Food Liquids

Review: Wild Rose Brewery India Pale Ale

Wild Rose Brewery's hoppy, delicious India Pale Ale.

I like hoppy, flavourful beers, so a quality India pale ale is a match made in heaven. I’ve found such a brew in Wild Rose Brewery’s India Pale Ale, a hoppy brewed creation from Calgary.

And speaking of Calgary, now is probably as good a time as any to make an announcement of sorts. Here goes …

NEAROF! is moving south. Not waaay down south, like to Atlanta or Buenos Aires, but three hours south of Edmonton to Calgary, Alberta’s least stabby metropolis. This shouldn’t particularly affect your NEAROF! experience in the slightest. In fact, I’m looking forward to getting to know the food scene (and grocery stores) in a whole new city. Exciting stuff.

The Pitch: “A beautiful copper-coloured ale, rich in caramel malt character and well balanced with plenty of hops. This authentic I.P.A. is handcrafted for the true ale drinker.”

The Look: A deep golden hue that’s not at all cloudy. The light head dissipates fairly quickly. Packaged in standard Canadian long-neck bottles with pretty, colourful labels.

The Aroma: Sweet, citrusy hops – and lots of ‘em.

The Taste: Very hoppy with loads of bitterness, yet ample sweetness to keep things from getting out of hand. Some light pepper and toffee. Rich mouthfeel with a solid body. The hops eventually lead to a grassy aftertaste.

Pairs With: Strong cheeses, tomato sauce (especially with garlic), curries. Maybe try it with a creamy korma curry.

RATINGS AND DETAILS

Cost: About $12.99 for a six-pack of 341 mL bottles, found at the Garneau Liquor Depot in Edmonton.

Value for cash money: Good.

Availability: Not hard to find in decent liquor stores in Alberta.

Nutrition?: It’s beer.

Beerish power: 6% a.b.v.

The verdict: Nice, but intense. One bottle per sitting is enough.

2 Comments

  1. I’ll have to pick up a case – I had tried their Alberta Crude Oatmeal Stout on tap at The Sugarbowl. Where it’s managed to replace Guinness in popularity, no less! And it Is quite good!

    Beer-related though, I had been looking into a South African beer blog I found mentioned on http://www.reddit.com/beerhttp://suip.tumblr.com . In commenting on porters-see his ‘Pickled Pig’ entry(back a page)-I posted a link to your review of the Cannery Blackberry….he actually sounds interested!

  2. Hmm, the links are not goin’ my way…ah yes, forgot the ‘r/’

    http://www.reddit.com/r/beer/