RyansBooze

Western Newfoundland Brewing Company Killdevil Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 4.5% ABV | 48 IBU (C$8.00 on tap at Sorrento Corner Brook, reviewed 10-Feb-2017)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with a short, short-lived ivory head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, pine, floral, pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

A bit unappealing visually – despite it being on tap, there’s poor head development, no retention to speak of, and no lacing. Combine that with the hazy/cloudy appearance and it’s not much in the way of eye candy. On the other hand, it smells and tastes quite pleasant: there’s some typical starts-with-C notes there, but a bit more floral than I typically find with Centennial and Citra. Speaking of Citra, there’s no hint of the catty/oniony notes that can accompany that hop. A solid performer that could use a bit of aesthetic polish. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Garrison Brewing Company Imperial Chocolate Stout American Double / Imperial Stout at 10% ABV | 60 IBU (C$8.51 at NLC Stavanger, 650 ml, bottle date 15-Jan-2015, acquired 16-Feb-2015, reviewed 9-Feb-2017)

Appearance: clear brown with one fat finger of light beige head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: chocolate nibs, coffee, dark roasty malt, light nutty. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter and mildly warming finish. (3/5)

Well, I’m not sure: is this the same recipe as their Wintervention? I don’t think it’s identical, but it sure seems similar. To be fair, this has been aged for two years, compared to the fairly newborn Wintervention I tried yesterday. Certainly, this has none of the wet dog aroma I got from the Wintervention, and the palate is just slightly fuller. That being said, it would benefit from a more robust body and finish. The ageing seems to have mellowed it out somewhat, if nothing else, presenting it in its best possible form. Which is good, but not great. I’ll keep my other one in the cellar for another couplethree years and see what happens. (And yes, the sharp-eyed among you might’ve noticed this is a Beerthief-labelled beer in my Beerthief-logoed glass. Fun, huh?) (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Garrison Brewing Company Wintervention Imperial Stout at 10.5% ABV | 60 IBU (C$7.71 at NLC Stavanger, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 3-Feb-2017, reviewed 8-Feb-2017)

Appearance: near opaque black with brown highlights at the margins, medium dense light beige head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: chocolate nibs, coffee, dark roasty malt, light nutty, hint of wet dog. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body dropping off to watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter and mildly warming finish. (3/5)

“It’s 20º below, dark at 4 o’clock & the holidays are over… Time for a Wintervention!” Indeed. I honestly don’t know how many more Canadian winters I can stand, but double digit ABVs might hold the key to increasing that number. Marginally. Except, funny thing, even though the ABV for this is well integrated and manifests only as a mild warming, the body is surprisingly thin. Given the somewhat enthusiastic flavours and alcohol load on this one, I’d expect (and prefer) a thicker body, but this almost feels like a (fairly anemic) porter. Warming doesn’t really improve this, either – as I noted above, there’s actually a hint of wet dog that actually starts to come to the fore, once you let this sit for a bit, so I find myself in the fairly unique position of recommending you don’t drink this Imperial Stout too warm. I’m actually surprised this isn’t better than their Martello Stout, but given this is nearly double the price per millilitre, I’d say drink two Martellos instead. On the up side, it’s not too sweet, so there’s that. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

YellowBelly Brewery Partridgeberry Apple Cider Cider at 6.8% ABV (C$6.15 at NLC Stavanger, 500 ml, best before 24-Mar-2017, acquired 3-Feb-2017, reviewed 7-Feb-2017)

Appearance: clear pale to medium gold with one finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly (and loudly) to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: apple, light tart berry. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate tart. (7/10) Palate: light body, lively to moderate carbonation, off-dry crisp and lingering tart finish. (4/5)

Yes, that’s the Partridge Family bus. (eye roll) It’s not (quite) the only Partridge presence here, though – there’s a lingering tartness along the sides of the tongue, especially in the finish, that feels more berry, than apple. The partridgeberry also brings a slightly musty almost-funkiness in addition to that berry tartness, preventing this from becoming too sweet. It’s hard to make cider all that interesting, but this isn’t bad. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Åbro Bryggeri Rekorderlig Spiced Apple Hard Cider Cider at 4.5% ABV (C$4.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 500 ml, best before 15-Aug-2017, acquired 13-Oct-2016, reviewed 7-Feb-2017)

Appearance: clear pale straw with one finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly (and loudly) to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: sickly sweet vanilla, cinnamon, apple. (5/10) Taste: high sweet, moderate tart. (4/10) Palate: light body, lively carbonation, sweet crisp and lightly spicy finish. (3/5)

Far too sweet, with an artificial, soda-like quality. Not very interesting. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Spindrift Brewing Co. Abyss Schwarzbier at 4.8% ABV (C$3.39 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, bottle date 3-Nov-2016, acquired 31-Jan-2017, reviewed 1-Feb-2017)

