Cranky Reviews

A Traditional Scottish Canadian Japanese Pale Ale

Pale Ales

Pale Ales

Scottish Pale Ale

Beer Type

11 to 14

11 to 14
Honourable Mentions

Rating

A Traditional Scottish Canadian Japanese Pale Ale

Maclays Pale Ale

Thistle Brewery?

5% Alcohol

Maclays Scottish Pale Ale, from the storied Scottish highlands. Maclays coat of arms on the can. Scottish flag on the can. Thistle Brewery. More Scottish than Sean Connery and Ewan McGregor playing golf together. How could you get more Scottish than that? But wait a minute, what else does it say in fine print on the can? Sleeman Brewing & Malting Co. Isn’t that a brewery in Canada? And isn’t Sleeman  owned by a Japanese brewer, Sapporo*?  I guess its more like Connery and McGregor playing golf with Hideki Matsuyama and Brooke Henderson. But once again I digress.

Pours golden and clearer than my intentions with a game on and beer in the fridge. Apple juice clear, with minimal head which was practically gone by the time I put the glass down to take a pic. It has a mild malt aroma, with apples in there too? A nice mild easy drinking ale, why am I tasting apples? No bite or hops or aftertaste. Clean (not crisp) finish. I don’t know if the very faint apple taste is in the beer or my brain or both.  A nice traditional ale, with an off taste of apples**?

*Editor’s Comment: Sapporo also just happens to own 4.2% of Ontario’s primary beer retailer, The Beer Store.

**Editor's Comment: A slight suggestion of green apple can be an appropriate component of light American lager styles. In most styles, however, perceptible green apple is considered a flaw.

***Editor’s Comment: In the Oscar award winning movie Goodwill Hunting, Matt Damon uses this line to perfection. “Do you like apples? …. Well I got her number. How do you like them apples.” The origin of the saying “How do you like them apples” is an expression that supposedly originated during the first World War, when the Allies’ anti-tank grenade was colloquially called a “toffee apple” because of its bulb-like appearance on a stick. Upon throwing the grenade the soldier would say the phrase as a taunt against the enemy, who of course would have never heard it being in a A7V Sturmpanzerwagen tank. Now I’m digressing too. It’s contagious.

Final Rating: How Do You Like Them Apples*** at 12 out of 20

Pale Ales

Pale Ales

Scottish Pale Ale

Beer Type

11 to 14

11 to 14
Honourable Mentions

Rating

Other Info

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