Big Rock Traditional Ale

Brewed by Big Rock Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
Calgary, Canada

Can. Plain brown beer with a strongish head. The aroma is lightly malty, and the flavour is watery, lightly bitter and malty. Overall a very average plain tasting beer.

Bottle. 5%. No idea what the fuss is about. Advertises micro-brewery craftiness and doesn’t really deliver. Boring tasting copper/amber ale. Nice colouring with a tan, creamy foam, but the taste is nothing to write home about. Still drinkable, don’t get me wrong, but something I would order only if the selection was extremely narrow.

Wow so I wasn’t expecting this. Ruby pour. Some hops on the nose. Darker malts as well. Creamy mouthfeel. Amazing taste. A great mix of sweet malts with the spice of hops. Leaves a pleasant aftertaste as well. Superb.

Can. Poured with a small, off-white head that disappeared quite quickly to a haze on top of the beer. No lacing. Body was very clear, and dark amber in color. I enjoyed the aroma... light malt and hops, with something else quite pleasant that I couldn’t put my finger on. Body was light to medium on the palate, and slightly oily/creamy, with lively carbonation. Nice flavor that starts off slightly sweet, but finishes with a light bitterness, yet short duration. Overall a pretty enjoyable beer that would make a good session ale (although there seems to be some confusion from different sources over exactly what class of beer this is).

This was my draught beer of choice for the last few years of living in Calgary (up until 1996), and I hadn’t had one since then. My God! Either it has changed for the worse or my beer tastes have improved greatly since then; I’m not sure which is true. Appearance colour-wise was still nice, although it arrived with nil head above a nice dark amber body. A large problem on the latest examples - I had two with lunch today - was that it was served just too damned cold. Aroma, if there was any, was non-existent, and likewise the taste. Seemingly frozen out of existence was any sense of taste or aftertaste, with only a nondescript mouthfeel. The bastards might just as well put the glass into the freezer and been done with it. Olive Garden, you should know better. I’ll have to try this again at home; surely it must deserve another chance as a beer I used to adore came up not at all good today.

Draft, Banff AB. No head on the beer and not much lacing. Brownish amber color. Sweet toffee and caramel flavor. Low carbonation and sweet, but not cloying finish. Rather reminiscent of an ESB. Not great, but drinkable.

Can. Pours a crystal-clear red amber with an off white head. No real lacing. Nose is crystal malt, sweetness, toffee, mild hops. Palate is soft, sweet, and fruity, with mild hops and decent maltiness. Not my favorite beer, but it’s okay, especially when its on tap.

Excellent crystal clear reddish copper in colour, small tan head that quickly vanashed; a good swirl gives some spotty lacing. The aroma is roasted malts, slight nut, earthy and aromatic. Warm and a bit sweet too. Taste: I’ve never been a fan of this beers’ flavour but it does have lots of malts and some bitterness and a slight sour undertone. The mouthfeel is pretty good but suffers from too much carbonation. Light bodied. Has a good malty / bitter split for the aftertaste. Just order something else, please.