Month: June 2015

Turning Point Brewery/Stanley Park Brewing/Mark Anthony Group Stanley Park SunSetter Summer Ale Wheat Ale at 4.8% ABV (Gift – thanks, Doug! – 330 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours clear pale gold with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and good lacing. (4/5) Nose is peach, wheat, pale malt (4/10) Taste is mild to moderate sweet, mild bitter. (4/10) Light watery body, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter finish. (3/5)

Well, it’s peach dominant – but somewhat to my surprise, it doesn’t actually smell (or taste) fake. However, for some odd reason, that doesn’t translate through to the taste all that much, and it tastes very much like the same standard unfiltered wheat everyone’s doing. Fine, it’s not terrible.  And it is pretty, and would probably be fine on a hot patio in Stanley Park. But it’s not good. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

BraufactuM Palor Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.2% ABV (C$7.79 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, best before 31-May-2015)

Pours clear pale amber with two fingers of rocky off-white head, excellent retention and good lacing. (4/5) Nose is caramel malt, grassy/herbal, citrus, tropical fruit, light mint. (5/10) Taste is mild to moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Medium body tending to watery, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter finish. (4/5)

Kind of a blend of English and American Pales: the aromas have lots of noble hops and caramel malt, but there’s also some citrus and tropical fruit, as well as something interesting I’ve not encountered before. It’s almost minty, and I wonder whether it’s the Polaris hops, a variety with which I’m unfamiliar. Any way you slice it, though, it’s pretty cool to see craft beers starting to come out of Germany. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Le Trou du Diable La Pitoune Kellerbier at 5% ABV (C$6.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 600 ml, bottle date 11-Nov-2014)

Pours clear pale straw with two fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and good lacing. (4/5) Nose is pale crackery malt, citrus, grassy, herbal. (7/10) Taste is mild sweet, mild bitter. (7/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, clean dry finish. (4/5)

Nice – a kellerbier variant on pilsener. A little more body, texture, and depth than a straight-up pilsener, but still light, crisp, and clean. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Le Trou du Diable Le Sang D’Encre Dry Stout at 5% ABV (C$6.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 600 ml, bottle date 31-Oct-2014)

Pours clear brown with two fat fingers of medium dense tan head, good retention, moderate lacing. (4/5) Nose is roasty malts, chocolate, coffee, herbal, slight smoke. (8/10) Taste is mild sweet, mild bitter. (8/10) Full creamy body, moderate to low carbonation, clean dry finish. (4/5)

Quite a nice dry Irish stout. Slightly smoky notes add an interesting complexity. I’d really like to try this on tap (or nitro) – I bet it would set up a nicer head and creamier body. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Cölner Hofbräu P. Josef Früh Früh Kölsch Kölsch at 4.8% ABV (C$2.59 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, best before 7-Jun-2015)

Pours clear pale straw with a short, short-lived white head, no lacing. (3/5) Nose is pale malt, grassy, slight vinous. (6/10) Taste is mild sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, crisp finish. (3/5)

Light, crisp and pleasant – shares a lot of characteristics with pilseners or hells lagers. Not exactly complex or challenging, but clean and refreshing. (12/20)

My 188th from the 2010 Edition (176th from the 2013 edition), and 198th combining both editions.

6/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Russell Brewing White Rabbit Hoppy Hefeweizen Hefeweizen at 6% ABV (C$5.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 15-Apr-2015)

Pours hazy medium gold with two fat fingers of rocky off-white head, good retention, moderate lacing. (4/5) Nose is clove, wheat, grassy, citrus, faint stone fruit. (7/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Light to medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering finish. (3/5)

An interesting combination of A/IPA and hefeweizen characteristics. It’s not a complete success – the savoury aspects of the clove contrast with the fruity citrus in a way that I’m not completely sold on. Not without its charms, but not a total slam dunk, either. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Firestone Walker Brewing Company DBA Double Barrel Ale English Pale Ale at 5.0% ABV (US$1.79 at Total Wines & More, Henderson NV, 355 ml, bottle date 4-May-2015)

Pours clear pale amber with one finger of loose light beige head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, no lacing. (3/5) Nose is toffee/caramel, grassy, light oak. (6/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Not a bad little ESB, and quite drinkable. There’s a touch of butyric in the finish that doesn’t make me overly happy, though. Not a lot, but enough that I start thinking that it smells way too much like the end of the night. (12/20)

My 187th from the 2010 Edition (175th from the 2013 edition), and 197th combining both editions.

6/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Arrowhead Brewing I’m So Freaking Hoppy Imperial IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.3% ABV (C$6.69 at Quarry Park Co-Op, 650 ml, bottle date 23-Feb-2015)

Pours hazy pale amber one finger of rocky off-white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is caramel malt, pithy citrus, raspberry, lactic sour. (5/10) Taste is moderately strong sweet, moderately strong bitter. (4/10) Medium and slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, lingering boozy finish. (3/5)

Not terrible, but a little odd. There’s an odd combination of flavours going on, reminiscent of raspberry yogurt. Not entirely unpleasant, though. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Granville Island Brewery Shipload of Hops Imperial IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.7% ABV (C$7.99 at Quarry Park Co-Op, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours slightly hazy pale amber with two fingers of rocky off-white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is pine resin, grapefruit, metallic, earthy, tropical fruit. (6/10) Taste is moderately strong sweet, strong bitter. (6/10) Medium and slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, lingering boozy finish. (3/5)

I’m a bit on the fence about this one. On the one hand, it’s got the right balance for a DIPA – hops leading, malt supporting – but there’s a component to the aroma that is coming across almost as savoury. It’s OK, but I wouldn’t go looking for another one. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

BrewDog Dog A American Double / Imperial Stout at 15.1% ABV (C$24.00 at Zyn, 330 ml, bottle date 1-Apr-2012)

Pours solid black with minimal head and no lacing. (4/5) Nose is strong roasty malt, coffee, dark chocolate, toffee, boozy dark fruit, liquorice. (9/10) Taste is strong sweet, strong bitter. (9/10) Full and slightly oily body, zero carbonation, lingering boozy finish. (5/5)

Well, damn, ain’t that some shit. “Dog A,” huh? Well, y’know what they say about being on a sled team – if you’re not the lead dog, the view never changes. And this is a lead dog. A massive, beastly, sweet and bitter lead dog, flat as a board and still hot as hell even though it’s three years old. Probably nowhere near worth the price tag, y’understand, but still some serious shit. (18/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com