The Sip: Faculty Brewing’s London Fog Ale is an Admirable Attempt at Something That Shouldn’t Be Attempted

Sometimes it just doesn’t work, you know?

If you’re like me—and hopefully you’re not in most respects, for your sake—you are naturally intrigued by breweries that try to integrate non-traditional flavours into their concoctions.So it was that I couldn’t wait to try Faculty Brewing’s London Fog Ale. After all, I’m quite partial to the brewery’s incredible Minzeweizen (it’s one of my favourite beers in the city). In fact, almost everything Faculty produces is a stone-cold winner.It just serves notice that some flavours don’t belong in beer. All this is to say that Faculty’s London Fog Ale is a solid effort. But it doesn’t work. At all, really.At 5.1 percent and a 17 on the IBU scale (the higher the number, the more hoppiness, generally), it tastes flat from start to finish. Yes, it does taste vaguely like a London Fog, but that just doesn’t really work in a beer. The thing has absolutely no bite, and can almost taste watered down.From the brewery: “Flavours of bergamot, vanilla and spice complement a creamy mouthfeel.” Mmmm, creamy mouthfeel. Yum.It’s unfortunate, and as much as we applaud Faculty for thinking outside the box and daring to do something different, this one misses the mark. That’s okay, though: we’d rather they swing for the fences. Besides, we’re pretty sure the name alone means that this thing is selling faster than the brewery can make it.What do you think of the London Fog Ale?

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