Category: Reviews

Bavaria Brewery Grapefruit Radler Radler at 2.0% ABV (C$3.29 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 500 ml, best before 31-Dec-2016, acquired 29-May-2016, reviewed 29-May-2016)

Appearance: hazy dull pink with a short, short-lived pinkish head, no lacing. (2/5) Aroma: sweet grapefruit juice, faint grainy malt. (5/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate tart. (4/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, short duration sweet and tart finish. (2/5)

Well, it’s better than their lemon – but that’s not saying a lot. The grapefruit aromas don’t come across as being artificial, the way the lemon does, but it falls down on the tongue – and it’s still far too sweet. Basically a very slightly alcoholic soda pop, and I find soda far too sweet to drink, so I dunno why I’d want to drink this. (9/20)

4.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bavaria Brewery Lemon Radler Radler at 2.0% ABV (C$3.29 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 500 ml, best before 30-Sep-2016, acquired 29-May-2016, reviewed 29-May-2016)

Appearance: hazy dull straw with a short, short-lived white head, no lacing. (2/5) Aroma: artificial lemon candy, faint grainy malt. (4/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate tart. (4/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, short duration sweet and tart finish. (2/5)

Well, that’s moderately horrible. Fake lemon and far too much sugar – it’s like drinking sweetened furniture polish, or cheap off-brand lemonade. Not much to recommend here. (8/20)

4/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Molson Coors Canada _Rickard’s Radler_ Radler at 3.2% ABV _(C$3.29 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 473 ml, bottle date 26-Feb-2016, acquired 29-May-2016, reviewed 29-May-2016)_

Appearance: nearly opaque straw with a short, short-lived white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: sweet grapefruit juice, faint grainy malt. (5/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate tart. (4/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, short duration sweet and tart finish. (2/5)

Well, I went into this with absolutely zero expectations, and it exceeded that, so… well done? It’s not terrible for what it is. In fact, I think it’s a bit better than the Rickard’s White it might be based upon, possibly for the same reason they usually serve the White with a slice of orange: the citrus fills in (masks?) the plain jane macro character. Really too sweet, though I guess if it weren’t you’d actually be able to taste the beer, and nobody wants that. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks / Powell Street Craft Brewery Hikari Imperial Dry-Hopped Sourweiss Sour / Wild Ale at 7.2% ABV (C$7.49 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 23-May-2016, reviewed 28-May-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with a short white head, good retention and minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus zest, floral, lactic sour, wheat. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, moderate tart. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry tart finish. (3/5)

A fairly middle-of-the-road kettle sour. The lactic tartness is clean, but without much depth. Decent, but doesn’t excite. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Category 12 Brewing Critical Point Ale American Pale Ale at 5.6% ABV (C$8.25 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, bottle date 22-Apr-2016, acquired 28-May-2016, reviewed 28-May-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of loose ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grapefruit, tropical fruit, pale malt, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Nice little APA, though once again I find myself wondering where you really draw the line between APAs and A/IPAs. In terms of aroma, flavour, body, and ABV, this could easily be characterised as an A/IPA, so what makes it an APA? On the other hand, I usually complain about APAs that are too light for the hop profile, so this is definitely one approach for solving that… Anyway, regardless of whether you call it a beefy APA, or a light-ish A/IPA, this is a decent pint. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ninkasi Brewing Company Spring Reign American Pale Ale at 6% ABV (C$9.25 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 28-May-2016, reviewed 28-May-2016)

Appearance: clear medium gold with one fat finger of rocky off-white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: oranges and lemons, tropical fruit, pale malt, pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Smells pretty good, doesn’t taste quite as good. It’s one of those APAs that doesn’t really have the body or malt profile to support the hops, so it comes across as a little sharp and thin. It’s still OK, but nowhere near as good as e.g. their Maiden the Shade, and at least it doesn’t suddenly drop off to a watery, thin finish the way some APAs do. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Solaris Peach White American Pale Wheat Ale at 4.3% ABV (C$2.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 473 ml, best before 8-Oct-2016, acquired 28-May-2016, reviewed 28-May-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: lemon, stone fruit, wheat, light pepper, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, light tart. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, short duration mild bitter finish. (3/5)

Easy drinking light wheat ale with restrained peach flavour. Beer Advocate calls this a “Fruit/Vegetable” style, while RateBeer says it’s an American Pale Ale. I, however, think Untappd is closest to being correct with “Pale Wheat Ale”: it’s more like a witbier than anything else. The peach flavour integrates well with the wheat character, and is sufficiently mild that you could probably be convinced it’s yeast-derived, rather than actual fruit. Well done for what it is, but what it is, is really light and inoffensive. Fine, but a bit boring. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Parallel 49 Jerkface 9000 American Pale Wheat Ale at 5% ABV (C$2.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 473 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 28-May-2016, reviewed 28-May-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy straw with one fat finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly to a thick cap, minimal patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, floral, tropical fruit, light grainy wheat. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (6/10) Medium-light body tending to watery, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

Starts off pretty promising, with bright citrus and tropical hops on the nose. Those fade fairly rapidly, though, leaving behind the grainy and slightly tart wheat base. The carbonation fades a little rapidly as well, causing the already light body to feel a bit watery and thin in the finish. Decent enough thirst quencher with lunch. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Central City Brewers + Distillers Sour I Sour Brown Flanders Brown Ale / Oud Bruin at 9.2% ABV (C$25.49 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 750 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 23-May-2016, reviewed 27-May-2016)

Appearance: hazy medium amber with one finger of creamy light beige head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: red wine, woody, vinegar, dark stone fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, low bitter, moderate-high tart. (8/10) Medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, dry tart finish. (4/5)

Impressive right from the get-go – smells like a very traditional Flanders Brown. The ABV integration is phenomenal: there’s no indication of the heavy-duty content until you’re well into it. Really a lot like Duchesse, which is no mean feat, especially for a brewery new to the style. Well worth trying and damn, that is some shit. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Anchorage Brewing Company Mosaic Saison Saison at 6.5% ABV (C$14.49 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 750 ml, bottle date 1-Aug-2015, acquired 23-May-2016, reviewed 27-May-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with one fat finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: funky brett, citrus, stone fruit, woody, light catty. (7/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate-low bitter, moderate funk. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, dry funky finish. (4/5)

I don’t usually find Mosaic hops to have a catty element, but there’s a little of that here – nothing offensive, though. That being said, I had high hopes for this that didn’t quite materialise. Decent, without being all that memorable. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com