Category: Reviews

Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck Bacchus Frambozenbier Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 5% ABV (C$7.49 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 375 ml, best before 3-Sep-2016, reviewed 14-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear amber-brown with one fat finger of dense and fluffy light purple head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Aroma: sweet tart raspberry, wheat, light malt vinegar. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate tart, light bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry tart and astringent finish. (3/5)

A true Belgian with authentic fruit flavour and none of the dreaded cough syrup effect. Not overly complex, and it falls a little short in delivering on the tongue, but pleasant. A little more sweetness than I’d prefer (almost but not quite cloying, presumably from the Stevia) and a fair bit less umame. (15/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Deschutes Brewery The Stoic (2015) Abt / Quadrupel at 10.9% ABV (C$20.30 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, best before 8-May-2016, reviewed 13-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear slightly orange-tinged pale amber with a short thin light beige head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: complex, pomegranate, raspberry, caramel, oak, vinous, light whiskey, dark fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, malty sweet and warming finish. (3/5)

Pretty well-behaved for a double digit boozy beast, but the flavours are complex, perhaps to the point of being a little overwhelming – the blend of different barrel ageings is a bit challenging, and I’m not completely convinced that vinous oak and whiskey work all that well together. Decent Belg-ish style, but not a home run. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Asahi Breweries Super Dry Pale Lager at 5% ABV (C$2.69 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before, reviewed 13-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear straw with two fat fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: biscuity, corn and rice adjuncts, grassy, light citrus. (4/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (4/10) Palate: light body, lively to moderate carbonation, crisp lightly bitter and metallic finish. (3/5)

Eh. Standard pale/Euro lager with lots of adjunct character and a slightly metallic finish. Marginally better than a Coors Lite, but that’s not exactly a high bar, is it? (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brickworks Ciderhouse Brickworks Batch 1904 Dry Cider at 5% ABV (On tap at Mill Street Brewpub YYZ, reviewed 13-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear bright yellow with a short, short-lived white head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: sweet tart apples, light floral. (6/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate tart, low bitter. (6/10) Palate: light body, lively carbonation, off-dry slightly sweet and sticky finish. (3/5)

Decent dry cider, not too sweet. Interesting truly local product (the apples travel no further than 300km to the cider house) and I approve of the ingredients list (heritage apples). Unfortunately, that pretty much exhausts the list of interesting things about it, and the flavour isn’t on that list. Not unpleasant, but very straightforward and simple. As well, the initially lively carbonation drops off fairly rapidly, making this an awful lot like drinking apple juice. Which, don’t get me wrong, is fine – if you want apple juice. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

YellowBelly Brewery / Top Shed East Coast Cream Ale American Pale Ale at 4.8% ABV (C$9.34 at NLC Stavanger, 1 l, best before 14-Apr-2016, reviewed 12-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear straw with one fat finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, white wine, pale malt, field berries. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, crisp lightly bitter finish. (3/5)

Nice. Pacific Gem hops are supposed to have a blackberry aroma, but I’m finding they come through with a white wine vinous character here. Lots of citrus and fruit flavour make this a light and pleasant APA. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Molson Coors Canada Rickard’s Red Session Lager American Amber / Red Lager at 4% ABV (C$3.31 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, bottle date 10-Feb-2016, reviewed 11-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear slightly red-tinged medium amber with one finger of loose light beige head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel malt, bready, corn, light earth/herbal. (4/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate-low bitter. (4/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry finish. (3/5)

What? They had it as singles, OK? It’s not like I bought a six-pack! So, anyway, yeah: watered-down Rickard’s Red. Whee. Sort of like Molson 67, in that if you think of it as lightly beer-flavoured water, it’s not terrible. It’s not good, either, mind you. Oh my goodness, no. But, a guy could gag it down. In a pinch. If I have to. I guess. (9/20)

4.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Propeller Brewery Propeller Organic Ale Golden Ale at 4.5% ABV (C$2.55 at NLC Stavanger, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before, reviewed 11-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear straw with one fat finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grassy, pale crackery malt, light citrus and floral. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, crisp bitter finish. (3/5)

I’ve never been a fan of using “organic” as a beer descriptor – I mean, in theory, literally any style of beer can be made using 100% organic materials, so that doesn’t tell you a lot about what’s inside, does it? (Quite aside from the issue that an “organic” designation doesn’t really mean much, either.) Anyway, as far as what it is, it’s a pale pilsner-ish blonde, with grassy hops and crackery malt. Light, easy-drinking and thirst-quenching, but hardly one of Propeller’s more interesting offerings. Boring as heck and a good one to keep in the fridge for after physical labour and/or non beer-appreciating visitors. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

YellowBelly Brewery Patrick’s Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 6.4% ABV (On tap at YellowBelly, reviewed 10-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one fat finger of creamy white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, light bitter finish. (3/5)

A very mild APA, extremely drinkable. Despite it being all-Cascade hops, it doesn’t have much sharpness, and certainly none of the cattiness that can sometimes be associated with that hop. It’s actually slightly creamy on tap, so I’m interested to see whether the bottle is the same. I’m definitely liking YB’s latest offerings! (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Crazy Beard Brewing Dusty Boots Hard Root Beer Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 5.9% ABV (C$3.07 at NLC Stavanger, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before, reviewed 10-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear deep amber with one fat finger of loose fluffy eggshell head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: root beer and vanilla, sweet malts, slight alcohol. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter, light acid. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, sticky sweet finish. (3/5)

Well, on the one hand, it tastes like root beer. On the other hand, it tastes like root beer. If you weren’t told it was “hard”, it’s entirely possible you wouldn’t realize it – at least, not until you were part or most of the way through the bottle, and got a (very) little warming. If you like sweet sodas, particularly root beer, you’ll probably like this. Personally, I found it very sweet and sticky, which though not unexpected or out of spec for the style, makes it something that I would drink only sparingly. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Side Launch Brewing Side Launch Dark Lager Dunkel at 5.3% ABV (C$3.01 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, no bottle date or best before, reviewed 9-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear amber-brown with one finger of fluffy ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel, roasty notes, grassy, bready, light fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, dry lightly bitter finish. (3/5)

A drinkable dunkel. I’ve certainly had worse lagers! Although it initially smells predominantly of caramel and bready malts, the sweetness remains quite restrained and decently balanced. Despite the colour, it’s light-bodied, perhaps even tending to the watery, but that’s not really a negative for the style. I’d call this a straightforward thirst quencher, and one could certainly session it were one so inclined. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com