Yukon Red
Style: American Amber/Red Ale
ABV: 5.5%
Presentation: 6 packs of 341 ml brown bottles
Brewery: Yukon Brewing Company
Country: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada
KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk
When I first met this red ale over a decade ago it used to be called Arctic Red. Due to some legal issues a couple of years ago, regarding Molson’s apparent trademark over part of that name for some of their own defunct products, Yukon Brewing chose to tweak things around a bit. Fortunate for all of us they simply dropped the offensive aspect that was causing all the litigation, but the beer itself stayed the same as it has been the past 13 years.
With all that behind them now this Red Ale from Yukon Brewing gained national recognition the past year, bringing home not only a gold medal for its style, but also beating out all other gold medal winners to take the best in show and “Beer Of The Year” award for 2009. The event was the Canadian Brewing Awards in Toronto, which has been running the past 7 years, although this year was the first to be sanctioned by the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program), with certified and seasoned beer judges picking out the cream of the crop this time around. That’s the kind of street cred that gives Yukon Brewing even greater bragging rights in light of this newfound exposure.
After this sort of build-up here’s a beer not to be missed if you haven’t tried it before. Really, it offers the best of all worlds, a balance of sweet malt, some crisp hops with a dry finish, yet not too complicated. It’s even a safe way to start accustomizing your palate to a bit hops without being overwhelmed. Let me help walk you through your first glass of this award winning ale from the frequently frozen North.
This particular style is pretty versatile as it is, you can grab your favourite glass to enjoy this one. And even though there’s some hearty flavoured to be discovered, you can still drink it fairly chilled and not miss out on all it has to offer. When this red ale makes its way into your favourite glass you’ll get a nice big hello from the clean mahogany appearance, and when held to light will reveal a rich clear garnet hue. Rounding off that hello is a thick, creamy off-white head that will retain for a short while but will leave lacing down the inside of the glass as it recedes. The texture is as enticing as it looks too, creamy and smooth mouthfeel with a crisp dry finish. There’s a simple yet effective bouquet on the nose, sweet, caramel malts with some green floral hops. This balance continues on in the flavour with a healthy dose of toasted and caramel malt notes at first, ending with crisp spice and citrus from the hops in equal measure, the two blending once more in a dry aftertaste. There’s something for everyone in here, enough hop bite to draw the hopheads away from their precious IPA’s for a spell (no offense, as I’m one of them, guilty as charged….), and enough backbone from the malt to keep those hops in check in order to keep this red ale still approachable for those who are still exploring and defining the boundaries of their palates.
Yukon Red remains just as versatile and user-friendly when it comes to serving with food. The healthy combo of the malt and hop present will do well to both compliment and contrast beef or pork roasts, along with almost anything you can think of pulling off the barbecue grill. The hops will accentuate mildly spicy dishes, although the malt might be a bit of a third wheel when too much heat is involved. However anything you choose from an appetizer menu will play well with this red ale, especially saltier choices. I also noticed that the Springbank Cheese Co. recommends pairing this particular ale with some Cambozola, which makes absolute sense as they are both somewhat sweet yet sharp, it’d almost be like the two were double dating. All that aside this has been one of my favourite session beers since I first tried it several years ago, it seems to hit all the right spots without making me have to work too hard in the process.
The next steps in the cooler:
From This Brewery:
Yukon Gold
Chilkoot Lager
Chilkoot Lead Dog Ale
Yukon Cranberry Wheat
Discovery Ale
Ice Fog IPA
Midnight Sun Espresso Stout
In-Style:
Lagunitas Censored
Santa’s Private Reserve Ale - Rogue
Broken Rake Amber Ale - Pyramid
Fish Tale Amber Ale
Lateral Steps:
Fuller’s London Pride
Warsteiner Dunkel
Tall Timber Ale - Mt. Begbie
Innis and Gunn Oak Aged Ale
Full Moon Pale Ale - Alley Kat
For The Adventurous:
Trappistes Rochefort 6
Paddywhack IPA - Nelson Brewing
Shakespeare Stout - Rogue