Month: July 2016

Picaroons Traditional Ales  Melon Head Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 4.5% ABV (C$3.87 at NLC Stavanger, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 23-Jun-2016, reviewed 11-Jul-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a short fizzy white head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: melon, berry, grainy pale malt, wheat. (5/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, mild tart, low bitter. (5/10) Medium-light slightly syrupy body, lively carbonation, sweet lightly tart finish. (3/5)

I was initially kind of impressed that there was a significant melon presence upon decapping. That faded quickly as it became apparent just how “Watermelon Jolly Ranchers” the aroma and flavour really were. High sweetness is kept from becoming sickly only by the fizzy carbonation. Better than macro crap, but only just. To be honest, the best feature is the label. What’s the story there, anyway? Riders fans are pussies? Yeah, OK, let’s go with that. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Central City Brewers + Distillers Red Racer Super Stellar American IPA at 6% ABV (C$2.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 473 ml, bottle date 4-Apr-2016, acquired 6-Jul-2016, reviewed 6-Jul-2016)

Appearance: pale amber with one finger of rocky ivory head, good retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dank resin, pithy grapefruit, caramel and toffee, light onion. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

An excellent A/IPA. Big but not overwhelming bitter is supported by sweet but not dominant malt. The Mosaic and Citra hops are well-balanced, giving juicy citrus and West Coast dankness without verging into cattiness. There is a slight onion edge coming through that prevents me from ranking this higher, but as it stands it’s definitely worthy of your consideration. Wish I could have had this fresher, and will definitely keep an eye out for the chance to try a newer one. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Central City Brewers + Distillers Red Racer Radler Radler at 3.5% ABV (C$2.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 473 ml, bottle date 21-Mar-2016, acquired 6-Jul-2016, reviewed 6-Jul-2016)

Appearance: opaque pinkish pale amber with a short white head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grapefruit, grass, pale malt. (6/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate tart, low bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, mild tart finish. (4/5)

Yes, I’m still a sucker for radlers – I apologise for nothing. And this one’s actually halfway interesting. Yes, there’s lots of grapefruit, but it’s not all grapefruit: there’s actually some hop and malt character coming through, reminding you that this does in fact contain beer. (Which is more than can be said for a lot of radlers.) The sweetness is nicely restrained, too, unlike a lot of railers or shandy. Pleasant and refreshing, but don’t let it warm up – I was starting to detect a little burnt rubber towards the end. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Russell Brewing Company Russell The Kettle Sour Sour / Wild Ale at 5% ABV (C$6.29 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 1-Jul-2016, reviewed 5-Jul-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold with a short white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: lactic sour, lemon zest, grainy malt, stone fruit, vinous. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, low bitter. (6/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, mild tart finish. (3/5)

Meh – I knew going in that it was a kettle sour, so, really, how interesting could it be? So, I really can’t say it’s disappointing. Fairly one-dimensional lactic sour dominates. It’s almost like a Berliner weiss, actually, so it’s not terrible or anything – but it’s a long way from interesting. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Townsite Brewing Inc. / 4 Pines Brewing Company / Tool Shed Brewing Soulless Cedar Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 5.8% ABV (C$10.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 1-Jul-2016, reviewed 5-Jul-2016)

Appearance: clear red-tinged pale amber, one fat finger of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Aroma: cedar, lemon zest, floral, caramel, earth. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild peppery spice. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, spicy finish. (3/5)

The bottle calls this a “red belgian ale” (yes, capitalized like that). Now, to the best of my knowledge, “Belgian red” typically means “Flanders red”, which means “sour”. This ain’t that. I’m not aware of any other interpretations, so I’m left a bit rudderless here in terms of reviewing this… thing. I wouldn’t know lemon myrtle or pepper berry if they bit me, but Spanish cedar? Yeah, it smells and tastes like Spanish cedar. I guess I should be thankful that there’s no big pissy Citra or Simcoe in there to really round out the “drinking a hamster cage” vibe? Pretty beer, though – but I always was a sucker for a ginger, soulless though they may be. I guess it’s not a bad example of… whatever the hell it is – though the cedar really gets a bit aggressive after a while. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Russell Brewing Company / Doan’s Craft Brewing Company New Style Pacific NW Pilsner Pilsener at 6.5% ABV (C$6.29 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 1-Jul-2016, reviewed 5-Jul-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold, one fat finger of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: cereal grains, floral, citrus, grass. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light peppery spice. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, sweetish crisp and lightly peppery finish. (3/5)

In order to review this beer, it is first necessary to ignore the painfully – and I do mean painfully – ugly label. I mean, seriously, it’s not even up to the standards of nineties-era desktop publishing. I’m not getting a lot of the PNW hops coming through here, but it’s decently crisp and quaffable, if slightly on the sweet side for the style. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Tofino Brewing Co. Spruce Tree Ale Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 6.5% ABV (C$8.50 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 26-Jun-2016, reviewed 4-Jul-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber, two fingers of fluffy off-white head, good retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, spruce, caramel malt, honey, berry/fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, sweet mildly bitter finish. (3/5)

I’m not quite sure what to make of this. I was… well, not “terrified” of this – if I had been, I wouldn’t have bought it – but… “deeply suspicious”, shall we say? After Garrison’s Spruce Beer, which was like baked beans stirred with a spruce bough, I was a little gun shy of spruce beers. This… well, it isn’t that. I’m not quite sure what it is, mind you. It’s a bit strange, but not unpleasant. Too sweet, though. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Granville Island Brewing Small Batch Saison Belgian Style Saison at 6.3% ABV (C$7.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, bottle date 25-May-2016, acquired 29-Jun-2016, reviewed 4-Jul-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale straw, two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: apples, lemon, pale malt, light barnyard funk. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, mild bitter, mild tart. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lightly funky finish. (3/5)

A middle-of-the-road saison. A bit too sweet and a bit too brown apple-y for my preferences. Could stand to be a fair bit dryer, crisper, and cleaner. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ninkasi Brewing Company Velocihoptor American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.4% ABV (C$13.49 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 1-Jul-2016, reviewed 3-Jul-2016)

Appearance: clear pale to medium amber, two fingers of rocky ivory head, good retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: toffee/caramel malt, citrus, pine, tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Medium-full body, moderate carbonation, malty massively bitter finish. (3/5)

Old-skool A/DIPA: heavy on the malt and the hops. Too heavy on the malt, if you ask me – it feels syrupy and sweet, and the hops, though large, definitely take a back seat to the malt. The kind of DIPA that, well, to be fair, I don’t actually dislike, but I certainly don’t prefer them. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Category 12 Brewing Insubordination Session IPA at 4.5% ABV (C$8.25 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 26-Jun-2016, reviewed 3-Jul-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold, two fingers of rocky off-white head, good retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pine, grass, crackery pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry lightly bitter finish. (3/5)

Not a bad little SIPA at all. Yes, the body is a bit on the light side, but it doesn’t drop off watery like so many do, or feel like a watered-down IPA. The flavour also holds up its end reasonably well. All in all, a tasty little treat for a hot day, or if for some silly reason you want to drink a whole bunch of something and not get drunk. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com