Clear Lake Session Ale

From the Clear Lake Brewing Co., in Muskoka Lakes, Ontario, comes Clear Lake Session Ale. A crystal clear, 4.8% alcohol beer, CLSA comes in 473mL cans and pours with a vibrant but very short-lived white head.

CLSA has a sweet aroma that is based around cereals and corn, with just a flicker of hops at the tail end. The beer is fairly crisp, though it is a touch too sweet to make it particularly session-friendly—at least for me. The flavour is grain and corn-driven, with a faint bitterness to close the door.

CLSA has a distinctly “macro” feel to it—it tastes like any number of golden ales that I’ve tried, with little to set it apart. I quaffed my can during a grilling session, and it made an adequate companion to that endeavour, though in truth, it didn’t add a whole lot. In my opinion, this beer was ordinary. Add to that a too-sweet complexion, and it’s not a beer I’m keen to revisit.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10.