Saturday, June 11, 2016

Farnham Ale & Lager: The 35 Bitter

I love a small town brewery, they harken back to the days when you went to the local baker to get your bread, the local butcher to get your meat, and the local brewer to get your beer.  Farnham is a town in southern Quebec that is more known for it's railways than it's beer, but they have an excellent brewery in the aptly named Farnham Ale & Lager.  Unlike a lot of Quebec breweries, Farnham's lineup contains a lot of English and German style beers as opposed to the Belgian styles that are common in the province.  Their Bitter is styled as a British Ale, but it falls a bit flat compared to similar beers of the style.

35 Bitter pours a light brown so it certainly looks the part but from there it goes a bit downhill.  The nose is nice and malty, with a hint of clove and spice to it so it has the makings of a very good beer.  On the tongue you get a decent bitter flavour to it, the hop forwardness is quite nice, but this nice intro isn't followed up with a good middle or finish.  The malty nose never properly materializes as you get a watery and slightly acidic finish before a second round of hop punch to it.  It's not a terrible beer by any standards, it's just uninspiring.  The promise of malt and spice leaves you let down as those flavours don't come out when you actually drink the beer.  There are other, better bitters out there than Farnham's

It's available in depanneurs and grocery stores in Quebec as well as at their breweries both on draught and for off sales.

Alc 5.0%
IBU: 35
Rating: 2.5 Steins

What you need to know

Breweries

401 Blvd Normandie N
Farnham, QC J2N 1W5

82 Ethan Allen Dr.
South Burlington VT 05403

Website
http://www.farnham-alelager.com/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/farnhamalelager/

Twitter
@Farnhamalelager