Month: June 2017

Annex Ale Project Metes & Bounds XPA American Pale Ale at 6% ABV | 45 IBU (C$3.49 at Thumbprint Craft Beer Market, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 27-May-2017, reviewed 9-Jun-2017)

Appearance: hazy, somewhat murky pale amber with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone fruit, caramel, pine, floral. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

The name of this one drove me nuts because it made no damn sense to me at all, until I looked it up and discovered it’s a way of measuring land. Which I guess goes some ways to explaining the label notes, but I still find them unbearably pretentious: “understand the space this beer occupies”? Really? Allow me to clarify: it occupies my glass. Then my head, then my gut, then the toilet. It’s not deeply philosophical. Not to mention, they say it’s an XPA, (meaning “Extra Pale Ale”, which is a poorly defined and not formally recognized style) but then proceed to claim it possess the aromas of a “great IPA”. Well… no. No, it doesn’t. It possesses the aromas of a passable APA, but that’s as far as I’d go. Appearance, aromas, and flavours are all similarly muddy. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Postmark Brewing American Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5% ABV | 34 IBU (C$6.01 at Oak & Vine, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 5-Jun-2017, reviewed 9-Jun-2017)

Appearance: clear deep gold with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and well-defined lacing. (5/5) Aroma: resin, stone fruit, pale crackery malt, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (4/5)

The label says “PEACH | HOP FORWARD | APRICOT” but for me, this is dominated by resiny pot. Good fun. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

DuClaw Brewing Company Morgazm Blond Ale at 5% ABV | 19 IBU (C$4.80 at Oak & Vine, 355 ml, packaged on 27-Mar-2017, acquired 5-Jun-2017, reviewed 9-Jun-2017)

Appearance: particulate-laden pale gold with one finger of rocky white head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus juice, biscuity malt, floral, citrus zest. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter and slightly oily finish. (4/5)

If it weren’t for the bottle saying “Grapefruit zested” I’d’ve gone with juicy orange, not grapefruit. (At least on the front end – there is some bitter, almost astringent, oily grapefruit zest in the finish.) I’ve never had the Bare Ass Blonde this is based on, but this version is lots of fun, refreshing and very easy-drinking. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Coronado Brewing Company Stingray American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.9% ABV | 48 IBU (C$7.44 at Oak & Vine, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 5-Jun-2017, reviewed 8-Jun-2017)

Appearance: clear deep gold with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and heavy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: citrus, stone fruit, resiny pine, doughy/biscuity malt, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, drying lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

My kind of DIPA: hop-forward, with clean malt. The only way the ABV makes itself known is as a mild warming finish. Solid. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

4 Mile Brewing Co. East Coast IPA American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 55 IBU (C$6.41 at Oak & Vine, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 5-Jun-2017, reviewed 8-Jun-2017)

Appearance: opaque pale gold with two fingers of rocky off-white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bright citrus juice, mango, pale malt, tropical fruit, pithy grapefruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (4/5)

Nice example of an NE/IPA, a style I really enjoy. Smells a bit better than it tastes – loads of bright juicy citrus upon uncapping! – but still pretty solid overall. I could be quite happy drinking a few of these. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Deschutes Brewery Hop Slice Summer Ale Session IPA at 5% ABV | 35 IBU (C$3.20 at Oak & Vine, 355 ml, packaged on 11-Apr-2017, acquired 5-Jun-2017, reviewed 8-Jun-2017)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with one fat finger of creamy off-white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, citrus, honey, floral, hint of pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration mild bitter finish. (3/5)

Not quite sure how to classify this: Golden Ale? Blonde? American IPA? I’ve settled on Session IPA as the best descriptor overall, mostly because of the light, almost watery-tending body. Mild, pleasant, and easy-drinking – but I’d be happier with brighter hops, especially on the nose. (I always seem to be slightly disappointed by Lemon Drop Hops, which never seem to be quite as citrusy as I hope they’re going to be.) Good, but not particularly memorable. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Lost Coast Brewery Fogcutter Double IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.7% ABV | 80 IBU (C$7.22 at Oak & Vine, 650 ml, packaged on 16-Feb-2017, acquired 5-Jun-2017, reviewed 7-Jun-2017)

Appearance: clear pale amber with three fingers of rocky ivory head diminishing gradually to a persistent cap, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grapefruit zest, resiny pine, toffee & caramel, earth & floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering and building bitter warming finish. (4/5)

Brewer notes notwithstanding, this isn’t particularly bright. It’s big, bitter, and beefy, but bright? Nope, alliteration breaks down at that point. Sticky and mildly dank, sure. This is subject to my fairly common complaint: I’d like it better if it were less sweet and more dry. On the up side, the big ABV doesn’t intrude at all, and manifests only as a moderate warming presence in the finish. Decent, if not stellar. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Red Arrow Brewing Company Sweet Leaf IPA American IPA at 6.3% ABV | 65 IBU (C$6.41 at Oak & Vine, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 5-Jun-2017, reviewed 7-Jun-2017)

Appearance: clear (except for the heavily particulate-laden final half inch) medium amber with two fingers of rocky off-white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus zest, biscuity and caramel malt, tropical and stone fruit, grass, faint resiny pine. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, moderate bitter finish. (4/5)

Meh – if you’re gonna choose a name comparing your hops to pot – and plagiarizing Sabbath lyrics on the label, to boot – you might want to make sure you’ve got some pretty dank West Coast style hopping going on. This is almost English in style, with citrusy hops and crackery caramel duking it out for the front runner position, with a grassy, weedy note bringing up a very distant rear and hardly worthy of top billing. The colour is relatively dark as well, again more in keeping with an E/IPA. Decent drying bitter finish on the tongue, though. (Completely unrelated to the beer: what’s up with the massive, heavy bottle? You’re not doing bottle-conditioned ales needing high pressure ratings, why use such thick glass?) (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Pike Brewing Company Space Needle Golden IPA American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 58 IBU (C$6.81 at Oak & Vine, 650 ml, packaged on 10-Feb-2017, acquired 5-Jun-2017, reviewed 7-Jun-2017)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with two fingers of creamy ivory head, excellent retention and chunky lacing. (5/5) Aroma: resiny pine, citrus, caramel, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

Slightly, well, “classic” in character – I was actually a little surprised to discover it only dates to 2012. Hops lead the way over malt, but barely, and they’re not even close to being bright. Decent enough, and structurally pretty much perfect, but not all that exciting. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

DuClaw Brewing Company Blood Orange Neon Gypsy American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 75 IBU (C$4.80 at Oak & Vine, 355 ml, packaged on 7-Apr-2017, acquired 5-Jun-2017, reviewed 6-Jun-2017)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with some light particulate, one finger of creamy ivory head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: sweet oranges, grainy malt, earth and pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter, light tart. (7/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, moderate bitter and slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Not an unqualified success: the fact that blood oranges dominate is neither here nor there, since I like a Radler as much as the next guy – but there’s not much else going on. The underlying ale is grainy and earthy, and the finish has an oily astringent note that’s reminiscent of orange peel, rather than flesh or juice. Slightly disappointing. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com