Category: Reviews

Mahou (Grupo Mahou-San Miguel) Mahou Cinco Estrellas Euro Pale Lager at 5.5% ABV (CUC0.80 at Pullman Cayo Coco, 330 ml, packaging date 6-Jun-2015, best before 12–Dec-2016, acquired 26-Oct-2016, reviewed 02-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear straw with one finger of fluffy white head, moderate retention and lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pale cereal grains, lemon, fruit (figs?), grassy, nutty, cardboard. (4/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (4/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, sweetish short duration finish. (2/5)

Huh… not actually terrible – so, better than I expected. Starts off a bit sweet, but the bitter balances out to some degree in the finish. There’s also some lemon and fruit tones adding a hint of complexity and further tempering the sweetness. Could’ve drunk more of these in Cuba, I guess. (8/20)

4/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Font Salem Portugal (Damm) Prima Pilsener Czech Pilsener at 5.2% ABV (CUC1.00 at Pullman Cayo Coco, 355 ml, best before 06–Feb-2017, acquired 26-Oct-2016, reviewed 02-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear pale straw with a thin, short-lived white head, no lacing. (2/5) Aroma: grainy pale malt, adjunct sweetness, grassy, light yeast. (4/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, mild bitter. (4/10) Medium-light watery body, moderate carbonation, sweetish short duration finish. (2/5)

Pretty marginal pilsener with absolutely nothing to recommend it. Good thing the nice customs guy didn’t charge me any duty for being 5 beer over my allowance! (7/20)

3.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery Mythology Czech Pilsener at 5.3% ABV | 24 IBU (C$2.39 at NLC Stavanger, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 1-Nov-2016, reviewed 1-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one finger of rocky white head settling rapidly to a thick moderately persistent cap, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grassy hay, crackery malt, honey, light floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, light spice. (7/10) Light crisp body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly bitter and lightly spicy finish. (3/5)

A solid Czech-Style Pilsener, with clean aromas, crisp body, and a lightly spicy noble hop finish, but that’s as far as it goes. Decent enough, I suppose, especially for sessioning, but surprisingly (and somewhat disappointingly) normal for Flying Monkeys. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Garrison Brewing Company / Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company Sweet Rye’d Harvest Wheat Ale Rye Beer at 6% ABV | 40 IBU (C$2.26 at NLC Stavanger, 341 ml, bottle date 22-Sep-2016, acquired 31-Oct-2016, reviewed 1-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear pale to medium amber with one finger of creamy ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: spicy rye, caramel malt, grass, floral, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light spice. (7/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry bitter and mildly spicy finish. (3/5)

A solid offering from a collaboration between two competent brewers. As usual, I quite enjoy the presence of a bold and spicy rye, and I wouldn’t call it overwhelming here. I’m just a little puzzled by the characterization of this as a “Wheat Ale” when there’s so very little wheat character. A minor quibble, perhaps, but I like the label to reflect what’s in the bottle. Pedantry aside, I can definitely recommend this as worth trying, particularly if you enjoy Rye IPA’s. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Garrison Brewing Company _Double Jack Imperial Pumpkin_ Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 8% ABV | 30 IBU _(C$6.27 at NLC Stavanger, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 21-Oct-2016, reviewed 21-Oct-2016)_

Appearance: clear medium amber with one finger of creamy ivory head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pumpkin, spices, sweet malt, boozy fruitcake. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter, mild spice. (6/10) Medium-full body, moderate carbonation, sweet and mildly spicy finish. (3/5)

I know I sometimes get a bit harsh with Garrison – but to be fair, they usually deserve it. (To my mind, at their worst they can come across as a slightly less objectionable version of Alexander Keith’s.) So, when I say this isn’t terrible, I don’t mean to damn them with faint praise – the fact that I’m not slamming them (and hard, about a pumpkin beer, of all things) means just that: it’s not terrible, and I’m slightly… well, maybe not “surprised” by that, but at the very least “glad that my innate cynicism didn’t win out this time”. It smells like a not-entirely-fake pumpkin pie crossed with a boozy fruitcake (and I have boozy fruitcakes marinating in my cellar right now, so I know that of which I speak), and tastes much the same, complete with a not-insignificant alcoholic kick. So… win-win? (Or at the very least, not a loss.) (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Goose Island Beer Company Goose Rambler IPA American IPA at 6.7% ABV | 65 IBU (C$3.54 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, bottle date 29-Jul-2016, acquired 21-Oct-2016, reviewed 21-Oct-2016)

