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Great Western Light

Great Western Brewing Company
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🌍 Canada · Light Lager · One of 39 Light Lagers in hopIQ

A light lager aged twice before packaging and built on Western Canadian malted barley. It pours pale gold under a short white head and keeps its aroma subdued: dry cracker, a little cereal grain, and almost no hop beyond a faint leafy note. The palate is thin and clean, with bitterness low but present enough that nothing tastes hollow, and the finish arrives fast and dry.

ABV
4%
Bitterness
Mild9 IBU
SRM
pale gold4

AWARDS

World's Best Light Beer · 2014
World Beer Awards
Canada's Best Light Beer · 2020
World Beer Awards
Silver
Canadian Brewing Awards
Light (Calorie Reduced) Lager
World's Best Light Beer — World Beer Awards
Canada's Best Light Beer — World Beer Awards
Silver — Canadian Brewing Awards (Light (Calorie Reduced) Lager)
How it drinks· Its pace, balance and relationship to the style.
Pace
sessionsipper
Balance
malt-ledhop-led
Style expression
textbookdistinctive
Taste structure· The backbone of the beer, regardless of style.
Body
lightfull-bodied
Sweetness
drysweet
Bitterness
mildbitter
Texture
crispcreamy
hopIQ take

Mildly bitter and crisp.

Trim and gentle — the beer moves through with an unforced, easy rhythm.

Wider bands mean we're less certain about the exact position.
Character· What makes this beer itself — not just another Light Lager.
Hop character
grassy
Malt character
malty
bready
Fermentation & yeast
clean
Compare with another beer →

Tasting Notes

AI-generated sensory profile for Great Western Light

Appearance

Pours pale gold with bright clarity and a short white head that settles quickly. The carbonation is fine and steady, maintaining a thin collar of foam around the glass. The beer presents as clean and inviting, with no haze or particulate matter.

pale goldwhite headcrisp carbonation

Aroma

The nose is deliberately restrained, leading with dry cracker and cereal grain notes from the Western Canadian malted barley. A faint leafy hop character emerges on closer inspection, but hop aromatics remain subdued overall. The profile is clean and grain-forward, with no yeast or adjunct character intruding.

dry crackercereal grainleafy hopsunderstated

Taste

Entry is thin and immediately clean, allowing the malt character to register without obstruction. Mid-palate shows modest malt sweetness balanced by low but present bitterness that prevents the beer from tasting hollow or insubstantial. The finish arrives dry and crisp, with bitterness lingering just enough to frame the cereal and bread notes.

thin bodylow bitternessdry palateclean finish

Finish

The finish is short and dry, with minimal aftertaste. Any lingering impression fades quickly, leaving the palate clean and ready for the next sip.

short finishcrisp
72
hopIQ score
Aroma
74
Taste
72
Appearance
76
Finish
70
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Serve & Enjoy

How to get the most out of Great Western Light

Serve at 4–7°C
Refrigerate, then rest 2 min

Serve at 4–7°C for the best flavour balance and aroma expression.

Stein
Recommended for this style

The sturdy German stein maintains temperature and keeps carbonation intact. Built for long, convivial drinking.

Store in a cool, dark place. Check the best-before date on the label for guidance.

Food Pairing

What to eat with Great Western Light

About Light Lager

Style guide · what to expect · how to find alternatives

What is a Light Lager?

Light Lager is a distinctive beer style with its own characteristic flavour, aroma and colour. Discover what makes it unique and find similar beers on hopIQ.

Finding a similar Light Lager

hopIQ matches by flavor profile — not just style label. A beer with the same light, clean, dry character as Great Western Light will score highly even if brewed in a different country or under a different sub-style name.

Other Light Lagers in hopIQ