Brewery Name and Location: Sleeman Breweries Ltd. - Ontario, Canada
Name of Brew: Sleeman Light
Style of Brew: Pilsner
ABV: 4.0%
A couple weeks ago I spent a weekend in Canada, as with any weekend spent in Canada, the majority of it was spent drinking alcohol. Of course I wanted to try out the local brews, unfortunately one of the bigger breweries in the area (Nelson) was closed for the weekend, but I still tried my fair share of Canada’s finest.
I grabbed a case of Sleeman Light for a couple of reasons. First, we had loaded up on darker/heavier beers, and I knew I was in for a marathon drinking session that would rely on pacing and switching to a lighter beer as the day/evening went on. Also, Sleeman Light was the most classy of the Canadian light options - Kokanee, Molson, Labatt’s - and I wasn’t about to settle for Bud Light. [Side note: My Canadian counterparts love American beer, and drank Budweiser almost exclusively the whole weekend. Also, they requested I bring Miller High Life on my next visit, as they apparently it's not available in stores.]
Sleeman Light has one of the nicest bottles of any beer around. The clear glass bottle with small neck label also helps to disguise the fact that you’re drinking a light beer. Here’s the Tasting Notes from the web site:
The first thing you’ll appreciate is its beautiful light gold colour and dense white foam. Next you’ll notice an exceptionally smooth body with hints of fresh citrus, which gives way to a subtle malt character and ends in a very clean finish.
I will agree with all of this. The best part of Sleeman Light is that it finds a middle ground for light beers. The mainstream light beers usually lack in taste (Coors Light, Miller Light, Bud Light, Natural Light, etc.) and light beers by brewers like Samuel Adams usually have nothing “light” about them. Sleeman Light does a great job with the right amount of taste, without it feeling watered-down. Even better, I managed to avoid a killer hangover the next morning. Not bad, eh.
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Good job on choosing Sleeman Light! Now if only your knowledge of beer would flow up through the Rockies to your “Canadian counterparts”.