Month: March 2015

Evil Twin Brewing Molotov Cocktail American Double / Imperial IPA at 13% ABV (C$4.55 via Beer Club Offering #15, 355 ml, bottle date 6-Nov-2014)

Pours slightly hazy deep gold with one finger of medium ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (3/5) Nose is caramel malt, tropical fruit, pine, citrus. (7/10) Taste is moderately strong sweet, strong bitter. (7/10) Medium to full body, moderate carbonation, slick slightly syrupy and warming finish. (4/5)

A big DIPA with a well-integrated double digit ABV that comes through as a pleasant boozy warmth in the finish. It’s definitely more sweet than I would prefer, but not overwhelmingly so – I’d prefer more hop-forwardness. Good without being great. (15/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ninkasi Brewing Company Total Domination American IPA at 6.7% ABV (C$8.29 at Quarry Park Co-Op, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours clear medium gold with two fingers of dense ivory head, excellent retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is pithy grapefruit, pine, caramel malt. (7/10) Taste is low sweet, strong bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, dry slightly astringent and metallic finish. (4/5)

Pleasantly dry IPA with a well-integrated ABV and pronounced but not overwhelming bitterness. The slight metallic note in the finish is a bit of a negative, but overall a solid performer. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast Oatmeal Stout at 7.5% ABV (C$6.09 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, best before 20-May-2019)

Pours a solid inky black with two fingers of medium chocolate brown head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, moderate lacing. (4/5) Nose is dark roasted coffee, dark chocolate, café latte, mild liquorice and dark fruit. (9/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Full bodied, low sustained carbonation and a mild bitter finish. (4/5)

A very nice coffee and oatmeal stout, but not quite as smooth as the Brunch Weasel. There’s a little bitterness in the finish that I found completely absent in the Brunch Weasel, and fact is, on a dollar-per-ABV basis, the price is about the same. Comparing $10.49 for the 10.9% ABV Brunch Weasel, to $6.09 for the 7.5% ABV Breakfast, I’d go for the Brunch Weasel over this. (17/20)

My 144th from the 2010 Edition (138th from the 2013 edition), and 154th combining both editions.

8.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

To Øl Dangerously Close to Stupid American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.3% ABV (C$7.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, best before 11-Mar-2016)

Pours cloudy pale gold with a fat finger of dense ivory head, excellent retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is pithy citrus, pine, peaches, mango, caramel malt. (8/10) Taste is moderate sweet, strong bitter, mild peppery spice. (8/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly spicy finish. (4/5)

Lots of flavour and a very well-behaved ABV. And yeah, it’s a 100 IBU hop bomb, but it’s not overwhelming, because it’s fairly well-supported by the caramel malt. I like it. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Baird Brewing Company Brewer’s Nightmare Rye IPA American IPA at 7.5% ABV (C$4.29 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, bottle date 12-Jun-2014)

Pours hazy deep gold with one finger of dense off-white head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, moderately heavy lacing. (4/5) Nose is pithy citrus, pine, caramel malt, grassy rye. (7/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter, moderate peppery spice. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly spicy finish. (3/5)

Went into it with pretty low expectations, given the swing-and-a-miss quality of the last two Baird Beers I tried. But actually, not bad at all. The rye is mild, giving just a little black pepper edge to a decently bitter underlying IPA. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Baird Brewing Company Asian Beauty Biwa Ale Fruit Beer / Radler at 5.5% ABV (C$4.29 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, bottle date 7-Jul-2014)

Pours cloudy and particulate-laden pale amber with one finger of loose ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, moderate lacing. (3/5) Nose is muted, stone fruit, prunes and plums, caramel malt, light peppery spice. (5/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter, slight tart. (5/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, quick finish. (3/5)

Meh. The fruit is too subtle to really consider this a radler, and it seems a little oxidized. Not all that thrilling. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Baird Brewing Company Wabi Sabi Japan Pale Ale Spice/Herb/Vegetable at 6% ABV (C$4.29 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, bottle date 26-Jul-2014)

Pours cloudy and heavily particulate-laden deep gold with two fingers of loose ivory head, excellent retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is wasabi, green tea, citrus, overripe fruit, faint sour lactic. (5/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter, mild tart. (5/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly spicy finish. (3/5)

Well, that’s weird. And not in a good way, either. The green tea isn’t bad, but there’s a distinct sour milk note that just isn’t working for me. I don’t think it’s the wasabi, but I’m not sure what it really is. Not doing it for me. (10/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Mikkeller American Dream Gluten Free Czech Pilsener at 4.6% ABV (C$5.09 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, best before 16-Oct-2015)

Pours hazy pale gold with two fingers of rocky ivory head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is citrus, pine, biscuity malt, some floral. (8/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderately strong bitter. (8/10) Light to medium body, lively carbonation, texture somewhere between creamy and oily, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

That’s got to be the best gluten-free beer I’ve ever tried – not that the bar was set all that high in that regard. I’d like to try the regular one for comparison, just to see how much of a hit the gluten-free incurs. A little too bitter to call it a sessionable thirst-quencher style pilsener, but quite good despite that – nothing wrong with having a nice, flavourful beer with a low ABV. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

To Øl Southern Frontier American Pale Ale at 6% ABV (C$5.79 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, best before 8-Jan-2016)

Pours clear pale amber with one finger of dense off-white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is toffee malt, pine resin, overripe tropical fruit, some floral. (6/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Not bad, but the malt-forward aspect isn’t great. There’s a note in the flavour that I suspect can be attributed to the malted corn. I guess I see what they were going for – a southern US style pale ale – but the fact is, it’s hard for me to smell corn and not think “crappy adjunct lager”. Bottom line, this one isn’t hitting on all cylinders for me. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Prairie Artisan Ales Birra Saison at 4.5% ABV (C$4.12 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 355 ml, bottle date 1-Oct-2014)

Pours cloudy straw with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is lemon zest, bready yeast, white pepper, earthy funk. (8/10) Taste is low sweet, mild bitter, moderate funk. (7/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, intensely dry finish. (4/5)

Quite a decent saison – quite low sweetness, restrained bitterness. and a pleasant dusty horseblankety funk. Fairly middle of the pack in terms of price and quality for the fifteen or so saisons I’ve reviewed, and that’s reflected in the fact that nothing really stands out all that much, for good or for ill. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com