Big Rock Warthog Ale

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

bottle at C’est What
Appearance: clear straight forward amber , creamy mid white top, some lace.
Nose: Grainy , bit flat nose , slight dust on sweet malts. Ordinary.
Flavor/Palate : Mid bodied , fairly soft. Straight grainy industrial feel. Not overly carbonated.

Amber brown with a small off white head. The aroma is nutty with some caramel and distant hops. Mouthfeel is fairly light. Flavour has some more caramel, nuts, brown bread.

Clear light orange. Standard smell. A little musty. Very smooth with little taste. Smooth nonetheless, there’s just nothing to it.

This review done at my father’s 65 birthday party and the fact the they splurged and got a couple of the Big Rock taster packs instead of their normal cube of Coors Light is a mirical. Body of the brew is brown with a thin film of bubbles floating on top and after 1 min. its all gone, this looks completely flat. Aroma is mild with sweet malts that have traces of milk chocolate, some wood and a faint hint of hops. Strange even though the beer looks completely flat it seems to have an abundance of stinging carbonation that is warming the stomach. Very bready taste with slight lemony hops. Yuck to look at the beer now with not one single bubble on top it looks like I’m drinking brown water. Is that melon I’m tasting? Strange there is nothing special about this beer but its enjoyable, it is one of Big Rock’s better offerings it has a nice light easy drinking flavor that allows you to consume massive quantities in a single evening causing a death cloud of Big Rock morning after gas the next day. Brew got more caramel in the last ounce or two once at room temp.

Bottle. Pours a pretty average amber, with a foamy head and next to no lacing. Nose is butterscotch, malt, and little else. Palate shows some crystal malt, but very little else. Hollow, disappointing, and a shameful effort from what used to be a pretty decent brwery. Why must you hurt me so BigRock? I loved you so well. Your Maibock (for the whole 3 years you made it) introduced me to microbrewed beer, and I have watched your downward spiral ever since. Sigh... You really can’t ever go home again.

341 mL Bottle. Copper body with an off-white foamy head that settles to wispy ring and film leaving some lacing. Aroma is grains, malt, and earthy hops with a hint of treacle. The flavor is very much there without being imposing: sweet malt with a hint of brown sugar, a mild expression of tangy hops in the aftertaste followed by a butter biscuit linger. A brownie point for the original label design.

Bottle. Light and smooth brown ale with a decent amount of malt. I’ve never been a brown ale guy, but this is certainly passable.

The smell and general flavour really do it for this beer, but that is about all it has going for it. The aftertaste is a bit sour and reminds me of an apple that is a bit past reipeness, a bit starchy. It makes you want to have another smell and a sip to remind you of the good parts of it.