St.-Ambroise IPA

From one of my very favourite Canadian breweries, Montreal, Quebec's McAuslan Brewing (makers of the truly extraordinary St.-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout), comes the St.-Ambroise IPA. A clear, copper-hued India pale ale, this stuff pours with a hearty cloud of off-white head and displays pretty vigourous carbonation. It contains a sensible, but still potent 6.2% alcohol and checks in with 56 IBUs.

St.-Ambroise IPA has a fresh, hoppy aroma that has some evergreen forest notes and a whisper of treacle. Its flavour is quite sweet--at first, it tastes almost like an Imperial IPA, but with less boozy heat. It has a stalwart malty body, but it's the bitter, spruce and resin notes that really keeps this stuff moving.

Neither as bitter or as strong as I generally like my I.P.A.s to be, but St.-Ambroise IPA manages to be pretty enjoyable anyway. It's a touch too sweet for a beer with just 6.2% alcohol, but it has an interesting flavour that works well.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.