Big Rock Warthog English Style Mild Ale
Signature Series
The World’s Smallest Fire Extinguisher
We have the English to thank. Having invented hot, dusty African safaris, they had no choice but to invent refreshingly mild ales to extinguish the resulting fiery thirsts. Warthog, named after one of the beasts they journeyed to see, is such an ale, reinvented with the Big Rock difference.
Little Known Fact
Why would you name one of our mildest, most quaffable beers after one of the planet’s roughest, meanest-looking animals? Check with our founder, he saw one in National Geographic once and, well, this happened.
The World’s Smallest Fire Extinguisher
We have the English to thank. Having invented hot, dusty African safaris, they had no choice but to invent refreshingly mild ales to extinguish the resulting fiery thirsts. Warthog, named after one of the beasts they journeyed to see, is such an ale, reinvented with the Big Rock difference.
Little Known Fact
Why would you name one of our mildest, most quaffable beers after one of the planet’s roughest, meanest-looking animals? Check with our founder, he saw one in National Geographic once and, well, this happened.
2.6
181 reviews
Calgary, Canada
Community reviews
22oz bottle (Old Notes)-Pours a light copper with a small head. Aromaof malt, caramel, and slight hops. Taste of the same. This light to medium bodied brew was a disappointment.
Pours a half finger of head on a hazy dark straw colored body.
The aroma is musty, barnyard like with sour lemon in the background.
The taste is sweet and grainy. There’s a mild lemon bitterness in the background.
The texture is crisper with moderate carbonation.
It’s okay, tends sweet. It’s sweet like a Scotch Ale.
"Poured into glass, a thin layer of head, creamy. A light amber appearance. The aroma is pretty strong, of wheats and malts. lacing is ok. Flavour is hints of caramel, roasted malts, and something burnt haha. Not too bad, mixed emotions with the aroma (something’s off, can’t quite pinpoint). First time trying this beer, drank directly from bottle. It glass, aromas escape, and doesn’t sit with me well. Might keep drinking from bottle :(
Aroma: Some sweet roasty malt aromas with hints of generic hopinessTaste:some subtle caramel malt flavors with some bland hopinessAppearance: clear brown body with poorly retained head
Pours a clear reddish gold color with little head. Smell is toffee and nuts and taste is toffee up front with a very minimal hop finish. Very thin beer, a watered down trad.
Calgary Beer Fest. Pours clear gold with a medium, frothy white head, medium retention with good lacing. Aroma is honey and caramel malt, pear esters and no hops. Flavor is malt, honey, light fruity esters, no hops or bitterness, and a sweet finish. Light body and medium carbonation.
Clear medium orange copper, small foamy off white head vanishes. Muted malty aroma. Thin caramel malt taste, lightly sweet, some vague nuttiness. Softly carbed, light bodied, low hopped. An inoffensive and ordinary ale. LF (Lagerboy Friendly)
0.33 l bottle at Whistler. Very boring and uninspiring Ale taste... One is enough...
Sigh, I want to support the local stuff, but this is pretty boring. The best thing about it is the label. Watery, with bready aroma, just another ordinary beer.
Du malt, caramel, et pain. Le goût est faible, mais assez complexe quand même. Une de mes bières préféré de Big Rock.
caramel, bread, toast, grass, leaves, orange, clear, white foam, light sweetness, medium bitterness, lightly sour, light body, thin feel, average carbonation, astringent
Copper pour with minimal head. Light aroma of grass/toast. Medium bitterness and some caramel/toffee sweetness present. Overly thin though, but on the refreshing side. Astringency is light and pleasant. I agree with others posting here that this presents a more watered down version of their Traditional Ale (which I quite enjoy on tap).
Pours a clear reddish gold color with little head. Smell is toffee and nuts and taste is toffee up front with a very minimal hop finish. Very thin beer, a watered down trad.
Fine. Not very much taste, more on the caramally side with a bit of cigarrette butt on the finish. Not really offensive but to be honest, not really anything
Pours a dark tan. Slight grain aroma. Slightly creamy mouthfeel. A bit of grains and sweetness on the tongue. Terrible example of a brown ale.
Light, Irish ale aroma, mostly dark caramel malts. The flavor is all sweet, with slightly nutty, but mostly crystal malts. Pretty thin palate.
341ml bottle @ beertown in cambridge. a 4.5% amber ale of some kind. certainly not a brown ale. not offensive, worth a try but now that ive had it i wont seek it out again.
Wisps of a creamy head over a deep amber body. Caramel sweetness and bready aroma. Light and crisp taste with some caramel coming through. Medium amount of carbonation and a slightly bitter finish.
More like a dark lager than a brown ale. Good but pretty basic and watered down.
Originally rated September 2005. This cream ale (well, it use to be back then) pours an amber colour with a small head that falls short, but leaves a creamy thin layer over the brew. Lacing is there, but thin, and carbonation is light with tiny bubbles. The nose is full of roasted and caramel malts. So is the mouth. Watery mouthfeel. I remember having this one in huge tall glasses at Minglewoods in Ottawa back in the day, and loved this brew. Seems watered down since that day, but still a good brew with a darker colour.
Draft @ Korea location: Poured a coppery color with a white head. Aroma is light malt and grain. Taste is malty with metallic hops and some grain. I don’t get this as a brown ale, but it might just be due to travel or where its brewed aka ingredients.
Finally rating this one after hundreds of bottles drank.....single bottle from my uncle on Christmas 2011. Colour: Medium brown with very little head. Nose: Light malty caramel, cardboard yeast, eggs with ketchup. Taste: Light sweet, medium-light bitter, light sour. Light, light, light. Small bits of roast and caramel but mostly inoffensive.
I unfortunately drink this all the time whenever someone else buys beer at work. It has almost no aroma. I never really considered that it was supposed to be a Brown Ale until now. The can claims that the "taste of toffee lingers after she’s gone." I’m not buying that.
341ml bottle. Pours the colour of iced tea with very little head that quickly dissipates to an oily slick. Basically no aroma, very faint sweet malt. Very little taste faint toffee, brown sugar and caramel, maybe a little bitterness. Palate was a little watery. Overall, it manages to be beer, but that’s all.
on tap at the fox and feather, ottawa. i’ll keep this short and not particularly sweet. it’s brown and watery with absolutely nothing going on in the flavour department. Oh wait a second is that something nutty at the end, maybe but it’s gone now...
This beer is very refreshing, with a lingering but pleasant aftertaste. No negative side effects. When I originally bought this beer I thought the label had two goblins on it until later I put two and two together to realize that the name correlated with the design ;)
341mL bottle poured a clear copper color with average white head and spots of lacing. Aromas of caramel and nuts. Taste is malty sweet with some nuts and a mild hop finish. Carbonation and body are average and overall, this is a slightly better than average brew.
It sucks becoming a beer snob. I used to like this stuff before I learned about beer. Now it’s too late. Another teenage memory flushed down the toilette of snobbery.
Bottle. Another attempt by Big Rock to immitate others and another mediocre entry.
Clear copper colour with a bubbly frothy white head. Next to no aroma. Clean crisp texture with very little flavour. Blah.
Years ago when I was first becoming interested in craft beers, I would buy this. Since, my taste has grown towards richer and fuller flavored beers. I use to love this beer. Its not satisfying anymore. Lite malty nose with weak flavors. I noticed some butterscotch flavors, mild sweet, smooth and pleasurable. But its not for me anymore.