In my most recent post (found here), I reviewed a new pub in town, called the Public House. You can read that missive to see my opinions of the place. However, it was the first location in town where I found 780 Lager on tap. 780 Lager is the brainchild of Labatt Brewing (ABInbev) to produce a series of beer designed specifically for a local market and named after that region’s area code (see the Canadian Beer News item on it). Apparently each beer is different and, I suspect their marketing people will say, reflects the character of the city.
Obviously enough 780 is Edmonton’s entry in this series. It was my first chance to try it. So try it I must.
Before I get to the tasting, I should give you the menu description for the beer: “a local urban wheat ale”. Yup. Wheat Ale. For a beer called 780 Lager. Of course, I have no idea who was responsible for the menu blurb – it could very well have been a pub staffer. Still, it made me chuckle. And how about the beer?
It pours a medium copper looking very clean and crisp and offering almost no head to speak of. The aroma has a soft fruitiness, some grainy wheat moments and a bit of sugary sweetness. Reminded me of an English ale with a shot of wheat. The flavour is mostly a boring lager flavour accented by some fruitiness, honey sweetness throughout and a soft grain finish. I say lager base with fruity accent because the two flavours were not integrated – it is like one lay on top of the other.
If I didn’t know any better I would say the fermentation didn’t finish. Which of course would be very odd for a huge, commercial brewery. Or maybe they have just forgotten how to make ales anymore and didn’t know how to give it an ale character? Or possibly it is a lager with some fruit esters tossed in post-ferment? Lord, who knows.
A wheat ale sold as a lager, available only in Edmonton. It has very little wheat, is neither ale nor lager, and certainly doesn’t make me feel like I am in Edmonton. So, why did you name this after my area code?
March 15, 2012 at 10:46 AM
I try to be more ‘beer nerd’ and less ‘beer snob’, but when a brewery/pub/bar displays a lack of basic beer knowledge like this it’s hard to avoid a heavy sigh.
March 16, 2012 at 2:49 PM
Lack of knowledge is saying, “I don’t know.” This is more like lying.
I continue to find it heartening, in the long term, that one of ABInBev’s tentacles feels the need to at least look local – it doesn’t say anything promising about them, but it speaks to the early stages of development of a mainstream beer culture. In the short term, though, I didn’t need yet another glass of fizzy yellow nothing I have to explain to people isn’t what I mean when I talk about craft or local beer.