Beer O'Clock: Hatch

I really shouldn't go beer shopping with DW.

"What about this one?" she would ask, pointing at a colourful can on the shelf in the LCBO. "It looks interesting."

"I've had it. Already reviewed it."

"How about this?"

"Had it."

"This?"

"Done."

"This looks good," she'd say, holding up a can.

"It is good. I've already reviewed it."

"Oh, you like Bellwoods," she said, pointing to a group of various cans and bottles from this Toronto brewery. "Have you had any of those?"

I scanned the shelf. I had had most of them but my eyes fell to a brew that was new to me. "I haven't had this beer," I said, picking up a couple of cans and adding them to my shopping basket, "but I've reviewed Bellwoods a couple of times. I'd like to review something from a brewery that's new to me."

"You don't make this easy," she said.

"It's usually easy when I do this on my own."

The truth is, when I wander the beer aisles of our liquor store, my eyes can quickly scan and rule out any beer that I've already had, where I recognize the can or label. I'll also see the logo of a recognized brewery and tend to keep scanning, always on the lookout for something new.

As DW demonstrated, I've tried a lot of different brews.

But next to the Bellwoods display, my eyes fell on a label that I didn't recognize. And I was unfamiliar with the brewery, so a couple of cans went into my basket.

"So we're done?" DW asked, her tone clearly indicating that our mission had been accomplished and that there was no point in lingering.

When I'm on my own, I would tend to keep looking. I'd fill my basket with several new brews so that I'd have an idea of how many Beer O'Clock reviews I had before me. And my beer fridge had only three cans of beer left in the fridge, all of which had been reviewed. I clearly needed to restock.

But I'd have to wait for another time, when I was shopping for beer on my own.

For now, I had a new Bellwoods brew to enjoy and a completely new brewery (new for me, that is) to explore and share with you. Let's call it a hatchling.

Hatch Pale Ale (5.2% ABV)
Slake Brewing
Prince Edward County ON

Appearance: pours a hazy pale orangy-yellow, similar to a glass of grapefruit juice (grapefruit is prominent in this ale). The head pours a modest white that immediately settles to a thin cap and then dissipates in a fine lace. On a second pour, I was much more aggressive and got a foamy head, but even that didn't last more than a couple of minutes.

Nose: bright, ripe grapefruit.

Palate: the grapefruit hits you right off the bat, with lush, bitter citrus. For a moment, I thought I was actually drinking a fizzy grapefruit juice. But the fruit drops off quickly and I was left with a short, watery finish. On subsequent sips, the bitter hops would coat the mouth but the fruit always fell away.

Overall impression: I always think of a pale ale as a milder version of an India Pale Ale: you get the hops, you get good fruit, but it doesn't wallop you like an IPA. A pale ale is an easy-drinking, sessionable IPA.

Hatch is certainly that, with the light and refreshing citrus aroma and a light body. But for me, I wish the citrus flavours would linger a little longer. I know it sounds like a fine point, but when this ale first filled my mouth, I thought wow, that's a juicy surprise; and then, my delight was abruptly cut short as I swallowed and all the flavour seemed to go down my throat, leaving just a trace of the hops.

After a minute or two of not drinking any of the brew, my taste buds had no memory of it. It's like the ale wasn't fully... hatched.

Now, this could be a good thing if you want to quench your thirst on a hot day and don't want any lingering flavours. This ale goes down well: it's just that when it's gone, it's gone.

Overall, I liked Hatch. And I guess that any beer that leaves you wanting more can be a good thing, right?

Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺

Slake Brewing offers a $10 Ontario shipping rate if you want to order Hatch or any of their other offerings, and Hatch itself can be found in the LCBO.

Cheers!