Month: December 2017

Brasserie McAuslan St-Ambroise Oak Aged Pale Ale English Pale Ale at 6% ABV | 40 IBU (C$2.52 at NLC Stavanger, 341 ml, packaged on 17-Nov-2017, best before 17-Aug-2018, acquired 25-Nov-2017, reviewed 5-Dec-2017)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one fat finger of creamy ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin persistent cap, moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: caramel/toffee, oak & peat, bready wheat, vanilla, floral. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium duration finish. (3/5)

A very woody English-style Pale with loads of Scotch Ale overtones, that ends up reminding me entirely too much of Innis & Gunn. (Make of that what you will.) Not bad, but not one I’d go looking for again. Now, what do I do with the rest of the six pack? (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Naparbier Alien Klaw Belgian IPA at 6.8% ABV | 50 IBU (2017 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #5, 330 ml, packaged on 9-Aug-2017, best before 31-Jul-2018, acquired 20-Nov-2017, reviewed 5-Dec-2017)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with three fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: Belgian yeast funk, tropical fruit, citrus, pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry bitter and lightly funky finish. (4/5)

Quite a bit better than their Saison in last year’s calendar. Actually, you know what? Ignore that: it’s just plain good, no qualifiers required. Bitter and malt are well balanced, as are fruity hops and funky Belgian yeast. It ends up reasonably refreshing even with the pleasant funk in the finish. All in all, a solid contender. (15/20)

7.5/10 #craftbeeradvent2017 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Evil Twin Brewing The Quads Are Not What They Seem Abt / Quadrupel at 10% ABV (2017 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #4, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 20-Nov-2017, reviewed 4-Dec-2017)

Appearance: muddy brown with a thin, short-lived fizzy beige head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel & toffee, dried dark fruit, port wine. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-full slightly slick body, soft carbonation, sweetish bitter warming finish. (4/5)

Not the best Evil Twin I’ve had, but a long way from the worst, either. Pretty solid, all things considered. My single biggest complaint here is the frankly unimpressive appearance, murky and muddy, with no head or lacing to speak of. On the nose, however, there’s a pleasant depth and complexity, which follows through on the tongue. The double-digit ABV makes very little impact whatsoever, and this drinks much more easily than might otherwise be expected. I dunno if that’s the things not being what they seem aspect or not, but it’ll do. (And I gotta say, I like the trend in scores for the calendar thus far: 6, 6.5, 6.5 and now 7.5 – things are certainly moving in the right direction!) (15/20)

7.5/10 #craftbeeradvent2017 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Saugatuck Brewing Company Cocanuck Stout American Stout at 7.5% ABV (2017 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #3, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 20-Nov-2017, reviewed 3-Dec-2017)

Appearance: opaque black with the merest hint of brown relief at the margins, a thin, short-lived fizzy beige head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: coconut, chocolate syrup, caramel, alcohol. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: full slick body, soft carbonation, sweetish bitter warming finish. (3/5)

Not a brewery I’ve had extensive experience with, but what I have had, hasn’t been great. Their Neapolitan Milk Stout and Blueberry Maple Stout were both over the top with sweetness and artificial flavours, and the less said about their Back Yard Session IPA, the better. This is marginally better, but still not exactly great. In particular, I find there’s a surprisingly emphatic, almost solvent-like alcohol for a relatively moderate ABV. I’m also wondering whether I should be offended by the casual anti-Canadian racism… (14/20)

6.5/10 #craftbeeradvent2017 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Nøgne Ø _Dubbel Advent_ Dubbel at 8.0% ABV _(2017 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #2, 330 ml, packaged on 4-May-2017, best before 4-May-2022, acquired 20-Nov-2017, reviewed 2-Dec-2017)_

Appearance: murky brown with a thin, short-lived fizzy beige head, no lacing. (2/5) Aroma: chocolate, molasses, dark fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-full slightly slick body, moderate-soft carbonation, sweetish medium finish. (4/5)

After yesterday’s less than impressive start to the calendar, I was pleased to see a Nøgne Ø as the second offering. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be one of their better offerings: the distressingly muddy brown appearance set a poor tone at the outset, and although things improved dramatically from there, it still wasn’t enough to really make this particularly memorable. Frankly, nowhere near as good as their Adventurous Brown from the 2016 calendar, or their God Advent from 2014. (13/20)

