Harrumph. I find all the local ales to taste rather acidically of soft water, so
I've concocted a shaker of salts - NaHCO3, CaCO3, CaSO4, plus Ca mallate and tartrate
to boost the ph into the habitable zone. (I mean, half the taste of a real british ale
is the chalk. As a friend said, british water has so much character you can have
conversations with it.) Anyway. It only takes a tiny dusting, about the size of a red
lentil, and what it generally reveals is that most of the local ales are compensating
for acidity by halting fermentation before the sugars are gone. The only one I've found so
far that comes through tasting like a
CAMRA -approved product is Russell's cream
ale. I'd be interested in any other candidates - it's been quite a while since I auditioned
(...err, no, that's the wrong sense, ummm... guess I'll go with *appraised*) Granville Island,
so I may take a retry on it. I currently have Whistler Black Tusk on deck, for tomorrow. Man,
I've just been lost since they stopped bringing
Black Sheep into Canada.