I take a breather from the intensity of my beer system series (final part to come next week) to offer up my latest Vue Weekly column, out yesterday. It has been a couple of months since I last posted a Vue column here at onbeer.org – not because my columns have disappeared, but simply for some reason the last few have failed to show up on the Vue Weekly website. There have been some staff changes (and cutbacks, I am afraid) that are likely behind the recent inconsistency.

At any rate, I can celebrate that the most recent is up so I can share it with you lot (read it here). Coincidentally, given my recent meanderings on the effect of the big boys on the beer world, it is a review of Rickard’s latest line-up addition (at least out west) – Rickard’s Blonde. I bought it knowing full well it was simply Molson-Coors’ latest effort to hone in on the growing craft beer market. However, I have at times found Rickard’s efforts (their Dark, in particular) to be fairly passable, in contrast to Keith’s efforts, which are mostly embarrassing.

The Molson marketers call this beer a “German-style Pilsner”. I will not string you along – it’s not. However, points (at least a couple) for finally admitting they brew lagers and not ales. I would like to say, like some others did (here and here), that while not to style, it was a decent beer. But I cannot. I found the hop  character disturbing and decidedly unpalatable. See the details in the full review.

Those other reviews are from the beer’s original launch in the east last year, so possibly the beer has undergone some changes since that time. Could it really be that Molson thinks us westerners like tann-y, harsh hop flavour?? I suspect it is more that Molson’s brewers don’t know how to brew with hops anymore, having not really done so for decades.

I am finding that the big boys’ need to come up with a beer of every colour – white, red, dark, blonde (what’s next pink? Oh wait! They did that, too.) is becoming almost pathological. I find no evidence of a real plan for a steady roll out – instead they seem to be jumping from one pseudo-style to another in a random and increasingly desperate attempt to stem the hemorrhaging they are experiencing from many consumers jumping to craft options.

I wonder how well it works? That is likely a question requiring another voluminous multi-part series,which, frankly, I simply don’t have the energy for right now.