Dallas Reimer bags a 'growler' of Black Bear ale. (Or maybe it was just a bottle, but we liked the headline.)
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Black Bear ale review
Submitted
by Dallas Reimer
I spent two weeks in BC and all I got
out of it was one
lousy beer review? No, that's all wrong. It wasn't lousy at all. It was
pretty... whatever the opposite of lousy is.
Now, to be honest, while I was whiling away the time in a free hotel room (obviously due to my elevated status as a distinguished member of the United Nations of Beer and not because my parents run the joint), I figured that I had to get a review out of this trip. I mulled it over for a few days, putting it off from one to the next. I considered it a mundane necessity. An obligation, even!
How very sad. If I couldn't get excited about a job in which my sole duties are to drink beer and tell everyone about it, what hope is there for the rest of the world?
I gathered up my things, dejected and depressed, and headed to the beer store in downtown Lillooet, BC to see what I could find.
Black Bear ale
As I half-expected, there was mostly the usual. Budweiser, Blue, Kokanee, Molson Yawn-adian.
But, way back by the rugged, barren path near the wine coolers and novelty shooters, I did find a promising beer called Black Bear ale.
It is brewed by Okanagan Spring Brewery in lovely Kamloops, British Columbia. The box said something about "craft brewed" and I didn't think that anyone would dare slap on a label like that and not make (at minimum) a half-assed effort at creating a wonderful beer.
I brought it home and sat down with my Dad, wanting a second opinion on the beer in case I missed anything and to get some ideas since my brain was in vacation mode. And I wanted someone to drink this obviously boring beer with.
I didn't pour it into a glass to check the head for a few reasons:
-
I was thirsty
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I didn't have a beer glass
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I really don't understand why the head is important
Call me crazy, but I like what lies under that foul, white cloud and try to dispose of it as soon as possible
The first sip was nothing special. Maybe I should have poured it into a glass. Maybe my taste buds were dulled by my taco dinner earlier that night. Maybe it was just a boring beer, like I had suspected all along. At least there was booze in this tediously average bottle.
I lost all the excitement I had built up. I felt deflated. I sat down on the couch, holding the bottle between my legs, watching Survivorman on the Discovery Channel, and in a few short minutes, something magical happened.
I took another sip and noticed quickly that the beer had warmed up slightly. I braced for the warm-beer-willies, but they were held at bay by the pleasant flavour I encountered. It was similar to Fort Garry Pale Ale: malty and comforting, but with a slightly fruity finish.
I held the bottle at arm's length and stared at my hand with a drooping jaw, raised brows and widened eyes. A realization! Ale shouldn't be ultra-cold! Duh!
From then on, I was back in the groove, sipping and trying to think of witty paragraph-slicing comments (note the above attempts). My job was no longer a job. It was a way of life again.
Thank you, Okanagan Springs, for Black Bear ale and for injecting the hope back into this jaded UNOB employee, nay, Proud Member!
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