Scona Gold

 

When I first heard that Alley Kat Brewing had been purchased by new owners, I was saddened. I had expected Alley Kat to be another in a long line of independent breweries to be bought out by some faceless corporation. Happily, that wasn’t the case. Instead, owners Neil and Lavonne Hebst sold the brewery to Cameron French and Zane Christensen, two men from neighboring St. Albert. French and Christensen had originally intended to start their own brewery but couldn’t resist the opportunity to take over a successful company with an established lineup of popular beer.

So far we’re almost a year into the sale, and the new owners seem happy to honor Alley Kat’s core lineup as well as its seasonal beers. The biggest new addition to the company so far seems to be a recently opened tap room at the brewery itself. As of this writing, I’m curious to see what French and Christensen do with their new brewery in upcoming years. Scona Gold is crystal clear and the color of ripe hay. Light carbonation supports a fluffy, bone white head with good retention.

          Scona Gold’s aroma starts off a delicate balance of bready pale malts and subtle fruitiness. The fruitiness I’m smelling is delicate in nature, and yet ripe and present enough to be easily noted. To me it comes across somewhere between ripe pear and nectarine or apricot. Either way, very pleasant with just enough aroma of soda cracker and fresh baked bread to give the nose its own little backbone. All of this moves towards a center where I find what smells to me like white wine and just a faint whiff of sulfur. All of this drops away into a crisp, clean finish.

          Taking a sip, Scona Gold reminds me more of a lager at first. The flavor up front is smooth and crisp, tasting more of soda cracker than I thought it would based on the beer’s overall aroma. Flavors of soda cracker lead into a slightly vinous center coupled with a hint of residual sweetness. The finish is dry without being overly so, finishing with the peppery flavor of European hops.

          Overall, I’m giving Scona Gold a 7.5 out of 10. Scona Gold is crisp, clean, balanced like and good European lager would be. It also has the vinous, and subtle fruitiness you might expect from a good Kolsch as well. I find it impressive when a craft brewery is able to produce a faithful, respectful version of a classic European beer. The attitude is so often to produce an eclectic interpretation of said style. To that end, personally I’m happy Alley Kat was able to make their Scona Gold into a very good Kolsch style beer.