Side Launch Brewing Company, like many other craft breweries throughout Canada, takes its name from a part of its hometown’s (Collingwood) history. “Side Launch” refers to the practice of launching a ship sideways: you can even watch a video of this engineering spectacle on the brewery’s homepage, along with a short video featuring the brew-master discussing his brews and ingredients.
A big winner at this year’s Canadian Brewing Awards, Side Launch took home the “Brewery of the Year” award along with three other Gold medals! Unfortunately, their Pale Ale wasn’t one of those gold medal winners, but I can always review one of them later. For now, bring on the Pale Ale!
Side Launch Brewing Company: Pale Ale – First Sip
Side Launch Pale Ale pours a cloudy golden, almost orange, colour. This brew leaves a thick layer of head at the top of my glass, easily 1/2″ thick. I get a faint smell of oranges as I take my first sip. This brew is more straightforward than some other pale ales I’ve reviewed. It’s tough to identify what the feature flavour in this brew is. All of the normal IPA/APA flavours are there, but none of them is prevalent.
This pale ale’s dominant flavour is its tartness rather than the usually bitter flavour of IPAs and APAs. Its mouthfeel tends towards the thick and slightly fizzy side of the scale, leaving a malty flavour in my mouth when I put it down.
Side Launch Brewing Company: Pale Ale – Last Sip
At 5.3% ABV in a 473 mL tall can, you can have a few of these in one sitting. Like many other brews I’ve reviewed, though, this one goes down pretty smoothly at 5.3% so don’t lose track of how many you’ve had.
With its tart flavour and thick-ish mouthfeel, I recommend enjoying this brew alongside a steak. This brew’s tartness helps balance out the savoury flavour of red meats. And, its thickness will help soak up any fat you may have forgotten to trim off of your cut.
