Category: Reviews

Worthy Brewing Coeur de la Pêche Saison at 7.0% ABV (C$7.67 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 18-Aug-2016, reviewed 20-Aug-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky white head, good retention and sticky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: slightly musty peaches, banana, grainy malt, cloves, white pepper. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild tart, light bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry funky tart finish. (4/5)

Initially smells sharply of pureed peach baby food, but layers of complexity develop as it warms. Quite enjoyable, but suffers by comparison to the peach saison home-brew Chris Conway (brewer at Folly Brewpub) once gave me. A bit unfair of me, perhaps, to use a one-off home-brew as my gold standard for peach saisons, but there you go – it really was a helluva saison. This, on the other hand, is merely quite good. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Sour Note Pucker Plucker Cherry Sour Ale Sour / Wild Ale at 6.3% ABV (C$7.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, best before 12-Dec-2016, acquired 17-Aug-2016, reviewed 20-Aug-2016)

Appearance: hazy slightly pink-tinted pale gold with one fat finger of rocky ivory head settling rapidly to a thin skim, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: cherry candy, stone fruit, bready pale malt, light sour cream. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild tart, low bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry tart finish. (4/5)

I went into this with no small amount of trepidation, given the sink pour train wreck that was the last Sour Note (Sax in the Dark, to name and shame). But this isn’t bad. It isn’t great, either, but it isn’t bad. At least there’s no cough syrup aspect to the cherries. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from a lacto sour, with no real complexity or depth, but on the other hand it’s easy drinking, with essentially no contribution from the ABV at all. That’ll do, Phillips. That’ll do. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Bizarro Anniversary Sour Ale Berliner Weisse at 3.4% ABV (C$7.49 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, best before 23-Dec-2016, acquired 17-Aug-2016, reviewed 20-Aug-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with one fat finger of rocky white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: lemon zest, apples and pears, crackery pale malt, light funk. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild tart, low bitter. (8/10) Light body, lively carbonation, crisp tart finish. (4/5)

Decent and authentic Berliner Weisse. Light, crisp, and refreshing, with just enough funk to keep from becoming boring. The sourness may be just a little on the high side for the style, perhaps, but not to the point of being detracting. Just slightly sweet as well, and the combination of the sweetness and funk make syrup unnecessary – which is good, because I still haven’t found any Woodruff. Worked great as a thirst quencher after a hot, sweaty bike ride! (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Alley Kat Brewing Co. Cerulean Dragon American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.5% ABV (C$8.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, best before 8-Feb-2017, acquired 19-Aug-2016, reviewed 19-Aug-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fat fingers of dense ivory head, good retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grainy and bready caramel malt, citrus, earthy, stone fruit, vegetal. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Seriously? “Cerulean” Dragon? You don’t think that particular well has run dry yet? What’s next, “Periwinkle” Dragon? Questionable colour names aside, I’m not entirely convinced by this one: there’s a vegetal note that doesn’t work for me, and the malts are definitely in the forefront. I’ve had worse, sure – but I’ve had better, too. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something about it that just isn’t working for me. If that’s Calypso hops, sign me out. OK, but no better than that. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Deschutes Brewery Down ‘n Dirty IPA American IPA at 6.3% ABV (C$8.25 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, best before 28-Oct-2016, acquired 19-Aug-2016, reviewed 19-Aug-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fat fingers of fluffy ivory head, good retention and sticky lacing. (5/5) Aroma: pithy grapefruit, resiny pine, earthy, caramel malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium-duration bitter finish. (4/5)

