Steel & Oak – Royal City Pale Ale: Is a craft beer brewed in New Westminster, BC just past the Quay at a strength of 5% abv and a lower 20 IBU rating. I had sampled this, like it a lot so naturally a Boston Growler of it came home with me.
Aroma and Appearance: It pours a golden yellow with 1 finger of foam, lots of bubble action and some nice lacing on the head. The aroma was fresh grains, hay, some sweetness in the malt.
Flavour: First off it is very refreshing and quite biscuity with some light caramel, some grains and a bit of a spice I can’t quite identify. The finish quite satisfying with a touch dryness and lingering bitterness.
Overall Impression: Being more of an English Pale Ale versus a West Coast Pale Ale, this one was refreshing. Quite frankly, I don’t really need another hoppy pale ale on the market so I was happy to taste something I would actually seek out again simply because its different.
Rating: Definitely and excellent rating of 8/10, unique on the local market, refreshing and downright tasty.
Food Pairing: I like my pale ales with sharp cheddar.
Here’s my review of the overall brewery and their other beers, be sure to check them out yourself -> Steel & Oak Brewery
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Hmmm. Just because there was no hop, I wouldn’t automatically say that it’s english. I just samples this beer, and it lacks complexity. There is some sweetness there, but overall it feels more like a larger.
I’m surprised at the quality level here in Vancouver, when you have power house cities like Seattle and Portland close by that have literally 100’s of breweries delivering diverse beer… I blame your liquor laws, but I’m surprised with your population’s micro-beer standards.
Agree that it didn’t have a lot of complexity, but certainly is unique for a pale ale and recaptured my interest in the less hoppy version of the style which is basically gone from the West Coast. I understand they use some Vienna Malt in there which is common to Pilsners, but beyond that I would not describe this as even close to a lager. Now regarding quality, many beers from here have ousted those from Portland and Seattle and earned medals over them. I have sampled many west coast beers, from BC to CA and I’d say from a pure quality perspective Vancouver holds it’s own now, albeit only recently (5 years ago my answer would be different). However, I respect that everyone has a palate that is different, I am curious which breweries from here you have sampled so far.