With the weather getting rather chilly, Mama Panda was in no mood to sit fireside in the back 40. Having little desire to hang out by the fire with only my thoughts and a frosty beverage, I ended up at the tying bench with an Off The Rail Raybuck Irish Ale.

Yeast Van Micro

Off The Rail Brewing is located in the heart of “Yeast Vancouver”, a stones throw from Clark Drive, on Adanac Street. Having visited there during a recent 17 stop taproom crawl (an epic adventure worthy of another blog post), I was super stoked to see some of their products represented at my favourite craft brew haunt.

Although OTR is less than 3 years old, they are well steeped in craft beer tradition, including the main man Steve having operated an organic hop farm in Mission, BC.

The Pour

This beverage poured a nice firm foamy head, but I admit to having some troubles picking up the fragrance. Maybe my olfactory receptors were on vacation for a spell. Whatever the case, it took a bit but eventually I picked up the deep malt notes, although there was something else I still couldn’t pin point.

But who cares? I don’t drink beer through my nose.

Irish red ales are notoriously easy drinking, and this certainly didn’t disappoint. There was enough hoppy-ness to keep it on the west side of the Atlantic which was much appreciated. But the star of this show was certainly the healthy (but not overwhelming) malt and caramel tones. There was also an oh so light hint of chocolate that came through as my palate warmed up.

The colour of this ale spoke volumes.  A clear demeanor on the upper end of copper, reflecting a pleasant drinkability that was loaded with character. In fact, I’m thinking it would pair brilliantly with a rib eye, and a side of garlic mashed… excuse me while I clean the drool off my keyboard.

Overall this was a pleasant surprise, and a beverage that will most definitely find its way on my list of regulars this winter.

Well that’s it for now, gonna go quench that panda sized thirst… cheers eh!