Bowen Island Extra Pale Ale - Bowen Island Brewing Co. Ltd.

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

2.83/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A copper in color, poured a 2 finger head that was gone by the second sip

S smelled sweet, earthy, with something i just cant place the same smell in other bowen island brews

T pretty average, grain is what i taste with a little sweetness to it. not great but for the price 7.50$ its worth a try the day before payday

M pretty thin, smooth enough but again average at best

D fairly easy to drink, i did not gag like i would on most beers for the same price

Serving type: can

07-17-2009 01:11:47 | More by wordemupg

KalanM

British Columbia (Canada)

3/5  rDev -8.5%

11-29-2012 01:57:27 | More by KalanM

morganwray

British Columbia (Canada)

3/5  rDev -8.5%

08-18-2012 14:53:25 | More by morganwray

bumchilly25

British Columbia (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -0.9%

07-19-2012 01:17:56 | More by bumchilly25

papawu76

British Columbia (Canada)

3/5  rDev -8.5%

12-02-2011 21:55:47 | More by papawu76

pudoo

British Columbia (Canada)

3/5  rDev -8.5%

11-27-2011 01:37:19 | More by pudoo

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

3/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Extra Pale indeed... coppery bronze, big head, some retention & lace.

Very light citrus, floral & rind aroma with hints of underlying grain.

Taste is the same as the aroma, very subdued; very modest bitterness.

Very light for the style, a bit over-carbonated.

Very approachable and easy drinker, but it doesn't bring be back for more.

Serving type: can

05-23-2011 23:17:49 | More by Derek

ozmodium

British Columbia (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a red copper brown, small off-white head, little whisps of lacing. Like every beer I've poured from Bowen, this beer isn't crystal clear, it has an ever so slight haziness.

S: Actually is very light in aromas, but what is there is sweet toasted malts, earthy hops and an interesting
European yeast funkiness

T: As with aroma, flavours are pretty low key, but interesting and fresh tasting nonetheless. Nice sweet maltiness, tea, citric peaty hops. Nice sourness and character from what I'm assuming is the unusual choice in yeast strain.

M: carbonation is about right, and malts give it nice creaminess

D: being fairly light in it's surprisingly good flavour and almost perfect carbonation, this stuff goes down all too easy. This is session beer.

The only thing really hindering this beer from being a "great" beer is that it's a bit lacking in all the goodness it already has. It gives it a bit of a watery, light beer quality. Don't get me wrong, this might be the best $9 six pack I've ever had the pleasure to guzzle with friends watching a Canucks game, eating wings and pizza.

Serving type: can

02-05-2011 05:31:33 | More by ozmodium

CrazyMike

Alberta (Canada)

3.1/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Nice amber brown appearance but with head that rapidly disappears. Smell is grassy and slightly sweet.

Taste is very malty with a touch of grain and sweetness. Light-medium bodied with average carbonation. After is very bitter, but smooth at the same time.

Overall, a decent and drinkable pale ale for it's price, but overall a mediocre one. Would say this is one of the better dollar beers though.

Serving type: can

12-17-2010 06:22:22 | More by CrazyMike

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cheap enough for a craft-ish looking offering, I suppose.

This beer pours a clear medium copper hue, with three fingers of thin foamy off-white head, which leaves some scattered remnants of curtained lace around the glass in its wake. It smells of mild, sweet biscuity malt, and grassy, weedy, somewhat citric hops. The taste is soft bready malt, a bit of citrus - mild lemon, mostly, and tame, but earnest, grassy, earthy hops. The carbonation is moderate, the body medium weight, fairly smooth, and clean. It finishes a bit sweet, the malt persisting.

Not a bad pale ale - nothing fancy, or pungent, but on the other hand, it's not trying to be an IPA either.

Serving type: can

12-01-2010 03:01:50 | More by biboergosum

ericj551

British Columbia (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bowen Island Pale Ale pours a light amber red with a thin white head that doesn't linger. The aroma is warm toasted bread, some dry malt and hints of earthy hops. The flavor is dry with some more bready malt flavor, finished with moderate bitterness. The hop flavor is mild and earthy. The beer finishes clean with a waxy, phenolic character in the background. This beer isn't a bad value, but nothing to seek out.

Serving type: can

09-19-2010 02:03:35 | More by ericj551

Graham5161986

British Columbia (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours a clear darkish amber colour with a 1 finger, soapy, off-white head that doesn't last long and leaves just a little bit in the lace department.

Smell is of light grassy hops and grain with a surprisingly nice Belgian-esque sugar-and-spice malt note. Unfortunately, there is a bit of metal in there that takes away from the experience a bit.

