Black Oak Pale Ale

Black Oak Pale Ale is the product of Toronto, Ontario's Black Oak Brewing Co. It comes in 341mL bottles and contains the standard 5% alcohol. The bottle tells me that this cheeky beer is "brewed with reverse osmosis water", whatever that means.

BOPA is a clear, deep golden colour and is filled with lively carbonation and topped with a moderate froth of white head. Aroma-wise, BOPA walks that admirable line between caramel maltiness and traditional hop bitterness. It has a rich flavour that starts sweetly with classic caramel notes before turning bitter. I'd class BOPA as an English-style pale ale due to its mild, malt-forward, caramel-toned body and its bitter backbone, but I'm not sure whether that's how Black Oak defines it.

There are no surprises here, but it's a very well-executed ale. I find myself buying it all the time and you should too.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.