Moncton’s Pump House brewery has brewed a beer the past few years for their local SPCA, and this continues in 2018 with their latest “SPCA Adoption Ale.” In the past the beer has been a strong, bitter IPA, but they’ve switched gears this year, going for something a little easier drinking.

Although still strong, at 6.4%, this year’s ale is marketed as a Pale Ale, and is only around 28 IBU in bitterness, making it lean quite strongly to the malty side. It is available via the ANBL for $4.99/500 ml bottle.  They use a range of actual animal photos for the labels, so your bottle might have a turtle or gerbil on it, but most likely will be a dog or cat. The adopted pet names are on the labels too,  including MJ, a dog, or Joey and Kevin, both cats. It’s great to see their faces along the shelves when shopping, and no doubt this helps sales.  A portion of the proceeds from every Adoption Ale goes to the Greater Moncton SPCA.

On pouring, Adoption Ale has a nice creamy head that lingers, and is clear with an appealing light amber hue. The nose has attractive caramel notes and light hoppy citrus aromas. It is medium-full bodied with malt dominated flavours, mild bitterness and a slightly warm finish.

It’s a good beer for a great cause. You might say it’s the cat’s miaow.