English Bay Pale Ale - Granville Island Brewery

vanrassel

Alberta (Canada)

3.38/5  rDev +8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Highly drinkable, though unremarkable offering from Granville Island.

It looked decent coming out of the bottle, pouring a dark copper with a foamy head that quickly reduced to a ring and left some sticky lace on my glass. The smell was subdued, despite what seemed to be a few different things contributing to it: biscuity malt, some nice fruity esters — I picked up apple and pear, but who knows? — and faint hops.

My first impressions of the taste were uncharitable: that this is a pretty nondescript beer. Given more time to sample and think about it, I'd say "well-balanced" would be a more diplomatic way of putting it.

There are some real pluses to this beer: a nice lively mouthfeel and clean finish, but in this case I think "well-balanced" is a drawback: as someone else mentioned, this beer is a little malty for the style — I would have preferred more of a hoppy bite. That, in turn, would have won me over.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2006 18:44:04 | More by vanrassel

niangelo

Alberta (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle with pretty Vancouver artwork. Poured a slighty cloudy orangesque coloured haze with a fluffy white top. Smells of malt, dryness.

A definite caramel flavour here - not usual for a pale ale, and an enjoyable surprise. This drink dries out at the finish and a touch of bitter, but an overall malt feel that's a bit much for a pale. Not too bad overall though.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2006 14:51:58 | More by niangelo

Noxious26

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.18/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

355ml can poured in mug.

Clear, copper-amber colour. Head 1/2 inch beige-orange. Head reduces quickly to a thin layer.

Aroma is sweet & a little fruity. Slightly malty with little hops in background.

Taste is sweet with roasted malts. Perhaps a little too sweet for a pale ale. Smooth. Has a mild bitter bite to the aftertaste that lingers for awhile.

Medium bodied mouthfeel that is well balanced.

This is easy drinking and mild in taste, but not what I usually expect from a pale ale. This isn't a bad beer, but it isn't great either. Another middle of the road beer for Granville Island.

Serving type: can

06-22-2005 03:17:44 | More by Noxious26

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

2.48/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Huge foamy pour, maple syrup colour beer. Beery and not hoppy aroma, but initial taste is hoppy grapefruit Then the malts take over. Moderate carbonation, and medium to light mouthfeel. Quaffable but not a good example of a pale. Thanks Mark for bringing back.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2005 21:37:54 | More by northyorksammy

BigBry

Alberta (Canada)

3/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

One of four selections in the Granville Winter Mingler 12 pack.
Light brown to amber color, off white tan head. Not much foam, quickly disappears, leaving just a thin ring. Very light aroma of malt caramel and some hop bitterness - too light, was expecting more. Taste is similar with light malt and some bitterness to finish. Average, and kind of unexciting, and left an almost metallic aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2005 05:29:49 | More by BigBry

Cwrw

Alberta (Canada)

3.43/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

English Bay Pale Ale is actually not that pale, but coppery, with slight browns and reds. The head was quite minimal, leaving only a small ring. For an English-based pale ale, the small head is not wholly surprising(after all, many of the ales in Britain are not meant to have massive frothy heads). The appearance, however, is simply average; nothing exciting to note. The aroma is worth savouring, although basic in its elements: sweet caramel and malt, with various, dried fruit smells, and perceptible hop, WHEN the beer is a bit warmer, not extremely cold. A very decent aroma for a pale ale, indeed. The taste is quite good, better than average, with strong malt flavour and subtle hop finish, but it is by far a malty offering, not a bitter one. Medium bodied. The mouthfeel could improve somewhat, in that it could be more full, but all considered the drinkability of this craft-brewed British Columbia beer is a touch above the rest. A healthy beer from a respected craft-brewer on the Canadian west coast.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2004 10:35:01 | More by Cwrw

Garin

Alberta (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It poured a lovely clear coppery brown color with a thin but creamy and lasting head.

Obvious malty nose with a good dose of caramel and a light hops. Maybe a bit low on the hops aroma. It loses some score for the style, strictly speaking.

The flavour is a light caramel malt up front with a definite (but not overbearing) hop bitterness in the end. The middle is a tad light and somewhat hollow. A light citrusy overall character builds over time.

The mouthfeel is light and refreshing, easy drinking. Just what I'd expect.

It's a bit more malty and less hoppy than I'd expect from a pale ale. I'm noticing that Granville Island does that with quite a few of its ales. I think that might be one reason I really like GI...

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2003 05:56:48 | More by Garin

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This pale pours out of it's 341ml brown bottle with an okay off-white head, but that soon fades, leaving some slight lacing. This almost looks like cider at a quick glance. The aroma at first was quite enticing, sweet caramel, a bit of toasted malt, not quite what I was looking for in a pale. Yet going back shortly after I couldn't pick up anything at all. Flavour is quite bland, doesn't follow through with the caramel in the nose, and the hops are not very apparent either. Lack of taste aside it is quite drinkable, goes down nicely, and in that sense is a step up from a macro in my opinion. Not a big step up, mind you, but it'll do for now.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2003 16:13:09 | More by IronDjinn

49degrees

British Columbia (Canada)

3.63/5  rDev +16%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A mid-range English styled Pale Ale from one of the region's top selling craft brewer. Widely available in traditional 341ml (12oz) bottles and on draught. The English Bay Pale Ale is mild tasting, features a light golden color, and gives off a moderate amount of aroma after pouring. Head is pretty consistent as is the lacing of the glass afterward.

Extremely easy on the palette with both a smooth and mellow flavor with hints of carmel behind a draping of malt and limited hopiness.

While it lacks the real character that I'm searching for when tackling a Pale Ale, it works particularly well as a general ale for parties with friends and family.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2002 20:24:37 | More by 49degrees