Category: Reviews

Brewsters Brewing Company Grapefruit IPA American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 70 IBU (C$6.00 at Oak & Vine, 1 l, no packaging date or best before, acquired 22-Aug-2017, reviewed 22-Aug-2017)

Appearance: murky pale amber with one finger of rocky ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pine, citrus, grainy malt, leafy weeds, black pepper. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter, mild spice. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter lightly spicy finish. (3/5)

Not a lot of grapefruit, actually – more piney, than anything else in particular. Given the name, I was hoping for bright citrus and a dry finish, and instead got verging-on-resiny pine duking it out with grainy malt, and a finish that would be charitably described as off-dry. It’s not bad, but it’s not great, either. Apparently they do a DIPA version of this, but to be honest, I’m not sure I can be arsed to look for it. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Deschutes Brewery Passionfruit IPA American IPA at 5.8% ABV | 65 IBU (C$9.00 at Oak & Vine, 1 l, no packaging date or best before, acquired 22-Aug-2017, reviewed 22-Aug-2017)

Appearance: clear pale amber with three fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, sweet caramel, pine, citrus, earth. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet tending very slightly high, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry medium bitter mildly warming finish. (3/5)

The (very) slightly low carbonation might be due to this being a growler fill, but it’s still quite capable of setting up a towering three finger head that retains as a marshmallow all the way to the bottom. The finish, though, verges on sweet, and I shudder to think how cloying it would be without the fairly high bitterness and booziness. And I guess that pretty much sets the tone for the inevitable damning-with-faint-praise, so we might as well get right to it: it feels like Deschutes mailed this one in. “People are fruiting IPAs now? Oh. I guess we should do that, then. How about passionfruit? That’s a thing, right?” It’s not quite mediocre, I suppose, but you can see mediocre from here. This might be the beer where passionfruit jumped the shark for me. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Tool Shed Brewing Company Papa Bam Bam’s Oatmeal Pale American Pale Ale at 4.5% ABV | 45 IBU (C$3.00 at Oak & Vine, 355 ml, packaged on 1-Jun-2017, acquired 22-Aug-2017, reviewed 22-Aug-2017)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with one fat finger of loose ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: leafy weeds, citrus, caramel, pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration bitter finish. (3/5)

On the up side, the balance between the hops and malt is fairly seamless, to the point where it’s a little difficult to identify individual components. The oatmeal doesn’t make much of a flavour impact at all, and seems to be apparent only by the smoothness of the body. On the down side, the hop character that is most readily identifiable is a bit weedy and unremarkable, which is slightly surprising considering this is single-hopped with Cascade. Pleasant, but not particularly memorable. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Modern Times Beer Black House Oatmeal Stout at 5.8% ABV | 40 IBU (C$4.24 at Oak & Vine, 473 ml, packaged on 3-Feb-2017, acquired 26-Apr-2017, reviewed 20-Aug-2017)

Appearance: clear brown with one fat finger of loose beige head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: smooth dark roasted espresso, nuts, hint of milk chocolate & vanilla. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short duration finish. (4/5)

No surprises here: another solid performer from Modern Times. This one is particularly within their wheelhouse, given that it combines brewing and coffee. Smooth and slightly light for the style, but not to the point of being a detraction. Sweet as well, but again not to the point of being a drawback. It’s too sweet to characterize the finish as dry, but it is short and clean, inviting the next sip. Unlike a lot of coffee beers, this one never becomes astringent or thin, and remains pleasant and well-balanced throughout – “chocolate-covered espresso beans” is an apt description: if I had to pick a single descriptive adjective, it would be “smooth”. This could easily become a go-to. Well.. if I did go-to’s. Which I don’t. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Upright Brewing Company Billy the Mountain Old Ale at 8% ABV (C$16.07 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 750 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Apr-2017, reviewed 20-Aug-2017)

Appearance: somewhat murky amber-brown with one finger of loose beige head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tart red berries, caramel, molasses, leather, hint of chocolate. (8/10) Taste: moderate tart, moderate sweet, low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, dry tart finish. (4/5)

Once again I find myself doubting the conventional wisdom regarding the classification of a beer. Old Ales are supposed to be malty and sweet, occupying a space somewhere between “regular” ales and barleywines. I checked the BJCP description for Old Ale just to be sure, but you know what adjective is significant in its absence? Tart. And, believe you me, this is tart – nearly Flanders Red / Oude Bruin. Yes, there’s malt going on here, including a hint of chocolate, but it’s dominated by tart red berries. Another significant absence is any funkiness attributable to the brettanomyces the brewer notes claim, and I wonder if an extended period of cellaring might awaken that aspect. Good stuff, though, regardless of what you call it. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Sante Adairius Rustic Ales Foudre #2 Saison at 6.5% ABV (US$16.55 at Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, 750 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 21-Jun-2017, reviewed 20-Aug-2017)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with a short, short-lived white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: lacto sour, apples, grainy pale malt, stone fruit, lemon. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high tart, moderate sweet, low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-high carbonation, dry tart finish. (4/5)

