Grapefruit League comes from the Ottawa
outpost of the Mill St. Brewery, one of the major players in the
Ontario craft beer scene. At 7% booze, I'm not sure that I'd have affixed the
"Imperial" label to this pale ale, but it's decently strong. An
attractive pint, GL pours clear copper, beneath a foamy cream chapeau.
As expected from the name, the nose has a heady whiff of grapefruit, but
it also has a resinous hops quality. Citrus and resin are the major
players in the flavour as well. There's an admirable bitterness level,
but what really stood out to me was the sultry, smooth mouthfeel. I was
bracing myself for an IPA-style astringency, but got mellow, and
mild-mannered. The finish proved to be a little wispy, but not
regrettably so.
Grapefruit League Imperial Pale
Ale was a curious ale--smooth, attractive, bitter, and oddly-packaged. I
have no compunction stating that I liked it. It's not Mill St.'s
finest, but it is an innovative and well-structured brew. It's a coup
that Mill St. managed to boom out a beer named Grapefruit League before
their fellow Ontario brewers, the baseball-themed Left Field managed to
jump on it. To use a ballpark metaphor, they took away a sure-fire extra
base hit from the opposing team.
Rating: 8.0 out of 10.
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