Red Racer Pale Ale

Red Racer Pale Ale had been, for me, the elusive middle sibling in the Red Racer family of beers. The eldest, the IPA, has been available in Ontario for ages, while the baby, the ISA has been around since at least the summer. The Pale Ale only just turned up, and to get it I had to purchase a mixer case of 355mL cans--good thing I like the other two, because I got eight of 'em.

Note: I have also tried the Red Racer Pilsner (which I quite liked) and the Red Racer Craft White Ale (which I found to verge on the disagreeable).

Born in Surrey, British Columbia, Red Racer Pale is the child of Central City Brewers + Distillers. It contains a standard 5% alcohol and pours clear, copper, and topped with a thin off-white head. It has a nice aroma suspended between roasted malts and swampy citrus hops. With a winning flavour, I'm willing to overlook the slightly anemic booze bill. This stuff has nice balance between burnt caramel malts and satsuma bitterness that I found really agreeable. There isn't much of a captivating finish, but the initial taste goes down a treat.

This is a perfectly pleasant little beer. It's not adventurous or ambitious, but the brewers certainly didn't phone it in either. It manages to deliver satisfaction without wowing. Well made and well received. A fine anchor to the R.R. beer family.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.