Big Rock Traditional Ale

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

Pours a clear amber color with no head. The aroma is a strong malt smell, pleasant. Flavor is light caramel at start, strong malts in the middle, and very very mild hops at the end. Not balanced, but still very enjoyable. The carbonation is decent, but it doesn’t prevent the texture from being a little watery. Still a decent beer.

For me, flavor is everything in Big Rock’s products. Nothing fancy about the smell, or apperence. No dreamy aroma’s or magical colour layers. The experience starts once its in my mouth. Rich, full, complex and deep flavors that over various paths to take. Traditonal is earthy goodness that pleases my palate!

This one pours a reddish-brown with a slight head of tan. This is an extremely clear beer--there’s your filtering, I suppose. The head doesn’t stick around, and it doesn’t really lace either. The aroma is immediately raspberry to me, with some definite English hops (maybe Kent, maybe not), and... well, then the musty malt n’ grain charges forth. This is the smell I will remember Big Rock by. The mouthfeel is crisp and light, which I didn’t expect for something being marketed as traditional ale. Doesn’t exactly seem like English Brown Ale, which is what the box promotes. At first, the taste gives me bitter hops, lime peel, and burnt malt. As it warms, the taste is conquered solely by the more astringent and aspirin-like qualities of Big Rock’s malt. The aftertaste is bitterness and citrus tang. At first, I wasn’t unhappy, but over the course of a glass I became disappointed with what should be, well, just ’more.’ As a whole, this beer doesn’t have any characteristics to recommend it to others, but I wouldn’t turn it down if I was offered one. Last note--I find this beer to be a bit too watery.

Bottled. Pours with a dark brownish copper hue and a small quickly disappearing head. Aroma is brown sugar and toffee. Sweet toffee flavour with hints of bitterness and a lot of sweetness in the finish. A great ale.

Nice medium brown. Clean and clear. Sweet..no bitterness. This is one of my regular beers at the local pub. It’s always on tap pretty much anywhere in Calgary, good price, and easy drinking.

Draught @ West 50, Mississauga: Pours deep copper brown, good sized white head. Aroma is all malts, but quite pleasant. Taste is reminiscent of hard rock candy with caramel malts, and there are plenty of malts to be found here. The hops, while present, are well hidden in what is a very sweet amber ale. I enjoyed this much more than I expected to.

Excellent flavor with a nice aroma. Great with meats and great to use in sauces...a little fake in the in the true sense of dark ales but its nice because you can drink more than a couple