RyansBooze

Cabin Brewing Company Afterglow – American IPA at 7% ABV (C$5.85 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Sep-2026, acquired 25-Sep-2026, reviewed 4-Oct-2026)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, field berries, citrus, resiny pine, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly sticky finish. (4/5)

“Anchovy, Olicana, Mosaic, and Citra hops”. I thought the first two were new to me, but it turns out I’ve had Olicana once before – somewhat surprisingly, in Fuller’s Vintage Ale. Unlike Anchovy, which is a Yakima hop, Olicana is British, although not Noble. The Olicana appears to be the fruitier of the two, while Anchovy is known for berry and pine. So, yeah, I’d expect them to work well with Mosaic and Citra, and they do. (16/20)

This will be my 6,550th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Snake Lake Brewing Company Dockside Daydream – American Pale Ale at 4.1% ABV | 22 IBU (C$5.75 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 4-Jun-2026, acquired 25-Sep-2026, reviewed 4-Oct-2026)

Appearance: very slightly hazy straw with one fat finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical and stone fruit, cereal grains, faint pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, lively carbonation, off-dry short finish. (4/5)

They call it a Pale, but to my mind anything within a shout of four percent is a Session. And I think that makes a little bit of a difference: I consider the flavour profile to be excellent for a Session, but a little less impressive for a Pale. I’m kind of splitting the difference in my ranking here, and you could probably go a quarter point one way or the other on the overall, based on personal preference and pedantry. (15/20)

This will be my 6,549th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company Got Any Grapes? – Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 6.8% ABV (C$21.65 at Collective, 750 ml, packaged on 1-Jan-2026, acquired 25-Sep-2026, reviewed 3-Oct-2026)

Appearance: slightly hazy purplish red with one finger of fine violet head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (4/5) Aroma: red grapes, funky oak, strawberry jam, lemon zest, hint of black pepper. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, mild bitter. (8/10) Medium-light body, lively carbonation, off-dry building tart finish. (3/5)

Reminiscent of a fruited lambic, this one is dominated by grape bolstered by oaky barrel funk. Underneath that is jammy fruit, citrus zest, and, yes, some black pepper. The flavour follows suit with equal parts sweetness and tartness, but very little hoppy bitterness. The tartness builds and gets a little overwhelmingly acidic through the finish, though, slightly reducing the overall score. (15/20)

This will be my 6,548th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company / Eighty-Eight Brewing Face To Face – Session IPA at 3.5% ABV (C$6.45 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 26-Aug-2026, acquired 25-Sep-2026, reviewed 3-Oct-2026)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with two fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone fruit, lactose, citrus. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, mild tart. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, lightly tart lingering finish. (3/5)

“Mosaic Cryo and Citra Quantum, in addition to Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Riwaka” I don’t dislike it, and at the outset I thought it would be a straight-up winner. But, as it progressed, the light malt bill evidenced more and more as light tartness tending to unintentional sharpness. It’s fine. For a Session. (14/20)

This will be my 6,547th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Backcountry Brewing Fleshy-Headed Mutant Are You Friendly? – American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 30 IBU (C$7.45 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 25-Sep-2026, reviewed 30-Sep-2026)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a short loose pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, sweet citrus, mild dank resin. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

“This Hazy IPA was fermentation dry hopped with Rakau, Riwaka and our selected Citra.” Could stand to be a little prettier, but smells and tastes pretty danged good. (15/20)

This will be my 6,546th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Superflux / Garage Project Not As We Know It – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$7.15 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 25-Sep-2026, reviewed 30-Sep-2026)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, vegetal/cucumber, dank resin. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

“Motueka and Cascade from a first-harvest farm at the edge of Nelson Lakes, with Nelson Sauvin and Rakau.” I’m a bit on the fence about the vegetal note, because while I’m not entirely sure it’s intentional, it’s also not all that problematic – if you’ve ever had a gin & tonic with cucumber instead of lime, you’ll understand where I’m coming from. All in all though, I’m really starting to feel like I need to go to New Zealand. (15/20)

This will be my 6,545th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Backcountry Brewing Any More Behaviour Like That And I’ll Have Your Stripes! – American Pale Ale at 5.0% ABV | 30 IBU (C$7.15 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 25-Sep-2026, reviewed 28-Sep-2026)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone fruit, citrus, cereal grains, resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration finish falling off slightly watery. (3/5)

“Loaded with experimental CIP076 and Pink hops”. I like the aroma and flavour, but for what I think is my first time with this brewery, I’m not entirely convinced by the structure: despite the fairly lofty head, the carbonation is a bit low, and that carries through to a slightly watery, almost flaccid finish. (15/20)

This will be my 6,544th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bellwoods Brewery Jelly King (Passionfruit, Orange & Guava) – Sour / Wild Ale at 5.6% ABV (C$8.65 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 25-Jun-2026, acquired 25-Sep-2026, reviewed 28-Sep-2026)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: guava, tropical fruit, faint orange flesh. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, low bitter. (9/10) Medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, short duration tart finish. (4/5)

It’s been a long time since I had the Pink Guava version of this, so I’m working from notes instead of memory, but: I think this one is more fruit-dominated, and doesn’t work quite as well. One thing I particularly liked about the Pink Guava version was how it retained some hoppy resiny undertones, but this one has pretty much eliminated that. Or, maybe, overwhelmed it with fruit. In any case, it’s not quite as interesting and/or beer-like as some of the other versions. (16/20)

This will be my 6,543rd unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Vancouver Island Brewing Thrashin’ Caddy Double Dank – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8% ABV | 40 IBU (C$6.25 at Collective, 568 ml, packaged on 21-Jul-2026, acquired 25-Sep-2026, reviewed 26-Sep-2026)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of fine pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: resiny herbal, juicy tropical & stone fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, moderate bitter warming finish. (3/5)

There’s an interesting herbal/floral top note that isn’t typical to the “big dank DIPA” style, but isn’t unwelcome. Hits a little hard, even for the beefy ABV. I don’t dislike it, but I suspect it’s pretty adjunct-heavy, and would make purists run screaming. (To be fair, I just spent a couple of weeks drinking hyper-traditional German clones of each other, so I’m a little out of practice on bombastic American IPAs.) (14/20)

This will be my 6,542nd unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company / Brasserie du Bas-Canada Peripheral Vision – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.2% ABV (C$7.15 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 15-Jul-2026, acquired 24-Jul-2026, reviewed 8-Sep-2026)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one finger of fine pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: dank resin, berries, tropical & stone fruit, citrus. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate-soft carbonation, mildly spicy lingering warming finish. (3/5)

“Freestyle Hops Nelson Sauvin, Rakau, Citra and Citra Cryo”. Pungent aroma leapt out upon opening, but it faded somewhat. Bitterness is a little high for the style, carries through to a slightly sharp finish. (15/20)

This will be my 6,511th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com