Category: Reviews

Category 12 Brewing Simplicity Ale Saison at 5% ABV (C$8.25 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 28-May-2016, reviewed 1-Jun-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with one finger of short-lived loose white head, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grassy, yeast, lemon, coriander, floral, citrus, slight catty. (6/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter, light peppery spice. (6/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, dry bitter and mildly spicy finish. (3/5)

Easy drinking but fairly unremarkable. Although there’s not a lot of depth of flavour, it finishes clean and dry, making it a reasonably effective example of the original style, albeit still somewhat high in ABV for something farmhands would drink five litres of per day. I wouldn’t say no to another, but I wouldn’t go looking for one, either. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Old Abbey Ales Dry Hop Saison Saison at 6.5% ABV (C$7.75 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 28-May-2016, reviewed 1-Jun-2016)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one finger of dense white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: floral, coriander, citrus, yeast, stone fruit, white pepper. (6/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter, light peppery funk. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter and spicy finish. (3/5)

It’s OK, but nothing thrilling. I’m not getting much, if any, of the alleged dry hopping. The label doesn’t specify what hops were used, though it does say “noble hops” – and I can’t say I think much of the choice of noble hops for dry hopping. A bit muddled and a bit unbalanced, but reasonably refreshing. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brouwerij de Molen / Hair of the Dog Adam Traditional Ale at 10% ABV (C$7.49 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, bottle date 21-Jul-2015, best before 21-Jul-2020, acquired 16-Apr-2016, reviewed 31-May-2016)

Appearance: translucent amber-brown with deep amber margins, one finger of rocky beige head, excellent retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: rich dark fruit, toffee, figs, leather, nutty, light pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium-full body, moderate carbonation, boozy bitter finish. (4/5)

Another oddball style description. What’s this “Old World Ale” the label refers to, anyway? This thing is big, boozy, and dark – I’d be inclined to call it an Abt, had I not previously encountered the Traditional Ale style (which is not, as far as I can tell, a BJCP-recognized style – hey, you try searching the BJCP style guide for “traditional” and see how far you get!). Regardless of what you call this, it’s fun – big, boozy fun. It’s similar to, but I think even better than, Traquair Jacobite (which BJCP uses as an example for Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer, I might add), my previous best-ever Traditional. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Gigantic Brewing Company Slip Into Darkness (#36) Schwarzbier at 6.4% ABV (C$10.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 28-May-2016, reviewed 31-May-2016)

Appearance: nearly opaque black with just a hint of brown around the margins, one finger of rocky beige head, excellent retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pine, roasty malts, citrus and grassy, light herbal. (7/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, mild bitter finish. (4/5)

Quite a pleasant schwarzbier, with a surprisingly light and easy-drinking character despite its forbidding appearance (and frankly alarming label art). Looks like it should be smoky, and I keep waiting for the ashtray finish, but it never comes. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Gigantic Brewing Company Solid! (#30) American Pale Wheat Ale at 6% ABV (C$10.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, best before 3-Mar-2016, acquired 28-May-2016, reviewed 31-May-2016)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one fat finger of medium-dense off-white head, excellent retention and good lacing. (4/5) Aroma: papaya and other tropical fruit, citrus, wheat and pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

I like the best before language on this one: “Not as awesome after 03/03/16”. Well, that might be true, but it still lives up to its name almost three months after that: solid. Wish I had gotten it fresh – maybe then it would’ve been Solid!, or even awesome. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Red Collar Brewing Co. Red Collar White IPA Belgian IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$7.25 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 28-May-2016, reviewed 30-May-2016)

Appearance: cloudy pale gold with one fat finger of fluffy off-white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: herbal/floral, diacetyl, citrus, caramel. (3/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter. (3/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Woof. Bit of a train wreck. Butter’s got no place in an IPA (or any beer, really). Starts out mediocre and gets worse from there. I was cautiously optimistic about these guys after trying their IPA, but this is just a mess. (8/20)

4/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Red Collar Brewing Co. Red Collar IPA India Pale Ale (IPA) at 6.25% ABV (C$6.75 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 28-May-2016, reviewed 30-May-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel malt, tropical fruit, citrus, earth and grass. (6/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Definitely an English-style IPA, but decently well done. Funny, it’s my second E/IPA with ANZ hops in two days – is this a thing, now? Because, really, it’s not that impressive a thing, so let’s go back to hop-forward pales, please and thank you, mmmmkay? You can keep the ANZ hops, those I like – just maybe be a little more generous with them? Keep the English ale yeast if you’re absolutely bound and determined to make it an E/IPA, but you could throw some Nelson Sauvin into the mix, maybe dry hop with ‘em. Does “English” really have to be synonymous with “boring”? (Silly question – of course it does.) (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Speakeasy Scarface American Double / Imperial Stout at 9.5% ABV (C$13.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 23-May-2016, reviewed 29-May-2016)

Appearance: nearly opaque black with brown around the margins, one fat finger of medium dense light beige head, excellent retention and chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: roasty malts, dry cocoa, liquorice, hint of bourbon barrel. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, soft carbonation, dry bitter warming finish. (3/5)

Yeah, I know it’s supposed to be spring, but I’ve got too many of these dark things on hand, gotta drink ‘em down. Not all that impressive an imperial stout – tends a bit to the thin side, and the barrel notes are muted, even after warming. On the up side, it’s not heavy, so it’s fairly easy drinking for a nearly double digit ABV. Pleasant enough. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Granville Island Brewing West Coast Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$7.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 29-May-2016, reviewed 29-May-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with one fat finger of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: caramel malt, mildly dank pine, faint citrus, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter finish. (3/5)

This is a bit of a strange beast. Yeah, I get the “west coast” dank aspect, though that’s not what I expect from ANZ hops – those, I generally find to have a more vinous character, and I’m getting none of that here. Moreover, in terms of the hop/malt balance, this is more like an English pale, with caramel malt leading the way, and a distinctly earthy character to the hops. English malting, ANZ hops… it’s not a “West Coast Pale”, it’s a “Prison Ship Pale”! It’s not terrible, by any stretch – but it’s a long way from memorable. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Granville Island Brewing Campground Common California Common at 5% ABV (C$7.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 29-May-2016, reviewed 29-May-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one finger of loose white diminishing rapidly to a thick cap, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grassy hops, grainy malt, light citrus, mild fruit esters. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate biter. (6/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry crisp mild bitter finish. (3/5)

I’m not very familiar with this style – I think this might be my third ever – but I have had Anchor Steam, which is pretty much the originator of the style, so I’ve got at least some idea of how it should go. And this is pretty much on-spec for the style: basically a slightly deeper and fruitier lager. Which is hardly surprising, given that it’s done with lager yeast, but at higher temperatures. But, ultimately, it tastes an awful lot like a macro lager, albeit one done well. Not something I’m going to go looking for again. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com