Month: October 2015

Okanagan Spring 1516 Bavarian Lager Helles Lager at 5% ABV (C$3.62 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear pale straw with one fat finger of fluffy eggshell white head, excellent retention and decent lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grassy, biscuity, corn. (4/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (5/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, short duration finish. (2/5)

Somewhat surprisingly, not terrible. A bit on the sweet side, but reasonably smooth with a decently dry crisp finish. (9/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Epic Brewing Brainless on Cherries (Release #40) Belgian Strong Pale Ale at 10.1% ABV (C$19.00 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear ruby-tinted amber with a short, short-lived pinkish head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: cherry syrup with a medicinal edge, vinous red berries, lightly woody. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, moderate tart. (5/10) Medium-light body, lively carbonation, cough syrup finish. (2/5)

Y’know, I’d be the first to admit that I’m a hopeless romantic kind of guy, prone to believing the best of people on little evidence. So, it’s probably not surprising that I went into this with expectations that were way too high – but to be honest, the prior offerings from this brewery had me thinking they could do no wrong. Bow, howdy, was I wrong. The double digit ABV is capable of getting you brainless, sure, but so’s Nyquil – and in fact, there’s a strong resemblance. The bottle says there’s nothing artificial added, and it’s not that I don’t believe that – but I sure don’t taste that. Having had some of the best Belgian krieks around, this is, while perhaps not terrible on its own merits, a pretty pale shadow of those beers. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Anchor Brewing Company Big Leaf Maple Autumn Red American Amber / Red Ale at 6% ABV (C$2.71 at NLC Stavanger, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one finger of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and decent lacing. (4/5) Aroma: muted, resiny pine, citrus, caramel, very light maple. (5/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (4/5)

Surprisingly bitter for an amber, particularly a nominally “maple” one. (Surprising, but by no means unwelcome.) The “maple,” on the other hand, is surprisingly absent, given the name and nominal style. The low sweetness and off-dry bitter finish make this pretty sessionable, even if it doesn’t smell all that interesting. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Sleeman Brewing & Malting Co. Dark Chocolate Lager American Amber / Red Lager at 5% ABV (C$2.14 at NLC Stavanger, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear deep amber with one finger of rocky light tan head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: sweet chocolate, mildy roasty malt. (5/10) Taste: mild-moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Light-medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration lightly bitter finish. (3/5)

Best one of theirs so far. The sweet chocolate aroma doesn’t translate to sickly sweetness on the tongue, and there’s actually a reasonable mild bitter finish developing shortly after the initial chocolate flavour on the outset. The chocolate itself is mildly sweet but not milky or creamy, reminiscent of nothing as much as Tootsie Rolls. Not unpleasant, all in all. (9/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Sleeman Brewing & Malting Co. Silver Creek Lager American Pale Lager at 5% ABV (C$2.14 at NLC Stavanger, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear straw with one finger of fluffy white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, no lacing. (2/5) Aroma: cheap cereal and corn, faded grassy hops. (3/10) Taste: mild sweet, mild bitter. (3/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly astringent and metallic finish. (2/5)

Gah… not as good as their Cream Ale – and that’s not a high bar to cross. Absolutely nothing to recommend this. (6/20)

3/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Sleeman Brewing & Malting Co. Cream Ale Cream Ale at 5% ABV (C$2.14 at NLC Stavanger, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear straw with one finger of fluffy white head, good retention and no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: biscuity malt, corn adjunct, faded grassy hops. (4/10) Taste: mild sweet, mild bitter. (4/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly astringent and metallic finish. (2/5)

Mostly inoffensive – although the finish actually is, a little. Really, just your basic pale domestic lager, with only the faintest of nods to the cream ale style. (4/10)

4/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Epic Brewing Copper Cone Pale Ale (Release #79) American Pale Ale at 6.7% ABV (C$11.2 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with two fingers of rocky light tan head, good retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: resiny pine, citrus, caramel malt, lightly nutty. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium-light body tending a little to the watery, moderate carbonation, lingering finish. (4/5)

Nicely done APA. Heck, it would be fine as an IPA, except for the slightly light body. No tricks, no gimmicks, just a straight-up, hop-forward pale. Well worth trying. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie Thiriez L’Ambrée d’Esquelbecq Bière de Garde at 5.8% ABV (C$7.17 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 750 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one finger of fluffy ivory head, good retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: somewhat muted, caramel/toffee malt, dark fruit, spices, light earthy funk. (6/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, mild bitter, light tart. (6/10) Medium body tending a little to the watery, lively carbonation, off-dry finish. (4/5)

Not bad, but not as well done as their Étoile du Nord. (Though, to be fair, I enjoy saisons much more than ambers, so personal preference is probably a factor there.) The lighter, somewhat watery body and lively carbonation are a bit at odds with the darker malt sweetness and winter spices. They call this a “Bière de Garde,” but the labels of “Winter Warmer,” Christmas Beer,” or just plain “Amber” would probably all work just as well. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Dageraad Brewing Randonneur Saison at 6.4% ABV (C$8.29 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with a fat finger of loose white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: lemon zest, straw, wheat, white pepper. (7/10) Taste: mild sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Medium body, lively carbonation, crisp dry finish. (4/5)

I continue to be fairly impressed by Dageraad. Their focus seems to be authentic Belgian-style ales, and they’re doing a respectable job of them. They’re not perfect, mind you – this one, for example, is quite nice until most of the way through the bottle, when a little brown apple starts to develop in the finish. Not off-putting, by any means, but enough to keep this particular brew out of my 8/10 “world class” cutoff – if only by a tick. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Big Rock Brewery Birch Bark Canadian Imperial Stout Russian Imperial Stout at 8.5% ABV (C$6.99 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy deep brown with a little particulate, one finger of medium dense light tan head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: dark roasty malt, slightly milky chocolate, nutty, woody, light floral and citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Full body tending a little to the thin, moderate carbonation, moderately bitter warming finish. (3/5)

I initially waffled on this one – is there a solvent edge or not? First I thought I smelled a little something, but it didn’t come through on the taste. But as it warmed, something odd happened: the edge got more pronounced, both on the nose and the tongue. I usually find RIS’s go in the other direction: any imperfections eventually get hidden by the numbing effects of the high ABV. Perhaps this is because this one is “only” 8.5%, and so barely a “real” RIS at all? Or perhaps it’s the birch. Actually, yeah, I think it’s the birch. I actually had a birch wine, once… (shudder) This isn’t bad, mind you – there’s actually a little not-unwelcome floral and citrus hop character, which is a pleasant departure from the norm. A decent enough first try at the style, I guess, and an interesting flavour variation, but not one for the ages. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com