UPDATE: The LCBO has moved this product to the beer section. 

When we picked up our can of Wild Apple Ale by Crazy Beard we were a bit confused. You see, the LCBO had them in the Cider section.

Yet the marketing called it an Ale.

Things became a little more clear when we took a look at the ingredients. Wild Apple Ale has apples and barley but no hops. The LCBO has some strange rule that requires all beer has hops (I heard a story that Beaus got in trouble with this when they released a hops-free Gruit a while back)

Since Wild Apple Ale does not have any hops, they must be called a cider by the LCBO.

We also noted that the ingredients list included sugar. At first I assumed that this was for bottle conditioning but then realized I’m an idiot for two reasons: This was released in a can, not a bottle and the first ingredient is carbonated water, meaning they added the carbonation themselves.

This had us a bit worried as we generally prefer drier drinks and if they are adding sugar to apples and barley they must be going for a super sweet flavour.

Somehow Gerry Dee seems to be involved in this. On Twitter he says it’s a new ‘venture’ for him. Not sure if he is just an endorsement or if he is an investor.

I’m a fan of the visual style. First of all, as a former beard owner I must admit it reminds me of the good times me and my beard had. I also just like the imagery used on the can and website. It’s fun.

You can get a can at the LCBO for just $2.95 and sits at just 5.2% ABV.

Our tasting notes:

Appearance: Clear and golden. Darker gold. No head. Copper colour. Looks like cider.
Aroma: Strong super sweet apple smell.
Taste: More dry than expected at first but then the sweetness really builds. Light crisp apples.
Aftertaste: It gets sweeter. Much sweeter. You know when you eat something spicy and that spiciness builds so much it starts to hurt? It’s that level of sweet.
Overall: Shawna really did not like it, she found it far too sweet. Tastes a bit like  sourpuss. Many will love it but too sweet for us. Tastes a bit like a lollipop. Shawna tasted aspartame in it. It’s not listed as an ingredient but it has that same artificial flavour to it.

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Kole McRae

Founder of Toronto Booze Hound. He can be seen drinking almost anything in the wild from beer to rum. Try not to startle him, he may use humour as a self defence method.

Email: kole@torontoboozehound.com

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