Category: Reviews

Fernie Brewing Company Old Barn Saison Saison at 6% ABV (C$6.29 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, best before 1-Sep-2016, acquired 23-May-2016, reviewed 27-May-2016)

Appearance: cloudy deep gold with two growing fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and spotty chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: coriander, caramel, fruity esters, yeast. (6/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate-low bitter, light funk. (6/10) Medium body tending to watery, moderate carbonation, lightly funky and peppery finish. (3/5)

Starts off promising, but fades quickly. The medium body drops off rapidly, becoming thin and watery. The initial coriander aroma fades quickly as well, leaving behind mildly funky and yeasty traces. Nothing offensive, but a fairly unremarkable implementation of the style. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Parallel 49 / Axe & Barrel Brewing Company _Paranoid_ American Double / Imperial Pilsner at 8.5% ABV _(C$2.29 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 16-Apr-2016, reviewed 27-May-2016)_

Appearance: clear pale straw with a short, short-lived white head, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: low/muted, lemon, woody, vinous, fruity esters, light funk. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter, moderate tart. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, warming tart finish. (3/5)

A strange beer. There’s little or no pilsner character here, and the wild aspects dominate. However, I’m a bit surprised by how light the aromas are here: immediately upon decapping, the aromas are present, but they fade fairly rapidly along with the head, and do not return or grow upon warming. Given the pronounced ABV, more robust flavours and aromas would’ve been appropriate. If it sounds like I’m damning this with faint praise, it’s because to some extent I am. Although it’s not unpleasant, it is a bit muddled, and less interesting than it could have been. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Rogue Ales 8 Hop IPA American IPA at 8.88% ABV (C$9.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 23-May-2016, reviewed 26-May-2016)

Appearance: clear pale to medium amber with two fingers of rocky light beige head, good retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel, pine, earthy. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, malty bitter finish. (3/5)

This comes perilously close to being a caramel malt-forward DIPA. Of course, I can’t tell how much of that is due to age, because – you guessed it! – Rogue doesn’t date their damn bottles. Sweet, hoppy, and fairly enjoyable – but I’d like to know how much more enjoyable it might have been when fresh… (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bridge Brewing Company Elderflower Kettle Sour Sour / Wild Ale at 4.9% ABV (C$6.79 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 23-May-2016, reviewed 26-May-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of fine ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: floral, citrus, light leathery sour. (6/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate tart, mild bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, dry tart finish. (3/5)

Not bad, but not a lot of depth of flavour. I guess that’s a fairly typical issue with kettle soured beers: the lactic is about as complex as lemonade, unlike the layers of complexity I associate with true wild sours. You might consider this an “entry level” sour, almost like a radler, now that I come to think of it. OK, but that’s about it. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Parallel 49 / Moody Ales Purple Haze Sour / Wild Ale at 8% ABV (C$2.29 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 16-Apr-2016, reviewed 26-May-2016)

Appearance: clear deep ruby with one finger of fine light purple head, excellent retention and chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tart field berries, candi sugar, wheat and mild yeast. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate tart, light bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, lively carbonation, short duration slightly sticky tart finish. (3/5)

Similar, both visually and flavour-wise, to a lot of frambozen or kriek I’ve tried. More than anything, though, it reminds me of the Black Market Tradecraft Sour Blackberry – which was so massively sour that one would be my limit, so I opined that a heavier body and ABV would realistically be possible. In a lot of ways, this is pretty much that beer, although the tartness is nowhere near as emphatic, and it’s missing the little funk that was present in the Tradecraft. Still, it’s not badly done and the fruit flavour is neither cloying nor artificial-tasting – although in my opinion it’s more generalised field berry, and maybe cherry, than clearly blackberry. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Parallel 49 / Doan’s Craft Brewing Company Thunderstruck Altbier at 6% ABV (C$2.29 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 16-Apr-2016, reviewed 26-May-2016)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one finger of fine ivory head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel malt, grassy and earthy. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration slightly sticky mild bitter finish. (3/5)

Eh. It’s OK. I don’t think I’ve gotten excited yet over an Alt. Well, OK, there was that Les Trois Mousquetaires Sticke Alt that was really good… but other than that, it’s a style that doesn’t tend to impress me. Malt dominates, and what hop there is, is of the Noble variety, with grassy or earthy tones. Fine for what it is, I guess, but not one I feel the need to seek out again. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Anchorage Brewing Company Galaxy White IPA (Batch #10) Belgian IPA at 7% ABV (C$18.49 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 750 ml, bottle date 1-Nov-2015, acquired 23-May-2016, reviewed 25-May-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with one finger of fluffy white head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: lemon zest, wet straw and horseblankety funk, champagne yeast, white pepper. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, mild bitter and peppery spice. (9/10) Light body, moderate-high carbonation, dry mild bitter and funky tart finish. (4/5)

Well, it ain’t all that pretty – but other than that, it’s some serious shit. Somewhat surprisingly, given my experience with brett, the head didn’t explode out of control – but that aside, this is a full-on brett beer. Big funky tart lemon and barnyard funk on the nose, balanced funky tart on the tongue. I might have to pick up another one of these and cellar it for a couple of years, just to give the brett time to really work its magic. Bring the funk! (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Rogue Ales Cold Brew IPA American IPA at 7.5% ABV (C$9.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 23-May-2016, reviewed 25-May-2016)

Appearance: clear chestnut-tinted amber-brown with one fat finger of fluffy light beige head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: coffee, citrus, earthy, light tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate astringent bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter and coffee finish. (3/5)

I was initially a little unimpressed by this: the coffee started out somewhat weak, and the nose was dominated by an almost vegetal earthiness. However, as it warmed, the coffee really moved to the forefront, with a citrus hop presence not far behind. I’m still not completely sold on coffee IPAs, but this is probably the best interpretation of that particular style I’ve encountered so far. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Coulrophobia India Red Ale at 6.5% ABV (C$2.67 at Crowfoot Liquor Douglas Square, 341 ml, best before 6-Aug-2016, acquired 24-May-2016, reviewed 25-May-2016)

Appearance: clear medium amber with two fingers of fine light beige head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: sweet citrus, caramel/toffee malt, pine, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

For the record, I’m not scared of clowns, they’re just fucking creepy, OK? Mostly because the makeup communicates one thing, while the actual facial expression can be the complete opposite. Likewise, this is a pretty decent example of the style, but it’s a style that tends to be neither fish nor fowl. Fairly evenly-matched malt and hop characteristics are present here, but instead of a balance, it feels a little more like a fight. (14/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Area 52 Code Name Flamingopher IPA #7739 American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$2.67 at Crowfoot Liquor Douglas Square, 341 ml, best before 23-Sep-2016, acquired 24-May-2016, reviewed 25-May-2016)

Appearance: clear deep gold with a slight bronze / greenish tinge, one finger of creamy white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild/muted, metallic-tinged citrus, tropical fruit, pine, caramel malt. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

Well, I guess the whole point of experiment is to see what happens, right? And this particular experiment was not a complete success. I don’t mind trying something a little different, but this particular hop isn’t working all that well for me. I’ve called it “metallic,” but upon reflection, “oniony” could work, too. A solid enough beer, but it suffers by comparison to the other contents of the current HopBox. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com