Style: Amber Ale
ABV: 5%
Presentation: 500 ml single cans
6 packs of 341 ml brown bottles
Brewery: Tree Brewing Co.
Country: Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk

From my experience Thirsty Beaver seems to be the most popular offering from the Tree Brewery of Kelowna (although I’m more partial to their Hophead myself).  Heck, there’s even a local softball team named after it.  When Tree first started brewing this ale back in the Spring of 1996 it was simply called Amber Ale, however in 2005 not only did the name get changed to Thirsty Beaver but the packaging also underwent a total facelift to the cartoony and somewhat goofy incarnation we all know and love these days.  I’ll let you come to your own conclusions regarding any double entendres or innuendo possibly involved…..  More notoriety attributed to this amber ale is that Thirsty Beaver was one of the first craft beers ever to be offered in 500 ml cans in Western Canada, as Tree was the first regional brewery to utilize this format.

In a sense the Amber Ale is an ambiguous umbrella term used to describe a loose style of beer that started to become prominent in the U.S. around the turn of the 20^th century, especially flourishing in the Western states.  Darker than an English Bitter, maltier than the usual Pale Ale, it can range between light copper to light brown in appearance, generally is quite balanced in flavour, tending to lean towards the malty side, however snappy, hoppy versions are not uncommon, especially among Pacific Northwest brewers.  For many they make an ideal gateway beer into the realm of ales from commercial domestic lager drinkers, usually unintimidating and appealing to those comfortable with maltier, sweeter flavour profiles.  Although it’s not very complex, Thirsty Beaver offers a great starting point for the style, especially for people who have only ever sampled something like a Rickard’s Red previously.

Whether you picked it up in the can or the bottle, this is an ale you can gladly pull out your favourite pint glass or mug for, nothing fancy is required to fully appreciate it.  Although it’ll taste alright straight out of the fridge, I’d recommend letting it sit for 5-10 minutes to warm up slightly, in order to help release the sweet malty goodness waiting inside for you.  Expect a ruddy translucent copper colour with a fairly tall white head that lingers a while.  The aroma will be somewhat toasted, sweet at times with a mild caramel character, juxtaposed with hints of floral citrus hops.  With a mouthfeel that is light yet not watery this amber ale remains approachable yet satisfying, easily keeping it within the realm of a session beer.  The taste up front contains moderate amounts of caramelized malt, toasted and dry.  This continues to be the predominant flavour until it is joined by a slight amount of citrus and grassy hops on the finish, although the malts linger on once more in the aftertaste with just a touch of lemon zest.

If served with food I’d suggest trying Thirsty Beaver along with some comfort food, paired alongside burgers, chicken wings or nachos, heck, even poutine.  The malt base would also go well with beef and pork dishes, from a roast to a sandwich or wrap.

The next steps in the cooler:

From This Brewery:
Kelowna Pilsner
Cutthroat Pale Ale
Hophead IPA
Spy Porter
Hefeweizen (seasonal)
Raspberry Porter (seasonal)

In-Style:
Pumphouse Fire Chief Red
Yukon Red
Mill St. Tankhouse Ale
Lagunitas Censored
Fish Tale Organic Pale Ale

Lateral Steps:
Fuller’s London Pride
Boddingtons Pub Ale
Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale
Mt. Begbie Tall Timber Ale
Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

For The Adventurous:
Innis and Gunn Oak Aged Beer
Rogue XS Imperial Red Ale
Palo Santo Marron - Dogfish Head
Olde Deuteronomy - Alley Kat

Tags: Ale, Canada

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 1:45 am and is filed under KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.