Taste is malty up front with, again, some very interesting spicy, Belgian-like, fruity, yeasty, sugary malt notes leading to a surprisingly well-balanced finish with a touch of hop bitterness and minerality with a nice nutty flavour that comes out on the linger and lasts for a long time on the palate. Honestly, this is a pretty interesting flavour profile for any pale ale, let alone one from of the cheapest ones available!

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a touch of cream and a good amount of carbonation. The finish is slightly oily, but crisp enough to come off feeling clean.

Drinkability is likely this beer's strongest asset. It goes down real smooth and offers up some really decent flavours to ponder over as you polish off a 6-pack . . .

I have to say, I am really pleasantly surprised with this beer. Bowen, to me, has always been a decent, cheap beer that goes down easy and gets the job done. This one, however, adds that explorability flavour-wise which just seems to be lacking in their other brews I've tried so far.

For $9, you can't really go wrong with this one.

Serving type: can

06-08-2010 21:52:53 | More by Graham5161986

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev +39.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Another CANadian beer in a CAN in support of the ongoing CANQuest! Lovely!

When I cracked the top, it began to foam out, like it could not stand another moment in the CAN. This was a highly unusual beer from the outset. My pour created a finger of really thick ecru head with excellent retention. The color was a deep copper-orangish amber with NE-quality clarity. Nose had a great pine hops scent. Wow! Mouthfeel was medium with a tea-like sweetness in the mouth. I have been drinking a LOT of CANned beers, but this was different than anything that I CAN remember. The hops were there, but in such a way as to provide a mellowness, rather than a harshness, to the flavor. The finish was kind of like a slightly malty tea, slightly sweet, but definitely tea-like. Mellow, man. Nice lacing throughout. This definitely gets some cooler space if I could ever get more of it!

Serving type: can

03-24-2010 01:26:39 | More by woodychandler

Seanstoppable

Nova Scotia (Canada)

3.08/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A friend of mine flew into town for Christmas. Asking for 'one or two bottles if you have the room', I instead received 10 cans of assorted brews.

This is a very dark "Extra Pale Ale". A faded copper color when poured, capped with a finger of white head. Minimal lacing on the glass.

The scent is quite surprising. Very floral and fruity, with a hint of grass. Triggers memories of summer.

Taste is a bit grassy/grainy, with some mild hops. Finishes with some bitterness. Fairly straightforward. Mild bitter aftertaste when all is said and done.

Nothing groundbreaking or spectacular, but fairly decent overall.

Serving type: can

12-23-2009 23:03:48 | More by Seanstoppable

OpIvy

British Columbia (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A pretty average beer.

A- Foams up out of the can almost every time no matter how long it's been sitting. Haven't ever poured it but I'm sure it would do the same.

S- Smells of mildly sweet hops.

T- Strong earthy almost burnt taste. Very unique for a pale ale. Best characteristic of this beer IMO.

M- Not terribly smooth but a good feel nonetheless.

D- Very drinkable. Better than most craft beers. But I really don't care for craft anyway.

It's a cheaper beer and worth trying in my opinion. Out here in Kelowna it's $8.25 for 6 cans.

Serving type: can

06-15-2009 20:14:22 | More by OpIvy

BigBry

Alberta (Canada)

3.2/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

355 ml can, as pictured above, fairly new to Calgary.
Poured a clear, copper color, darker than expected. Even a vigorous pour could only produce a few bubbles that quickly disappeared. Smell is grainy, earthy, and a bit metallic. Slightly sweet grain flavor, some light herbal leaf hops. Not the real bitterness of a hoppy pale ale, but some qualities. Decent, but still a budget beer, but not worth the effort or cost of searching this one out in my opinion.

Serving type: can

05-06-2009 22:45:12 | More by BigBry

bluemoonswoon

Illinois

3.05/5  rDev -7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz can poured into a pint glass.

A: Pours a clear, but slightly chill hazed light copper and topped with a three quarter inch head that at first looks thick and sticky but quickly bubbles down to a soapy cap

S: Bit of honey, grainy sweetness, light grapefruit, more earthy than anything else, and altogether quite clean, but a bit like a gym sock, maybe I should put my shoes back on.

T/MF: Sweet grain, muted grapefruit, light light corn, mild, like a touch of honey sweetness in the finish, closes with a slight tingling bitterness that stays around for a while. Just the slightest bit chalky and watery.

D: If it were not for the finish, this beer would be just decent but the aroma and waterniess brings down this budget beer just the slightest bit.

Serving type: can

10-13-2008 03:57:22 | More by bluemoonswoon