Rickard's Red, White & Dark

Rickard's Red (Canada) 5.2%

Creamy and springy on the tongue , has a faint smell of plum mixed with the expected malty beer scent. Tastes malty and sweet with a mildly bitter finish and a hint of rosemary. Quite a pleasant beer: a red made drinkable for the lay person and beer enthusiasts alike.

Rickard's White (Canada) 5.4%

This wheat beer is a cloudy bronzed gold colour in a glass. It smells sweetly spicy and a little of apricots even though it is brewed with orange peel. Most often it is served with a slice of citrus (orange or lemon) but I tend to eschew garnishes with beer. It tastes just like it smells: sweet and fruity with hints of spice and it is very smooth and creamy. Quite a good beer ... especially for a Molson product.

Rickard's Dark (Canada) 4.8%

Roasted malt, not much bitterness and a slightly sweet taste. For a beer that claims to be a porter (or at least porter brewed) the coffee or dark chocolate tones I associate with porters are completely absent. I should point out that not all porters have to taste that way but, in my experience, they usually do - at least to some extent. And though dark in a glass it is translucent and not black, more like a dark brown. Additionally the carbonation is standard not the smooth small bubbles giving it quite a different mouth feel from most porters.

All in all, not bad for a dark beer but as a porter this beer is a bust though not at all bad tasting. It certainly isn't "a punch in the mouth of flavour" like the advertizing likes to claim. It's more like a darker version of Rickard's Red and a damn shame that they stopped making their delicious Rickard's Honey Brown, especially for This.