Appearance: hazy deep brown with one fat finger of fluffy beige head, excellent retention and well-defined lacing. (5/5) Aroma: roasty malts, light smoke. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry smoothly bitter finish. (3/5)

I continue to be fairly impressed by Spindrift’s ability to succeed with styles that aren’t particular favourites of mine (i.e.lagers). (Both their Märzen and their IPL were solid performers, though I must admit their Pils was only marginally better than a macro – eh, can’t win ‘em all.) This, too, is solid, with a pleasant balance of darker roast malt notes and mild smoke, finishing smooth. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company _Enjoy After 07.04.16_ Belgian IPA at 7% ABV | 70 IBU _(C$17.09 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 30-May-2015, best after 4-Jul-2016, acquired 28-Jul-2015, reviewed 30-Jan-2017)_

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and well-defined lacing. (5/5) Aroma: dry hay funk, pale malt, lemon zest, herbal. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter, moderate funk. (8/10) Palate: medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, dry bitter and funky finish. (4/5)

Well, I obeyed the label, and I can’t say I’m disappointed: both the bitterness and the funk are restrained and well-balanced against one another. I’m glad I’ve got another one in the cellar, though, because I’ll be interested to see what the Brett does in another year or two. (With any luck, I’ll locate one or two other vintages in the interim, to accompany this one and my one and only 12.26.15 – what was I thinking buying only one of those?) (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company _20th Anniversary Encore Series Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout_ American Double / Imperial Stout at 9.2% ABV | 55 IBU _(C$15.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 16-Jan-2016, acquired 23-May-2016, reviewed 29-Jan-2017)_

Appearance: opaque black with one fat finger of fluffy beige head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, cocoa nibs, roasty malt, dark fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-full body tending slightly watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly astringent finish. (3/5)

Meh. Not up to Stone’s usual standards, in my opinion. Starts off looking rich and decadent, but the body, medium-full at best, drops off to watery fairly quickly, making this another oatmeal stout supporting my theory that oatmeal makes for a thinnish Imperial Stout. And yes, the label is correct in calling it bitter, but that’s only part of the story: there’s a significant nearly-acidic astringency, especially in the finish, that lingers and builds. On the up side hand, the high ABV is well-integrated to the point that it’s pretty much completely absent. Good, but hardly memorable. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Ale Apothecary The Beer Formerly Known as La Tache American Wild Ale at 7.62% ABV (C$40.44 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 750 ml, bottle date 11-Mar-2016, acquired 13-Oct-2016, reviewed 28-Jan-2017)

Appearance: hazy pale to medium gold with one fat finger of fizzy ivory head diminishing rapidly (and loudly!) to a thin collar, patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: complex, dry hay funk, stone fruit, lemon zest, sweet wheat malt, oak. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate tart, low bitter. (8/10) Palate: light body, lively carbonation, off-dry lightly funky finish. (4/5)

A fair bit sweeter than I was expecting, except for which I’d almost consider it a decent Farmhouse/Saison. It has strong similarities to Gueuze as well, except again for the relatively high sweetness. And, to be clear, that sweetness isn’t overwhelming or unbalanced, but it certainly makes this difficult to characterize as anything but an American Wild. The stone fruit, lemon zest, and oak give this a strongly vinous character, and in a blind taste test, I’d bet you could convince someone this was actually an oddball white wine. Quite interesting, and well worth trying if you find it – assuming you have no problem with the frankly ludicrous price tag. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Nøgne Ø / 京A Imperial Koji Saison Imperial Saison at 14% ABV | 25 IBU (C$10.20 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, bottle date 4-May-2015, acquired 13-Dec-2016, reviewed 27-Jan-2017)

Appearance: clear pale amber with a short, short-lived fizzy ivory head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: bready yeast, stone fruit, caramel, orange peel, alcohol. (4/10) Taste: high sweet, moderate alcohol and umami, low bitter, light sour. (6/10) Palate: medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, off-dry lightly funky and warming finish. (3/5)

So, “koji” is a Japanese term meaning “grain or bean overgrown with a mold culture” (specifically, Monascus purpureus, which produces statins, making this medicinal, right?) and can be used as an ingredient in sake, of which this is a hybrid. In other words, this is a Canadian review of a Norwegian/Chinese collaboration on a Franco-Belgian/Japanese hybrid. Confused yet? Good, me too – though the 14% ABV might have something to do with that. And yes, that totally triggers my standard rant against high ABV Saisons. You can also insert my standard complaint against Council Brewing’s yeast, which smells like nothing so much as standard baker’s yeast. I’m not sure about this – I might be doing it a disservice simply because it’s so very, very strange – but it’s just weird to the point of unapproachability. Maybe if I was a big sake fan, this would be more my style -but I’m not, so it ain’t. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com