Author: dpatrickryan

Granville Island Brewing Small Batch Saison Belgian Style Saison at 6.3% ABV (C$7.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, bottle date 25-May-2016, acquired 29-Jun-2016, reviewed 4-Jul-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale straw, two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: apples, lemon, pale malt, light barnyard funk. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, mild bitter, mild tart. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lightly funky finish. (3/5)

A middle-of-the-road saison. A bit too sweet and a bit too brown apple-y for my preferences. Could stand to be a fair bit dryer, crisper, and cleaner. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ninkasi Brewing Company Velocihoptor American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.4% ABV (C$13.49 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 1-Jul-2016, reviewed 3-Jul-2016)

Appearance: clear pale to medium amber, two fingers of rocky ivory head, good retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: toffee/caramel malt, citrus, pine, tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Medium-full body, moderate carbonation, malty massively bitter finish. (3/5)

Old-skool A/DIPA: heavy on the malt and the hops. Too heavy on the malt, if you ask me – it feels syrupy and sweet, and the hops, though large, definitely take a back seat to the malt. The kind of DIPA that, well, to be fair, I don’t actually dislike, but I certainly don’t prefer them. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Category 12 Brewing Insubordination Session IPA at 4.5% ABV (C$8.25 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 26-Jun-2016, reviewed 3-Jul-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold, two fingers of rocky off-white head, good retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pine, grass, crackery pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry lightly bitter finish. (3/5)

Not a bad little SIPA at all. Yes, the body is a bit on the light side, but it doesn’t drop off watery like so many do, or feel like a watered-down IPA. The flavour also holds up its end reasonably well. All in all, a tasty little treat for a hot day, or if for some silly reason you want to drink a whole bunch of something and not get drunk. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Le Trou du Diable John Edward Aldred Enlightened Beer Saison at 4.5% ABV (C$7.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 600 ml, bottle date 19-Apr-2016, acquired 1-Jul-2016, reviewed 3-Jul-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale straw, two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dry hay, lemon zest, grass, grainy pale malt, light barnyard funk. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, mild tart. (8/10) Medium-light body, moderate-high carbonation, dry lightly funky finish. (4/5)

Lovely dry saison. Pleasantly light body and a bone dry finish with a hint of horse blanket. The low ABV is the finishing touch on a very authentic implementation of the style. This one is definitely world-class. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks Raiden Black IPA Black IPA at 6.4% ABV (C$7.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 26-Jun-2016, reviewed 2-Jul-2016)

Appearance: nearly opaque black with brown margins, one fat finger of fluffy ivory head, decent retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: roasty malts, sharp rye, citrus, pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, high bitter, mild tart. (8/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly tart and mildly astringent bitter finish. (4/5)

Black… rye… IPA… what, you couldn’t whack some Brett in there and tick all the beer hipster boxes at once? OK, it’s a decent enough implementation of all of those factors, I’ll give you that. And given the Citra hops, I’m just glad there’s no cattiness to speak of. But… y’know… maybe that Brett’s not such a bad idea after all? It’s good, yeah, but it’s not next-level good. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks Super 8 Bit IPA (2016) American IPA at 7% ABV (C$8.50 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 26-Jun-2016, reviewed 2-Jul-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale amber, one fat finger of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, stone fruit, caramel malt, resiny pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering and building bitter finish. (3/5)

Yet another A/IPA that makes me wonder exactly where you place the line between that style and DIPA – with the big (but restrained) ABV, and bigger bitter, I really don’t see how it isn’t considered a double. And, much like many DIPA’s, the malt is big and caramel. It’s not overwhelming, or even dominant, but it’s certainly vying with the hops for first place on the nose. The first sip, however, is intense, brightly bitter hops. That settles down as the level drops and the beer warms, but it remains fairly high throughout, and is never overtaken by the malt. Solid performer, lots of fun – but I’d like it better if the malt were paler. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Big Rock Brewery Citradelic American IPA at 6% ABV (C$2.33 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, best before 16-Sep-2016, acquired 1-Jul-2016, reviewed 1-Jul-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy medium amber with a little particulate, two fingers of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel malt, light tropical fruit, faint resiny pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

Good on you, Big Rock: this is actually a decent, craft-style IPA. Not to mention, I love the labels with colour, flavour, and IBU data. And, though I’d prefer to see bottling and BB dates right on the bottle, at least you put a BB on the case, which is acceptable. Not the best implementation of Citra I’ve ever had, granted, but definitely respectable. It also has to be said that there are none of the catty/pissy tones that sometimes accompany Citra. Good effort, overall. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Big Rock Brewery Mosaic Lager India Pale Lager at 5.5% ABV (C$2.33 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, best before 28-Nov-2016, acquired 1-Jul-2016, reviewed 1-Jul-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one finger of rocky white head, good retention and moderate patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grass, pithy grapefruit, crackery pale malt. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium body tending to the watery, moderate carbonation, short lager finish followed by more lingering bitter. (3/5)

A reasonably pleasant IPL. Falls short of some of their recent efforts, such as Wai-Iti or Collaboration #1, but on the other had it’s a damn sight better than their India Pale Ale. Seems to me like Big Rock continues to struggle with their efforts to become “crafty-er.” I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a step backwards, but it’s not clearly a continuation of what I had been seeing as a trend towards improvement. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Stump Coastal Forest Botanical Ale Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 6.2% ABV (C$7.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 26-Jun-2016, reviewed 30-Jun-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one finger of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: ginger, resiny evergreen, juniper, citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter, light peppery spice. (6/10) Medium body tending to the watery, moderate carbonation, mildly spicy earthy finish. (3/5)

The initial impression is overwhelmingly ginger. Now, I know “ginger” starts with “gin”, but that’s a pretty thin reed upon which to build a comparison to gin. But then, as it warms (or, maybe, as you grow numb to the ginger), something interesting starts to happen: previously-hidden depths start to become exposed, and resin and juniper begin to emerge, followed by a little orange oil. Unfortunately, that’s also right about the time that the body starts to turn watery. I can’t decide whether it’s a case of “too little too late” or “one step forwards and two steps back”, but in either case, it’s not enough to turn this into a winner. It’s not bad, and certainly not without its charms, but that’s about as far as I’d go. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com