Beer of the Week
Click here to view previous beers. We feature a new beer every week - This week's beer:
BC Lions Lager - Russell Brewing Company - Surrey, B.C.
Price: $20.25 - For 6 x 355 ml cans*
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Best Feature: great can, sweet taste, easy drinking
BC Lions Lager from Russell Brewing Company is a easy drinking lager created as the first CFL team branded beer. We had a great opportunity at the 2008 Eat Fraser Valley trade show to taste this beer and pair it with some cheeses. The pour creates a dark golden lager with a fairly loose and wispy head. The bubbles continued to rise in the glass well after the pour. The aroma is sweet cereal malts with little to no citrus hop aroma. BC Lions Lager has a sweet beginning, a short middle and a sweet finish that lingers for an extended period of time on the tongue. Although the beer advertises being "clean" and "crisp", compared to other domestic and import light lagers, this beer has a medium amount of body and the sweet malt taste that remains on the palate for a long period of time - similar to other un-pasteurized microbrewed lagers that use only 100% malted barley and natural ingredients. Created as a mainstream beer for beer drinkers who enjoy sports, beer and good times, Russell Brewing Company is successful in making a beer that is very consumable but still has enough character to be labeled as a microbrew beer. Try BC Lions Lager with light snacks, including pretzels, popcorn and potato chips. If you are adventurous try BC Lions Lager with some light cheddar, cream cheese or salty dry ribs or stir fry.
Beer Fact: Russell Brewing Company was the first microbrewery in Canada to have a large stadium sponsorship contract. This has resulted in a great marketing opportunity for Russell Brewing and new opportunities for other microbreweries inside Canada. Russell should be seen as pioneer in the brewing industry for other microbreweries and also a threat to the 'status quo' in the beer industry in Canada. |
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Best Feature: Go Lions Go!
BC Lions Lager has a cleaver name that creates an instant fan-base throughout the Lower Mainland. Produced by Russell Brewing Company in Surrey, B.C., this beer is moderately priced and should be considered a premium product in the market. The golden colour has an light wispy head. The nose is very sweet malt sweetness but no hops apparent. The mouthfeel is fairly light but not as light as other crisp lagers. The sweet aroma continues through to the flavour that has no bitterness associated with it from start to finish. The lower carbonation level makes this beer very palatable but more like a light ale or honey lager. Try BC Lions Lager with a variety of foods because the light flavour will not overpower light snacks but the malty sweetness will also work with salty and hearty foods.
Beer Fact: Most microbreweries start off by producing "ales" but consumers demand lighter flavour beers. Most microbreweries create lagers that are light in flavour, fairly crisp and "mainstream" because that is what sells in Canada to the average "Joe six pack".
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*Unless otherwise stated, this is the BC Government Liquor Store price quoted.
*Our rating scale is based on a five point system (1 being least enjoyable, 5 being excellent) We rate the beer using the following criteria; overall taste, appearance, mouthfeel, freshness, body, aroma, finish, availability, and price.
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