Red Leaf Lager

An amber lager from Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery, Red Leaf Lager is a 5% brew sold in 473mL cans. The beer has limited bitterness (just 10 IBUs) and a striking copper colour. It pours with a thin, off-white head.

Red Leaf has an agreeable toasted malt aroma with a bit of brown sugar sweetness and a whiff of copper. The flavour is malty, first, and also features toast, copper, and some confectionery sweetness.

Ontario doesn’t have nearly enough amber lagers, so Red Leaf really stands out because it is a pretty good one in a marketplace that lacks peers. It is smooth and easy-drinking, but flavourful, too. I’d have liked the bitterness to be amped up a bit, but otherwise I have few complaints.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Red Leaf

Red Leaf comes from Toronto.  It's made by the Great Lakes Brewing Company.  It's sold in 473mL cans and contains 5% alcohol.  It's a lager, but it has a very attractive orange-red colour.  Topped with a fluffy cloud of off-white head, R.L. is well-carbonated and not exactly clear.

The aroma is coppery with a malty undertone.  The flavour is metallic.  It creeps from sweet to bitter and there is some faint toffee action.  The aftertaste is mildly bitter, bready and fairly short.  Red Leaf has a thin, slightly buttery mouthfeel.

The brew is fairly nice, but a touch "genteel" for my tastes.  I'd need a more full flavour to totally sign on to this one.  Still, it's a nice looking beer with some really excellent qualities.  It's easy-drinking and sessionable.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.