastes great from start to finish, and leaves no unpleasant aftertaste whatsoever. Gotta say though, it tastes good in a can, but it tastes significantly better on tap.
The obvious thing to say here is that this makes a great summertime beverage, which it does, but really this is a beer that can be enjoyed all year round thanks to its complexity and flavour.
Mullet - Good
ABV: 5.8% I IBU'S: 49 I Style: Belgian IPA
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This one surprised us a bit. When we heard that this was a combination of a Belgian ale and North American style IPA we thought we were in for a beer that was going to go ape-shit on our tastebuds, in a bad way. This beer is quite nicely understated however, and we were very pleasantly surprised.
Mullet has some of the better characteristics of both its Belgian and IPA fathers, implemented in a subtle fashion that creates a surprisingly easy beer to drink. Love the cloudy appearance, and the murky sediment that was left in the last sip of our growler. This may gross out some poeple, but to us it means that there is actually something in this beer. And there is. A nice fruity and spicy aroma leads to a medium body of bread and orange flavours. Throughout each sip the spicy character of the Belgian hops is also evident, and it ends with a slight touch of floral hoppy bitterness. All pretty subtle here, and nothing is overdone to the point of dominating the flavour profile. This beer also has a pretty solid mouthfeel, with a nice carbonation level to boot. All in all, a very well balanced beer.
Mullet has some of the better characteristics of both its Belgian and IPA fathers, implemented in a subtle fashion that creates a surprisingly easy beer to drink. Love the cloudy appearance, and the murky sediment that was left in the last sip of our growler. This may gross out some poeple, but to us it means that there is actually something in this beer. And there is. A nice fruity and spicy aroma leads to a medium body of bread and orange flavours. Throughout each sip the spicy character of the Belgian hops is also evident, and it ends with a slight touch of floral hoppy bitterness. All pretty subtle here, and nothing is overdone to the point of dominating the flavour profile. This beer also has a pretty solid mouthfeel, with a nice carbonation level to boot. All in all, a very well balanced beer.
The Darkness - Meh
ABV: 5.6% I IBU'S: 30 I Style: Stout
As stouts go we gotta say this is not one of our favourites. In traditional Beyond The Pale style they have amped up the flavour dial to 11 (and yes, the dial only goes to 10). Unfortunately, there's not a lot to love about this beer.
Advertised as a robust rich and creamy stout, with coffee and chocolate flavour, The Darkness fails to live up to its description. It certainly
is robust, but it's in the form of an incredible amount of sweetness. A year ago The Darkness was all hop bitterness, now it's a whole lotta sweet. I also don't find it very creamy at all, but rather way too over-carbonated for a stout. It certainly doesn't taste bad, it's just too much of everything, and even though this is kind of Beyond The Pale's style, it doesn't work with this stout.
Advertised as a robust rich and creamy stout, with coffee and chocolate flavour, The Darkness fails to live up to its description. It certainly
is robust, but it's in the form of an incredible amount of sweetness. A year ago The Darkness was all hop bitterness, now it's a whole lotta sweet. I also don't find it very creamy at all, but rather way too over-carbonated for a stout. It certainly doesn't taste bad, it's just too much of everything, and even though this is kind of Beyond The Pale's style, it doesn't work with this stout.
