Friday, May 1, 2009

Real Ale Rio Blanco Pale Ale

I put off trying this stuff for a while because the name struck me as both dowdy and pretentious, but I was in Tom Thumb the other day and I noticed a little note on the bottle that says it's brewed with Czech Saaz hops. In terms of taste, I wouldn't know a Saaz hop from a hole in the head, but I know a few Czechs who used to bitch about being forced to work unpaid in the hop fields as a sort of post-communist community service/character building dealie when they were in high school, and I figured I'd give it a whirl. It's hoppy but nice and crisp. The profile's not too bold (heh heh) so I guess you could say it would make a good session beer [snorts beer out nose]. It doesn't have the rusty note that often accompanies hoppy beer, which is fine with me: I can give up some complexity for a nice clean flavour. Kind of one dimensional, but it's a good dimension.

RATING: 79%

(Image from www.kbinstitute.org.)

2 comments:

Fake R3 Persona said...

Can't say I've ever tried Rio Blanco Ale. I'm damn sure though, that I'd like it if I did. So far I've never come across an ale that I don't like. I guess it's European so it probably has a nice kick. Too expensive for me though.

John said...

It was on sale for $7.50 for a 6 pack. Did you know you can get Moose Green down here for $6.99? Back home in NB where it's brewed it's like $12 for a 6 pack. It's not even that good, I just buy it because the shitpokes at the store are more likely to accept my Canadian I.D. if I'm buying Canadian beer.