Month: March 2016

Carlow Brewing Company O’Hara’s Irish Stout Irish Dry Stout at 4.3% ABV (C$4.21 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, best before 1-Jan-2017, reviewed 17-Mar-2016)

Appearance: nearly opaque deep brown with brown highlights, one finger of fluffy beige head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: roasty malts, cocoa, coffee, berries. (8/10) Taste: low sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium-full slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

Smooth and easy drinking Irish Dry Stout, with low sweetness and a pleasant dry bitter finish. Definitely something one could drink a lot of. (15/20)

My 220th from the 2010 Edition (209th from the 2013 edition), and 231st combining both editions.

7.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Dungarvan Brewing Company Black Rock Irish Dry Stout at 4.3% ABV (C$5.13 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, best before 1-May-2016, reviewed 17-Mar-2016)

Appearance: nearly opaque deep brown with brown highlights, two fingers of fluffy beige head, excellent retention and chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: roasty grain, cocoa, vanilla, liquorice, coffee. (7/10) Taste: low sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

Decent dry Irish Stout. Still a definite tendency to an overwhelming loose and fluffy head, though – the only way I kept this one from getting completely out of hand was an exaggerated horizontal and slow pour. Nice low sweetness, though, with roasty tones and maybe a hint of red berry tartness. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Dungarvan Brewing Company Copper Coast Irish Red Ale at 4.3% ABV (C$5.15 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, best before 1-May-2016, reviewed 17-Mar-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with a massive fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: bready and grainy malt, earthy, grassy, light fruit and nut. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (5/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

Another Dungarvan brew with a completely ridiculous head, despite normal handling and a fairly careful pour – I’m starting to detect a trend here. Fairly bland overall, with a hint of cardboard in the finish. Yet another uninspiring Irish Red. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Dungarvan Brewing Company Mine Head American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$5.13 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, best before 1-May-2016, reviewed 17-Mar-2016)

Appearance: cloudy pale amber with a massive fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: stone fruit, tropical fruit, bready caramel malt, citrus, grassy. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body tending to watery, moderate-low carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Difficult pour with a completely unmanageable head – fair enough, it’s bottle conditioned, but this is beyond the norm even considering that. While we’re on the topic, lots of cloudiness from the bottle conditioning as well, to the point of murkiness. Despite the huge head, the carbonation falls off fairly rapidly, leaving behind a thin, watery body. All-Cascade hopping, but the dominant flavours I’m getting are not citrus, but rather stone or tropical fruits, followed by a bready caramel malt. Not unpleasant, as such, but reminiscent of a not very sophisticated home brew. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Rogue Ales 6 Hop IPA American IPA at 6.66% ABV (C$7.95 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, reviewed 16-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, good retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pithy grapefruit, caramel malt, tropical fruit, dank pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, strong bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly chewy body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

A fairly beefy IPA with a big bitter bite. The hop character is very similar to the 4 Hop, but more emphatic. To my mind, the thicker body works somewhat better than the 4, since it doesn’t drop off as rapidly. And hell – fifty percent more hops, fifty percent more malt, and fifty percent more ABV, at the same price point? No brainer, innit? (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Rogue Ales 4 Hop IPA Session IPA at 4.44% ABV (C$7.95 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, reviewed 16-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of growing fluffy ivory head, good retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pithy grapefruit, tropical fruit, pale malt, dank pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, short drying bitter finish. (3/5)

A fairly well implemented light and sessionable IPA. The hoppiness leads the way, with just enough pale malt support it. It’s always a challenge to keep the malt bill light enough to keep the ABV under control, but still provide sufficient support that the hop bitterness does’t become overly sharp. For the most part, this does a decent job of doing that, although it does become a little thin and watery toward the end, with a somewhat abrupt finish. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brewsters Brewing Company Turbo American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (On tap at Brewsters McKenzie Towne, reviewed 16-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with a short, short-lived white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grassy, grainy malt, light citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry slightly sticky finish. (3/5)

A serviceable thirst-quenching APA. The hop character is less aromatic than I’d like, and the carbonation falls off fairly rapidly. The net effect is a brew that’s drinkable, but not very exciting. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Steel & Oak Brewing Co. Smoked Dunkelweizen Dunkelweizen at 5.2% ABV (C$5.39 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 17-Dec-2015, reviewed 15-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear deep amber with two fingers of fluffy light beige head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Aroma: wheat, light smoke, banana, caramel, nutty. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, mild smoke. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry astringent smoky finish. (3/5)

A fairly light and easy drinking wheat beer, despite the dark colour and smokiness. Tastes very much like a hefeweizen, but with smoke dominating and nutty overtones bringing up the rear. Not without its charms. (12/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com