Appearance: clear medium amber with two fingers of rocky light beige head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pine, caramel, earth and wood, citrus, toasted bread, black tea. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

I can’t make up my mind whether this is intended to be a deliberately old-school A/IPA, or an attempt at a hybrid E/IPA+A/IPA… or is it supposed to be a Red IPA? Either way, the effect is somewhat less than impressive, feeling a little bit duller than I would like, and a bit earthier, and a bit sweeter. The bitterness is present at the level I like to see, but it’s not bright or sharp – at most, it’s predominantly piney and earthy, instead of citrus. Pleasant, I suppose, and pretty, but not really representative of the current state of the art. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Collective Arts Brewing _ English Porter at 5.5% ABV | 25 IBU (C$3.29 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 473 ml, bottle date 10-Aug-2016, acquired 13-Oct-2016, reviewed 19-Oct-2016)

Appearance: near solid black with a hint of brown at the margins, one finger of creamy beige head, moderate retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: roasty malt, chocolate and coffee, citrus, earthy, berry. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium-full body dropping off slightly watery, moderate carbonation, dry lightly bitter finish. (4/5)

A solid porter – actually, it’d be a halfway decent stout – from a brewer that continues to impress. Their pale and IPA were both good, and so’s this. The aromas lead out with dark chocolate and espresso notes, and there’s a significant hop presence here that doesn’t detract at all from the roasty malt goodness. In fact, the astringent roasted tones supplement the hop bitterness, making this seem more bitter than the 25 IBU would suggest. It’s a bit thin in the body, and could stand to be more aromatic, but still definitely worth a try. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Raspberry Wheat Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 5% ABV (C$6.79 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, best before 7-Nov-2016, acquired 13-Oct-2016, reviewed 17-Oct-2016)

Appearance: clear ruby-tinged pale amber with one finger of fizzy off-white head settling rapidly to a thin ring, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tart sweet raspberry, wheat, light funk. (6/10) Taste: moderate tart, moderate-low sweet, minimal bitter. (6/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lightly tart finish. (3/5)

Starts off with a pleasant raspberry balanced between sweet and tart, but as it warms a little, the fruit aromas diminish a bit and a wheat undertone becomes a not entirely pleasant funk. Not terrible, and not unbalanced, but less than impressive. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Postmark Brewing Raspberry Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 4.7% ABV, 17 IBU (C$7.49 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 13-Oct-2016, reviewed 17-Oct-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of fizzy off-white head settling rapidly to a thick persistent cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: sweet raspberry, perfume, floral. (6/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, mild tart, minimal bitter. (5/10) Medium-light body, lively to moderate carbonation, off-dry short finish. (3/5)

I’ve been reading some pretty harsh reviews of this one, but I can’t say I actively dislike it. The aromas are decent enough, with sweet raspberry tinged with a perfume floral that verges on fake, but doesn’t quite get there. The sweetness is relatively low by comparison, but I think I prefer that to if it had been sweeter. I guess the big negative is that there’s no “wild” character to speak of. OK, but that’s about it. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Breakside Brewery Passionfruit Sour Ale Berliner Weisse at 4.0% ABV | 4 IBU (C$10.49 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, bottle date 29-Aug-2016, acquired 13-Oct-2016, reviewed 16-Oct-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a massive unwieldy and fizzy white head settling rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tart stone fruit, tropical fruit, zesty lemon, wheat malt. (7/10) Taste: high tart, moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, lively carbonation, dry tart finish. (4/5)

The huge fizzy head followed an enthusiastic decapping, but then settled down rapidly to almost nothing, and left no lacing. The big sour is very nearly unidimensional lactic in nature, but the added tropical fruit flavours (presumably passionfruit, but I wouldn’t be able to identify a passionfruit to save my life, so hell if I know) make it nearly interesting. Decently good fun and a light ABV make this an “any time” beer, but it would excel as a thirst quencher on a hot beach (under an umbrella, of course – the sun hates me, and I return the sentiment). (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com