RyansBooze

Ale Architect Brewing Ltd. Riff Raff – American IPA at 6.9% ABV (C$5.13 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 28-Nov-2024, reviewed 4-Jan-2025)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: pithy citrus, resiny pine, caramel. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, mildly warming lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Hopped with Centennial and Simcoe. Pretty classic take on WCIPA, with no negatives at all. That being said, it insists upon itself, and there’s no missing the emphatic bittering, so it’s clearly not intended for everyone. It is, however, intended for riff raff like me – which is lucky, seeing how I am riff raff like me. (16/20)

This will be my 6,062nd unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Equilibrium Brewery 18 Decillion – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.5% ABV (C$8.35 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 28-Nov-2024, reviewed 3-Jan-2025)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, citrus, light pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

Quite pleasant, definitely has Omnipollo overtones. Fairly easy to drink for the high ABV. It’s a win for me. (16/20)

This will be my 6,061st unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Godspeed Brewery Chmelová Brigáda: Premiant – India Pale Lager at 5.3% ABV (C$6.25 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 23-Oct-2024, acquired 28-Nov-2024, reviewed 3-Jan-2025)

Appearance: slightly hazy straw with one finger of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, lavender, tea, hint of pepper. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, medium duration peppery finish. (4/5)

The brewer calls this a “Hoppy Czech lager” but the choice of more modern (albeit still Czech, and Saaz-derived) Premiant hops makes me agree with the Untappd classification as IPL. I went back and forth on my rating here, and could maybe have gone half a point higher overall. For me, though, it came down to it being a little bit neither fish nor fowl, and slightly confused. (In particular, I found the bittering to be slightly emphatic for the style.) Not unpleasant, but not great either. (15/20)

This will be my 6,060th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Anchorage Brewing Company Greed – Triple IPA at 10% ABV (C$13.25 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 28-Nov-2024, reviewed 28-Dec-2024)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one finger of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: boozy tropical & stone fruit, honey, citrus. (7/10) Taste: high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-full slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, sweet warming finish. (4/5)

To be clear, this predates “DENY DEFEND DEPOSE” (and probably hearkens back to the execution of Aquillius by Mithridates, with a twist on the use of honey in this brew) – but it kinda works, dunnit? A big boozy bastard, with some interesting flavour undertones, but not as emphatic as I would like. Not bad, but I expected more. (15/20)

This will be my 6,059th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Camp Beer Co. Survival Camp – Triple IPA at 9.5% ABV (C$6.95 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Sep-2024, acquired 28-Nov-2024, reviewed 28-Dec-2024)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: boozy stone & tropical fruit, citrus, caramel. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-full slightly slick body, moderate-lively carbonation, sweetish warming finish. (4/5)

Not without its appeal, and all things considered fairly balanced. That’s not to say it’s not a sweet boozy monster, because it is, but the lively-tending carbonation lifts that a little. The aroma is not as bright as I’d like, and I guess it’s pretty unavoidable that there’d be a strong malt component there, but all in all it’s not bad. (15/20)

This will be my 6,058th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Cabin Brewing Company Micronova – Session IPA at 4.7% ABV (C$5.17 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 28-Nov-2024, reviewed 25-Dec-2024)

Appearance: hazy straw with two fat fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, white grape must, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short finish. (4/5)

New Zealand hops: Motueka, Nectaron, and Riwaka. Flavourful but still light and crushable. No qualifiers required. (16/20)

This will be my 6,057th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Gorilla Mode Juice Wizard – American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.5% ABV (C$5.95 at Collective, 568 ml, best before 6-May-2025, acquired 28-Nov-2024, reviewed 24-Dec-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: orange juice, tropical & stone fruit, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sticky sweet medium duration mildly warming finish. (3/5)

I flip-flopped a little on scoring here, as this is ultimately a little bit of a train wreck, and certainly lacking in anything resembling subtlety. On the other hand, who would expect subtlety from something called “Gorilla Mode”? They’ve obviously gone heavy on adjuncts to temper the impact of the high ABV, which makes me wonder about the intended audience here – is this supposed to be a kiddie alco-pop? – but ultimately it’s pretty drinkable and enjoyable, so I guess I let other folks worry about their own kids. (15/20)

This will be my 6,056th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Village Brewery Mis-Heard Lyric – American IPA at 7% ABV (2024 BeerAdvent Calendar #24, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 23-Nov-2024, reviewed 24-Dec-2024)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly sticky medium duration moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

So the Advent Calendar finally gets one that’s in my wheelhouse, and it’s a duplicate from a couple of years ago. Oh, well. Fact is, I like this one a fair bit better than the last time I had it – both the appearance and flavour are more style-appropriate. Last time, I accused it of being a misheard malt bill or maybe a misheard hop order, and said it was just OK, but this time it’s decent. (15/20)

This will not be a unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Spearhead Brewing Company Festbier Copper Lager – Festbier at 5.2% ABV (2024 BeerAdvent Calendar #23, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Jul-2024, acquired 23-Nov-2024, reviewed 23-Dec-2024)

Appearance: slightly hazy medium amber with one fat finger of fine pale ivory head, excellent retention and  moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bready caramel, light floral, hint of red berries. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium duration finish. (4/5)

There are some all-malt styles that I actually enjoy, and Festbier is one of them. And, this isn’t a bad example of the style. Not to mention, it’s actually halfway seasonal. I guess I have to call this OK and move on. (14/20)

This will be my 6,055th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

AleSmith Brewing Company Tropical Party Tricks – American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$5.31 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 11-Sep-2024, acquired 28-Nov-2024, reviewed 22-Dec-2024)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one fat finger of loose white head, good retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: sweet pineapple and tropical fruit, cream, citrus. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium duration finish. (4/5)

With Citra, El Dorado, Strata, Mango, and Pineapple. Very much dominated by the pineapple and mango tropical adjuncts, but it doesn’t not work. I’m not sure I could drink very many of these, but I wouldn’t actually say no to another one, and that’s pretty much the acid test, right? (16/20)

This will be my 6,054th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com