Month: September 2015

Stone Brewing Company Master of Disguise American Double / Imperial Stout at 9.7% ABV (US$9.46 at Specs Main Branch Houston TX, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one finger of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: coffee, chocolate nibs, light caramel. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, mild bitter. (7/10) Palate: light-medium body, moderate-low carbonation, mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Bit of a one-trick pony – it’s a stout that looks like a pale or lager. It’s a decent enough example of a chocolate stout, but nothing stellar, aside from the cute trick. Though, it’s also worth pointing out that the ABV is also extremely well-integrated, despite approaching double digit territory. So… yeah… an Imperial that tastes like a single and looks like a pale – what’s so confusing about that? (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Evil Twin Brewing Sour Bikini Sour / Wild Ale at 3% ABV (US$11.99 at Total Wines & More, Henderson NV, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one finger of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: sour white grapes, barnyard funk, floral and citrus. (8/10) Taste: intense sour, moderate sweet, low bitter, light salt. (8/10) Palate: light body tending to the watery, moderate-low carbonation, short duration intensely sour finish. (4/5)

Intensely, face-puckeringly sour, getting more so as it warms. Nearly one-dimensional, with a clean sour finish that leaves you ready for the next hit. Whoever said you can’t have a flavourful light beer? At only 3% ABV, this is barely beer, but it packs massive wallop of flavour! (Think Warheads in lemonade.) Gotta love the Bjergso brothers – if Mikkel’s not blowing your mind, Jeppe is. I so desperately want to go to  Jeppe’s bar in Brooklyn… (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Great Lakes Brewery Harry Porter and the Bourbon Soaked Vanilla Bean American Porter at 6.5% ABV (Trade – thanks, Groulxsome!, 650 ml, bottle date 2-Apr-2015)

Appearance: opaque brown-black with one finger of rocky tan head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Aroma: vanilla bean, dark chocolate and coffee, bourbon. (8/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, moderately strong bitter. (7/10) Palate: full body, moderate-low carbonation, moderate lingering bitter and warming finish. (4/5)

Surprisingly bombastic for a relatively restrained ABV – it swaggers like a double-digit but is fairly successfully in punching above its weight. I say “fairly”, because the finish ultimately gets a bit unbalanced towards the bitter once the sweetness subsides, and you’re able to taste it since the taste buds haven’t been pummelled into submission by the booziness. Still, very much worth a try, and the lower ABV means you won’t be limited to just one – whether of this, or something else! (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ninkasi Brewing Company Vanilla Oatis Oatmeal Stout at 7.2% ABV (C$9.25 at Zyn, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear deep brown with two fingers of rocky tan head, good retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dark chocolate, vanilla, oats, dark roasty malt, liquorice, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, moderately strong bitter. (7/10) Palate: full body, moderate-low carbonation, mild lingering bitter and warming finish. (4/5)

Nice. Fairly sweet, but reasonably well balanced with a decent bitter and an emphatic but not overwhelming vanilla. It’s a touch hot in the finish, though, and the bitter lingers long after the sweet is a distant memory. Not saying that’s a bad thing – just the facts. I’d have this again, and I’d like to try the non-vanilla version for comparison. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Microbrasserie Les Trois Mousquetaires Série Signature – Maibock Maibock at 6.8% ABV (C$7.44 at NLC Stavanger, 750 ml, bottle date 10-Jul-2015)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with one finger of fluffy off-white head diminishing fairly rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grainy malt, floral, herbal, honey. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light pepper. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter and spicy finish. (4/5)

