Rickard's Blonde

As exciting as it looks

I've always had a soft spot for Rickard's Red.  It's not a particularly good beer, but we drank a lot of it in university.  It's the memories more than anything else that keep me coming back to these beery madeleines.  As a bonus, it's inoffensive enough that my wife is able to drink it if she's in the mood for beer.

In the mid-90s the Red was the only beer sold under the Rickard's name.  Since then Molson has followed the lead of successful brands everywhere and plastered the Rickard's logo on every colour of beer they're able to produce.  I'd previously tried the White (a vaguely Belgian style) and the Dark (something like a porter).  The "taster's pack" I bought on my last trip to the Beer Store ($22.95 for 12 bottles) included something new -- Rickard's Blonde (5.0% abv), a beer that claims to have "refreshingly flavourful taste" with "lively hop character".

In fact it has neither of these things.  This is one of those beers that is usually advertised as "best served cold" since it has nothing else to recommend it above tap water.  It tastes essentially like Labatt Blue or Molson Canadian, with just a little more hopping.  As for finish, there is none.  I literally could not taste anything from the beer after it had left my mouth.

There's nothing *wrong* with this beer exactly -- certainly if it was a hot day and someone offered me one I'd drink it -- but there's no reason to buy it either.  University-me knew better…I should have stuck with the Red.