![\"Willibald](\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55506949133_5c625b0c23_k.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/div>\nOn my final full day in Toronto recently, mon ami \u00c9ric and I stopped at an\u00a0LCBO<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0to look at beer we should sample or take home. There were many times he\u2019d freak out and tell me I\u00a0needed<\/i>\u00a0to pick up a certain beer – and so I did, but I didn\u2019t have any room in my luggage so I spent the evening trying to make the luggage lighter by sampling some of the beers with an old university buddy Olivier. One beer that I DID buy at the LCBO and brought home with me (on \u00c9ric\u2019s advice) was\u00a0Willibald Farm Distillery & Brewing\u2019s<\/b><\/span><\/a>\u00a0Roses Pale Ale<\/i>. If you know me, you know I\u2019m especially a sucker for farm-based breweries as I was a farm kid at one point (see my photo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Dieu du Ciel’s<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0Aphrodisiaque taken from the back of a tractor and haybine). \u00a0I\u2019ll likely never get to visit the Ayr, Ontario brewery\/distillery, but being able to sample it 2000+ km away is pretty nice.<\/p>\n Roses Among Thorns is a smooth and elicately balanced Pale Ale created for our love of beautiful liquid. Contains barley and oats. 5.0% ABV<\/p>\n Appearance:<\/b>\u00a0Pretty hazy with a light lemon hue to it and a bit of a creaminess to said hue. The head is incredibly thick with a slightly off-white appearance that gives off a really fluffy snow look to it. The head does go down pretty quickly, so it leaves behind clumps of foam in some places, while just a nice sprinkling of bubbles elsewhere on the glass.<\/p>\n Aroma:<\/b>\u00a0Moderately citrusy with a bit of a lemon aroma to it, a floral hop presence to it, a slight hint of alfalfa, a slight pine-like bitterness to it, and a slight green tea herbal\/sweetness at the end. I was expecting this to be more on the bitter side but it\u2019s pretty welcoming so far.<\/p>\n Taste:\u00a0<\/b>The taste is more bitter-forward than the aroma led to believe – it\u2019s definitely got a pine-forward bitterness to it, a bit of an herbal green tea presence to it, a decent amount of lemon for citrusness, a slight oatiness to it that gives off a cereal bite but also a slight creaminess to it. As the beer warms up a tad, it\u2019s not as bitter as what I got from the first taste, it\u2019s still moderately bitter but more floral.<\/p>\n Overall Thoughts:<\/b>\u00a0A solid Pale Ale, smoother than a lot of the ones I\u2019ve had recently, though it\u2019s still moderately bitter. The sweetness is nice, it\u2019s creamy, smooth, absolutely no complaints from me!\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n