Similar to, but not quite as good as, their Hoeybier: a shade sweeter, more apple than stone fruit, and not as vinous. I guess to be fair, it’s also a shade less expensive as well, so there’s that. Good, sure, but I can think of a great many better ways to spend $16USD. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Sante Adairius Rustic Ales Hoeybier Saison at 6% ABV (US$18.39 at Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, 750 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 21-Jun-2017, reviewed 20-Aug-2017)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with a short, short-lived white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: stone fruit, white wine, oak. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high tart, moderate sweet, low bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium-light body, prickly carbonation, dry tart finish. (4/5)

Very vinous and tart – not mouth-puckeringly so, but certainly much more than one would normally expect from a Saison. Fact is, I’d call this more of a Sour/Wild than anything, and it’s actually almost Gueuze-like. Regardless of what you call it, it’s very good, but at that price point I’d expect it to be. Fact is, at that price point there’s some pretty stiff competition, which slightly tempers my enthusiasm for this beer. Yes, it’s world-class, but there are better beers out there for cheaper. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Amager Bryghus Linda The Axe Grinder Imperial IPA at 9% ABV (C$11.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, best before 1-Dec-2019, acquired 4-Aug-2017, reviewed 19-Aug-2017)

Appearance: ruby-tinged amber-brown with one fat finger of creamy beige head diminishing gradually to a thin cap and ring, spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: resiny pine, toffee, citrus, oak, vanilla. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-full slightly slick body, moderate-low carbonation, sweetish lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Reminds me of Arrogant Bastard, particularly the oaked version: big resiny and citrusy hops barely dominate over a sweet bready toffee, with a little bit of barrel coming through as wood and vanilla notes. Sure, they call this an “Oaked Imperial Red IPA”, and Arrogant Bastard is generally classified with the fairly non-specific “American Strong Ale” moniker, but in terms of actual flavours (and appearance) they’re pretty similar. Except, this one is emphatically higher in ABV, which (almost) never hurts, right? I’m actually starting to feel really annoyed that I didn’t try anything by this brewery when I was in Denmark – I have a vague memory of seeing them in a couple of places, but never really noticed them enough to actually buy anything. Funny that I then bought three in Alberta less than a week after being in Denmark, but hey, I’m glad I did. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Amager Bryghus / Prairie Artisan Ales Tulsa Twister Saison at 7.5% ABV (C$10.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, best before 1-Jan-2019, acquired 4-Aug-2017, reviewed 19-Aug-2017)

Appearance: opaque medium gold with one fat finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and chunky soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: lemon zest, floral, hay funk, grainy pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter, light funky tart. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-high carbonation, dry bitter finish. (4/5)

Another very nice Saison collaboration from Amager, this time with Prairie. Not quite as funky as Chad, but still has some Brett character going on, albeit somewhat behind pleasant hoppy citrus and floral notes. I waffled a bit on some of the scores here – for example, the finish isn’t quite as astringent as Chad, but that different character is neither clearly better nor worse, just different. Not as challenging, perhaps, and more approachable, but just very slightly lacking some oomph. Ultimately I think it’s just a shade better overall, and certainly more polished, but just a little less fun, if that makes sense? (17/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Amager Bryghus / Crooked Stave Chad King of the Wild Yeasts Saison at 5% ABV | 41 IBU (C$9.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, best before 1-Nov-2018, acquired 4-Aug-2017, reviewed 18-Aug-2017)

Appearance: opaque medium gold with one fat finger of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dank funk, lemon zest, leather, floral, grass, light cattiness. (8/10) Taste: low sweet, moderate bitter, light funky tart. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively to moderate carbonation, dry bitter and mildly astringent finish. (4/5)

Boo-yah! That’s the way to do a Saison/Farmhouse. Brett definitely dominates here with a dry musty funk, but doesn’t overwhelm, and there’s a load of citrus coming from “a motherf#&@ of hops” (Simcoe, Mosaic, Citra, and Amarillo) according to the label. The hops (probably the Simcoe or the Citra, in my experience) also bring a hint of cattiness, which doesn’t detract but actually works with the overall barnyard theme. Definitely not a beer for those who haven’t learned to appreciate wild yeasts, but a gem for those who have. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com