Nellie’s Cream Ale

Named in honour of Toronto’s last milk delivery horse, Nellie’s Cream Ale is the September 2020 “Ides of” Series entrant from Henderson Brewery. The ale contains 5.7% and 17 IBUs. It comes in 473mL cans and it’s brewed with flaked oats and a duo of Magnum and Tettnanger hops.

Nellie’s is a slightly hazy orange-gold brew with a thin covering of off-white head. It has a sweet cereal aroma, accented with some biscuity malt. The flavour has a similar construction, with a sweet grain and malt overture and a yeasty, slightly fruity finish. The beer doesn’t have much bitterness to speak of, but it has a lovely smooth texture.

According to Henderson’s website, Nellie’s reward for her daily labour was a bottle of beer and a whole onion. I think that Nellie’s Cream Ale would have satisfied the hard-working equine. I’d have liked a bit more hops depth from the finish and a little less sweetness overall, but otherwise it was an enjoyable little ale.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Rhuby Cove Cream Ale

According to the copy on the 473mL can, Rhuby Cove Cream Ale was originally developed by Mill Street Brewery’s St. John’s, NL outlet. This version, brewed by Mill Street in Toronto, is made with rhubarb purée and strawberry purée. The flavoured beer has a hazy, dull orange-gold colour and it pours with a modest layer of eggshell head.

Rhuby Cove has an aroma that is straight up strawberry rhubarb pie—sweet and slightly tart, with lots of fruit. The flavour, too, has lots of nods to that pastry delight; however, there is an underlying ale element that doesn’t totally land. The mouthfeel is a bit thin.

The combo of fruit purée and nondescript cream ale isn’t bad, but a pale ale with a bit more crisp crackle or else some saison funk would’ve made me a happier lad. Still, the beer is interesting and more than just a novelty. Rhubarb is a flavour that I believe is well suited to beer. This particular effort isn’t my favorite as an integer; however, it truly nailed that strawberry rhubarb pie aroma (a personal fave), and that’s worth a lot to me.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Yard of the Month

From Raleigh, North Carolina, Yard of the Month Cream Ale was hyped by my pal M.M. as her very favourite cream ale. It's a 4.4% alcohol brew from Trophy Brewing Co. Sold in 16oz cans, the beer is pale, yellow gold. It poured with a tiny white head and has a fresh, grainy aroma.  The flavour is mellow, but pretty rich. Notes are primarily grainy and the mouthfeel tended toward the smooth and mild.

Yard of the Month is a mild, sessionable, and well made beer. I liked it quite a bit, though I'm not sure it'll be all that memorable in the long run. Also, 4.4% is great for session drinking, but it's really a bit low test for this guy.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Natural Selections 6-Pack, Volume 2--Raven Cream Ale

Raven Cream Ale is born at the R & B Brewing Company in Vancouver, British Columbia. It comes in a 341mL bottle with a very bust, but pretty cool label. It's a tad understrength at 4.8% and pours a muddy, bloody brown. It was much darker and murkier than I expected for a cream ale. It also features a luscious head that doesn't last long.

Raven has a rounded, malt nose with notes of toffee and fruitcake, though neither comes through in an over-sweet fashion. The flavour debuts with raisin notes atop a malty platform and eventually leads to a slightly hoppy finish that contains a barely tangy fruit element alongside still more malt.

I haven't had much experience with cream ales, other than a number of prominent macros, both out of Canada and the UK, and a couple of nice local micros. This beer amounted to a sizable departure from my previous cream ale forays, and I really liked it. Though it didn't taste anemic, the 4.8% could probably be improved upon.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Eric's Cream Ale

My wife and I each had a pint of Quidi Vidi Brewing Company's Eric's Cream Ale on tap at a George Street establishment. Occasionally a good sport, she agreed to do a review with me.

Eric's Cream Ale is a clear, golden orange coloured crew. It contains 5% alcohol. There is not a lot of head--just an island of off-white. According to my wife, there was a plummy aroma. In my mind, it was sweet, malty, with some faint whisky essence. Flavour-wise, the Missus found it sweet and dully metallic. As she evocatively put it, Eric's Cream Ale is "a hug from someone with engine grease on their shirt." For my part, I found there to be considerable sweetness in the flavour, as well as an unexpected whisky character. A smooth brew, not particularly hoppy or bitter, but with an interesting flavour. As for the finish, the wife said it was faint and fruity. I echoed that sentiment. It had a whisper of bitterness behind some mellow fruitiness.

My wife and I both decided to give this stuff an 8.0 out of 10.

Muskoka Cream Ale

My eye remains trained on Bracebridge, Ontario's Muskoka Brewery for another post.  This time, I'm looking at their Muskoka Cream Ale. This offering comes in 355mL bottles and clocks in at 5% alcohol. It's a clear, honey-coloured brew with an off-white head. It features a mild, grassy aroma that contains a hint of sweetness. The flavour is crisp and clean with some toastiness nestled in among the notes of grain.

Muskoka Cream Ale is a fine brew for regular quaffing.  In my opinion, it's one of the better examples of the style coming out of Ontario.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Cameron's Cream Ale

This brassy brew comes from Cameron's Brewing Company in Oakville, Ontario.  It contains 5% alcohol and is sold in 341mL bottles. It's ever so slightly hazy and crowned with an off-white head. The Cream has all sorts of carbonation and a grainy, slightly toasty aroma.  Cameron's Cream has great balance between toasty, malt notes and a gracious, hop kick. There are some caramel notes, but mostly, the flavour is about cereal grains and gentle toastiness.

This is a nice all-season beer. It's a really great example of the cream ale style.  I definitely recommend it!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.