Rickards White

by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
(UNOB Towers)

Rickard's White: a miserable let-down after much fanfare. Typical Liverpool FC season since 1990, or white beer?

With a huge fanfare (or at least, huge for beer industry standards), Rickards White was launched in Canada a while ago. It was always available in the US under a different name, Blue Moon. Now Molson, the owners of the Rickards brand, have ‘invented’ this product for the home market.

You won’t get too many surprises when you pour this beer. It has a fairly typical white beer cloudy pour and wheaty smell that will make you salivate. There’s maybe a hint of lavender in the nose, or perhaps the scent reminds you of that slightly alcoholic auntie who used to visit every Christmas.

Disappointment lurks in the first swallow. There’s quite a bland initial taste, although the beer isn’t particularly fizzy. It’s almost as if you’d ordered a white beer on tap and the pint turned up a bit flat.

Rickards White is not terrible by any means, but it IS disappointing. I’ve enjoyed other Rickards beers and am quite a fan of white beer, so I am bang on target for their desired audience. You’ll be rueing this choice as you burp up the gas and wonder why it doesn’t taste as strong as the 5.4% ABV it claims to contain.

Miserable let-down, thy name is Rickards White.