Railway City Honey Elixir - Railway City Brewing Company

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

2.75/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75

Bottle: Poured a clear deep amber color ale with a medium size foamy head with OK retention and minimal lacing. Aroma consists of medium caramelized malt with light sweet undertones. Taste is quite bland with light honey notes and some caramel malt notes as well. Body is about average with medium carbonation. Bland and average offering – it kind of makes me feel good about not having to drink beers from the early 1800’s everyday.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2013 21:27:21 | More by Phyl21ca

thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500 mL bottle picked up at the brewery store; best before Sept 12 2012. Not sure if this is planned to be a one-off or a summer seasonal, but I do know it's the first year they've brewed it.

Pours a lovely, deep, translucent copper-bronze colour, topped with roughly one finger of creamy, light tan-coloured head. It wilts away relatively quickly, leaving behind a dense cap and minimal lacing. Mild aroma that leans toward the malty side - hints of grainy malts, honey, toffee and biscuits. Nothing offensive, but kind of subdued.

Tasty, but not particularly complex stuff. Lots of grainy malts, toasted bread, caramel and biscuits, and of course the eponymous honey sweetness. The leafy, musty, grassy hop dryness comes forward in the finish, providing a countering hop bitterness that lingers into the aftertaste. The malt/honey sweetness is the more prominent facet, but on the whole this is fairly well-balanced. On the thin side of medium-bodied, with a smooth mouthfeel and restrained carbonation.

I debated what style to submit this as for a while. It definitely seems rather English-inspired - pale ale was my first thought, reminding me of a considerably sweeter Headstrong Pale Ale - but arguments could probably be made for placing it in the brown ale, amber ale, or even English bitter categories (ok, maybe not the last one).

Final Grade: 3.55, a respectable B grade. All of this discussion on style classification is an irrelevant tangent - the fact is that Railway City Honey Elixir is a pretty decent session ale that will satisfy your sweet tooth, without being cloying or tainted with adjuncts like a lot of the honey lagers available around here (e.g. Sleeman or Lakeport). Railway City makes a lot of very serviceable session ales, and this is another one of them that I am glad to have tried.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2012 06:13:01 | More by thehyperduck