A bit beefy all-round – which, I guess, is bang-on for the style, which is intended to walk the line between too little and too much. I didn’t even look at the label before tasting, and was surprised at the alcohol presence – not “hot” as such, but definitely there. The lingering bitterness of the finish was also a surprise, given the stated 26 IBU. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love LTM labels? OG, FG, ABV, IBU, aging, serving temperature and glass, tasting notes and food pairings. Why doesn’t everybody do this?) I actually had to go back and read the BJCP guidelines for this style, and was slightly surprised how well this thing ticks all the boxes. I actually thought Maibocks/Helles Bocks were supposed to be a bit lighter all-round, but apparently they’re not. The only area this one really falls flat (so to speak) is the lack of persistence for the head, along with a bit less clarity than the style requires. I waffled a bit as to whether I actually liked this or not, but came down on the side of “yes”. At the very least, it’s an interesting brew. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Black Oak Brewing Co. Nut Brown Ale English Brown Ale at 5.0% ABV (C$6.10 at NLC Stavanger, 650 ml, bottle date 12-Mar-2015)

Appearance: clear amber-brown with one finger of rocky light tan head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: nutty, mild chocolate and coffee, caramel, grassy, pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium body, lively carbonation, off-dry medium duration slightly tart finish. (4/5)

Not bad at all for a nut brown. Not a style I tend to prefer, but this one is nicely balanced, with a little bit of grassy and piney hops, and even a little tartness. Slightly more complex than your typical nut brown. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Central City Brewers + Distillers Imperial Porter Imperial / Strong Porter at 9.0% ABV (C$7.89 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear deep brown with two fingers of dense mocha head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dark roasty malt, pithy citrus, boozy dark fruit, light smoke, faint chocolate and coffee. (6/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, moderately strong bitter. (6/10) Palate: full body, low carbonation, lingering warming finish. (3/5)

A bit… Well… “Harsh” might be overly emphatic. “Enthusiastic”, certainly. But there is an edge verging on solvent. It might more accurately be described as citrus, presumably due to a starts-with-C hop choice – which is normally something I’m all in favour of. In this case, though, I think I’d like it better with an earthier noble hop like Tettnanger or Hallertau. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brouwerij De Ranke Guldenberg Abbey Tripel at 8% ABV (€2.75 at de Biertempel Brussels, 330 ml, best before 15-Apr-2020)

Appearance: cloudy medium gold with one fat finger of pillowy white head, excellent retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bready yeast, earthy and grassy hops, citrus, apricot. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter and slightly peppery finish. (4/5)

I like this – typical de Ranke yeast aromas combine with a bold earthy hoppiness and maybe just a hint of basement funk. There’s a distinct maltiness, but for all that a restrained sweetness. Not as bombastic at their XX Bitter, but still a bit of an attention-grabber. (16/20)

My 202nd from the 2010 Edition (190th from the 2013 edition), and 212th combining both editions.

8/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Garrison Brewing Company Sugar Moon Maple Ale Amber Ale at 6.3% ABV (C$5.99 at NLC Stavanger, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one finger of light tan head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: strong maple, faint caramel malt. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry bitter finish. (3/5)

Actually not unpleasant, and nowhere near as sweet as the aroma would suggest. Although it smells exactly like a stack of maple syrup covered pancakes, the actual taste is much more restrained: it’s actually not any sweeter than a typical amber, albeit with a fairly hefty dose of maple flavour, and a surprisingly pronounced bitter finish. Unfortunately, it’s not an unqualified success, since the maple aroma verges on overpowering, and the transition from the strong aroma to the bitter finish feels particularly sudden given the near-complete absence of sweetness in between. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Privatbrauerei Erdinger Weißbräu Werner Brombach GmbH Oktoberfest Hefeweizen at 5.7% ABV (C$3.59 at NLC Stavanger, 500 ml, best before 6/2016)

Appearance: hazy straw with one finger of fluffy white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: banana, bubblegum, cloves, doughy wheat. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, very mild bitter and pepper. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, brief off-dry finish. (3/5)

Also known as their “Festweiße”, which is a much more accurate name, since it categorically isn’t the Märzen style one normally associates with the label “Oktoberfest”, but rather a straight-up Hefeweizen. It’s pretty similar to their Urweiss, actually, but with lighter colour, flavour, and body. (Yet a higher ABV – go figure!) Definitely something one could drink a lot of at a festival celebrating looney old Ludwig’s birthday! (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com