MacLean’s Pale Ale

Bottle. Amber color, off white head. Mild aroma of some malt and some spicy hops. Similar flavor, but mild again. Thinner body, slightly astringent. I see others have tried it on cask and I’m guessing I’d like it better on cask as well. In a bottle it’s inoffensive but kind of boring.

Dry Hopped cask @ Winking Judge in Hamilton, ON Inviting sweet nose - light grassiness & citrus, nice malt. Hops are very well balanced with a strawberry-esque malt. Good stuff.

slightly hazy gold, small white head. flowery, earthy and leafy hop aroma. flavour had bready malt and honey sweetness. a dry roasty finish with earthy hop. not bad.

Pours light hazy amber witha thin white head. Light hop florals and faint caramel in the aroma. Definatly English in style. But the hops never really show themselves until the finish. Toasted and dry in the finish. It has all the elements, but it ended up weaker than expected.

Cask at the Winking Judge. Very nice. i really enjoyed this one, my first try at cask ale. not much carbonation, made for an interesting mouthfeel.

Bottle. Bought fresh at the brewery. Poured a slightly hazy light amber-orange with a 1 finger white cap that reduced to a good lace that stayed (much longer than any other F+M brew). Medium carbonation. Best nose of all the F&M brews....aromas of toast, caramel malts and a thin whisp of sage or pine. Starts bolder up front than other brews from this brewer, with a nice oily mouth feel and medium body where the toasty-caramel malt sits in almost perfect balance with the musty-sage hopping. Finish is clean with a mellow hop aftertaste. The outstanding character of this brew for me was its uncanny. almost perfect balance. Strangely one of the best balanced ales I ever tasted...beginner's luck for F&M? A nice brew...much like a light scotch ale....I’ll buy more

Bottle direct from Maclean’s Ales. Looks fantastic - fiery orange, lots of streaming bubbles, creamy thick white head. Malty, hop aroma - very fruity. Taste is excellent - great fruity malt with noticeable hops and a very refreshing medium body. Very very fresh. I’ve had this on tap recently fresh as well and it has been excellent - a very nice little comeback. Cask at Blue Meaney. Amber Orange Colour, slightly fruity aroma. Good balance between caramel malts and slightly fruity taste. Moderately bitter finish. Enjoyable.

Amber/Brown colour, despite the pale ale style. I see that’s part of the style and have had recently very good beers that are included in this style. Neither this or other pales I have had have retained their head. This brewery is high on carbonation, which emphasized water and light in hops or malt. Tried cask conditioned in June 2004 and was somewhat better.