Well, damn, ain’t that some shit. Dirty big bitter on the tongue, a massive hop assault on the nose, and malts firmly in the back seat where they goddamned well belong, like god and George Hodgson intended. (Yes, I know he didn’t invent IPAs, let me have this.) Everybody else on the internet is wrong: this is the best beer Deschutes makes. Well, except for Fresh Squeezed. And Red Chair. And… OK, fine, they make a lot of good beers, happy? This is one of them. Especially if you’re a dissolute unrepentant hophead like myself. Punches a bit above its weight in the ABV department, though – this thing could easily stand to be an 8% DIPA with a little beefier malt bill. If you like IPAs, you need to try this. If you don’t like IPAs, you… well… need to learn to like IPAs. And then try this. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Prince Edward Island Brewing Company Rogue’s Roost IPA English IPA at 6% ABV (C$3.79 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 473 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 18-Aug-2016, reviewed 19-Aug-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fat fingers of growing and fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and well-defined lacing. (5/5) Aroma: grainy caramel malt, grassy, floral, citrus, brown sugar, light pine, light cheese/butyric. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Middle-of-the-road E/IPA. Malt-forward in keeping with the style, followed up by noble hop flavours, but with a little rank edge that isn’t entirely in-spec. Prettier than all git-out, though: really great colour, retention and lacing. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Dandy Brewing Company Une Vieille Maîtresse Grisette / Petit Saison at 3.5% ABV (C$6.07 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 18-Aug-2016, reviewed 19-Aug-2016)

Appearance: clear pale straw with one fat finger of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pale malt, grassy hay, stone fruit, light barnyard funk. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, low bitter, mild funk. (7/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, crisp lightly funky finish. (4/5)

This is only the second grisette I’ve ever had, and the first one didn’t kindly dispose me towards the style. This? This… disposes me more kindly towards the style. Much more. It tastes like a light saison, which a cursory research tells me is exactly the intent, except unlike saisons brewed for farm workers, the grisette was brewed for miners. There was a lot of variation in the style, with colour ranging from blonde to amber., but the overall intent was one of a dry and refreshing ale with a low ABV – and this is pretty much that. A nice recovery drink after cycling… 🙂 (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

New Belgium Brewing / Allagash Brewing Company Fat Tire and Friends Fat Funk Ale American Wild Ale at 5.6% ABV (C$3.12 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 355 ml, best before 15-Apr-2018, acquired 17-Aug-2016, reviewed 19-Aug-2016)

Appearance: hazy, nearly opaque deep gold with two fingers of fluffy off-white head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: wet hay funk, bready yeast, banana, cloves. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild funk. (7/10) Medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, drying bitter and funky finish. (4/5)

Part of the “Fat Tire and Friends Collabeeration Pack”, and finishing on a high note, vying with the Firestone one for first place in the pack. (Which is nice, because to be honest, this was starting to feel like a chore!) Some nice Belgian character from the De Dolle yeast, blending well with a clean, sharp brett funk. If NB had any sense, they’d’ve limited their collab pack to this, the Firestone, and the original, because the others just aren’t worth it. (Especially that apple thing that HUB did!) (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

New Belgium Brewing / Avery Brewing Company Fat Tire and Friends Fat Wild Ale American Wild Ale at 6.2% ABV (C$3.12 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 355 ml, best before 7-May-2017, acquired 17-Aug-2016, reviewed 19-Aug-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of rocky ivory head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bready and caramel malt, tropical fruit (mostly pineapple), banana, light musty sweat. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light funk. (6/10) Medium body, lively carbonation, off-dry bitter and lightly funky finish. (3/5)

Part of the “Fat Tire and Friends Collabeeration Pack”, and we’re back in less impressive territory. There’s some funk there, sure, but it’s not the clean hay funk I like from brett, but instead has some musty sweat sock character. Not a lot, but enough to cause me a little disappointment. Not a very impressive wild, in any case. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Breakside Brewery _India Golden Ale_ American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.1% ABV _(C$8.27 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 30-Apr-2016, acquired 18-Aug-2016, reviewed 18-Aug-2016)_

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dank resiny pine, caramel malt, tropical fruit, light floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Slightly elderly, perhaps – I’m not entirely certain of my interpretation of the smeary date stamp – but still decently hop-forward, with a pleasantly sweet caramel malt base. The fairly high ABV is well integrated, and never intrudes, making this dangerously drinkable. No, it’s not the most impressive DIPA I’ve ever had, and I’d probably like it more if it were brighter, but it’s still an enjoyable example of the style. (15/20)

7.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com