Just because I'm no longer taking a dry month doesn't mean that I have to stop drinking non-alcoholic beer.
After I finished my Dry July challenge, I noticed how some of my tummy fat had gone away, despite the fact that I wasn't exercising as much as I should. And I started thinking that maybe, I was on to something.
Trust me, this doesn't mean that I'm giving up alcohol. But I have decided that, for the remainder of the year—perhaps longer—I'm going to seriously reduce my alcohol intake.
Not that I drink a lot under normal circumstances.
I've decided that I will allow myself a drink (or two) on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The remainder of a week will be dry, the only exceptions will be if I'm on vacation (I'll be at an all-inclusive resort, in Mexico, for a week in December, and there's no way that I could stick to this rule!).
If I want something that resembles a cocktail or beer from Sunday through Wednesday, it has to be non-alcoholic. I don't set the rules... oh, wait, I do.
This means that if I want to review an alcoholic beer for Beer O'Clock, I have to do the reviewing on my drinking days. If I find myself on any other day and want something for my Thursday posts, the beer can't contain any booze.
Which brings us (finally!) to today's review.
At the end of July, I stocked up on a bunch of non-alcoholic beer that I discovered in my friendly neighbourhood Farm Boy grocery store. To my surprise, they had a good selection, including a few from one of my favourite Ontario breweries, Collective Arts. When I saw that CA had a non-alcoholic stout, I emptied the shelf, and that was the brew that I drank to finish off my Dry July.
But Farm Boy also stocked its own brand of non-alcoholic beer, including an IPA. And I became curious: how would this brew stack up to, let's say, the Collective Arts non-alcoholic IPA?
I'll review the Farm Boy ale today and the CA brew next week.
Now, Farm Boy doesn't say who makes their near-beer (actually, since NA beer has improved over the years, I have grown to dislike that term), neither on the can nor on their Web site, and a Google search yielded no help. So I'll give the grocery chain the credit.
Farm Boy
Ottawa ON (that's what the can says: surprised me!)
Appearance: pours an unfiltered pale yellow, resembling lemonade. The head was a foamy white that poured thick because I didn't tilt the glass but settled to a thin, solid lace.
Nose: fresh pineapple with a hint of orange citrus.
Palate: light pear with a slight bitterness, though I didn't detect any hops, and there's a watery, biscuity malt that is so easy going (almost like someone had dropped a hard tack in the glass and let it soften, or like an Arrowroot biscuit but not sweet). The body is extremely light and there's almost no finish.
Overall impression: there's almost nothing to this beer that makes me think of IPA. Perhaps Farm Boy put IPA on the can because those initials seem to sell beer. Yes, that's a harsh statement but if I had tried this brew in a blind tasting, I would have leaned more to a saison more than an IPA. It's missing the banana and mineral flavours of a saison but has a closer profile to that style than to an IPA.
That said, this beer tastes good. It's refreshing, light, and is perfect for a hot summer day. I would certainly reach for one again, despite its poor choice of name.
Beer O'Clock rating: this is a tough one. Because it doesn't resemble an IPA, I would tend to give it a 🍺, but because it's tasty and refreshes, and I liked the flavour, I would want to give it a higher score. So, I'll award it a 🍺.5.
(I have to come up with a half-pint image.)
Obviously, Farm Boy IPA can be found at the grocery chain by the same name. As it is owned by Sobey's, I don't know if that grocery store carries it as well or if it has the same brew under its own label. If you know, leave me a comment.
I'm looking forward to trying the Collective Arts non-alcoholic IPA, and I'll have it side-by-side with Farm Boy's version, for comparison.
Cheers!
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