McAuslan Griffon Extra Pale Ale

Brewed by McAuslan Brewing
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Montreal, Canada

341 mL Bottle sampled Dec 23, 2009. Clear yellow body with a fast dissipating fizzy head. Aroma of cereals, grains, there is a sharp earthiness about it. Flavor is cereals and liquid corn flakes, the aftertaste and linger describe a combination of hop bitter and bubblegum. For hot summer weather only.

Had a small pour of this in the lobby of some hotel in Montreal. Fairly pleasant look to it, more of a pale amber color than a blonde, with minimal carbonation. Sharp boozy aroma immediately made me wonder about the abv, but as I tasted the beer it struck me that the beer was simply imbalanced. A trace of butter and sweet malts, only the faintest hops. Thin mouthfeel. Not good.

341ml bottle poured into a pint glass. Poured a golden yellow with a 1.25" white head. During drinking there was a always a 1/8" cap and some decent lacing. Aroma of sweet malts (biscuit dough) and some flowery hops. Well balanced aromas. Taste has some sweet malts up front, followed by a hint a dry fruitiness and then a slightly metallic bitterness in the finish. Good carbonation. Mouthfeel is a little heavy, a little dry and a little sticky on the tongue. Could easily drink only this during a session. My only complaint is the metallic finish which was a bit unpleasant at first.

Tap. Clear pour with nice white froth, heavy lacing on my pint. Aroma is mellow and sweet, some fruitiness. Taste is a good bitter/sweet mix some herbal hops cut through the light malty sugars. Good blond.

I get a kick out of the pale and "extra pale" but whatever. Taste is fruity, hops and malt. Enjoyable ale but nothing noteworthy.

341 ml bottle from Trappe a Fromage, served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass.

App.: Clear deep golden with a large, loose white froth. Aroma: Light fruit and biscuit/toast, some caramel, tree fruits, some berry notes, sweet and inviting. Palate: Medium body, very soft carbonation, smooth. Flav.: Much like the nose, lots of berry fruitiness, some toffee/caramel, plenty of malt; lightly sweet with almost no bitterness.

Meh, not bad for the style I guess.

As far as pales go, this is pretty much as good as it will get.
Nice clean yellow gold brew with a large white frothy head that poured out. Retains very well and gives out small amounts of slippery silty lacing. The aroma is very fruity with oranges, apricots and apple to go along with the floral scents and subdued bready malt. The taste is really good as well but is far from exciting: clean and pleasant, tasty floral and biting hops, touch of tartness, grain. Finishes smooth with ample carbonation and a slight bready aftertaste. No, I’m not ever going to go out of my way for one of these despite the high marks.

Clear golden amber color with a listless, but lasting white head. Aroma of hops, citrus, and malts. Flavor of malts. hops, and some grass. Some dry hopped bitterness and the end. Decent beer.