6.5/10 #craftbeeradvent2017 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company Osmium Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy at 7% ABV | 25 IBU (C$6.23 at NLC Stavanger, 600 ml, packaged on 27-Oct-2017, acquired 30-Nov-2017, reviewed 2-Dec-2017)

Appearance: clear reddish-tinted deep amber with one fat finger of creamy light beige head diminishing gradually to a thick persistent cap, moderate stringy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: caramel/toffee, molasses, smoked peat. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, sweetish short duration finish. (3/5)

Lots of things to pick on here, not least of which the “heavy” name. OK, fine, Osmium is the heaviest natural element, twice as dense as lead – but it’s also toxic by ingestion, inhalation, or even skin contact. Yummy! Why not just call your beer “arsenic”? Also, for a Wee Heavy, this has far too much carbonation, verging on lively, further detracting from the body, which is a weak medium instead of being stylistically appropriate thick and full. It’s OK overall, I guess, but certainly not one to change my opinion of Scotch Ales. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company E.S.B. Premium Bitter / ESB at 5.6% ABV | 34 IBU (C$6.23 at NLC Stavanger, 600 ml, packaged on 31-Oct-2017, acquired 30-Nov-2017, reviewed 2-Dec-2017)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one fat finger of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and heavy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: biscuity malt, caramel, floral, fruit esters. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter smooth finish. (4/5)

With so many of these, I find myself wondering why they call them “ESB” when a more appropriate name would be “BSB”: Bog Standard Bitter. This, on the other hand, is at least slightly (if not “extra”) special, due no doubt in no small part to the higher ABV, but also the higher-than-typical bitterness. It’s malt dominant, sure, but that’s stylistically appropriate, and completely expected. All in all, a pleasant interpretation of a style that all too often disappoints. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company Double Identity American Double / Imperial IPA at 9% ABV | 85 IBU (C$6.23 at NLC Stavanger, 600 ml, packaged on 1-Nov-2017, acquired 30-Nov-2017, reviewed 1-Dec-2017)

Appearance: slightly hazy medium gold with loads of chunky sediment, one fat finger of creamy white head, good retention and chunky sticky lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, dank resiny pine, caramel, herbal, fruit esters. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter slightly oily finish. (4/5)

I’m getting lots of typical starts-with-C hops here, but I can’t say the Nelson Sauvin is coming through particularly clearly. Certainly, I’m not getting any of the white wine or kiwi notes I usually associated with that hop. Not a complaint, as such, just an observation – though a decent hit of Nelson Sauvin is always welcome, in my opinion. No real complaints otherwise: the maltiness level is up there, sure, but at an appropriate level to support the massive and pleasingly dank bitterness. Pretty easy drinking despite the huge bitterness and near-double-digit ABV (and again, that 10:1 ratio seems to be key). Lots of heavy particulate, but that bothers me not at all, especially not in a high-ABV West Coast style DIPA. I bought this winter mix pack pretty much just for this beer alone and was not disappointed. (The other two new ones in the pack are an ESB and a Wee Heavy, so I’m not sanguine about them, but frankly if they’re even marginally better than average I’ll consider the pack a win overall.) (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Shipyard Brewing Company Export Blond Ale at 5.1% ABV | 29 IBU (2017 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #1, 355 ml, packaged on 5-Jul-2017, best before 28-Mar-2018, acquired 20-Nov-2017, reviewed 1-Dec-2017)

Appearance: clear medium gold with a thin fizzy off-white head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel and biscuity malt, grass, hint of citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short finish. (3/5)

I can see why they call this “Export”, because it’s actually very similar to an Export Lager: malt dominant, but not in an unpleasant way, easy-drinking and refreshing. Of course, that also means it’s pretty unremarkable as well. I’m not going to be happy if a six dollar lager is setting the tone for the entire Craft Beer Advent Calendar, but I can live with it being a little amuse-bouche to get things started. (12/20)

6/10 #craftbeeradvent2017 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Boxing Rock Brewing Co. / Gahan House Brewery Over The Top! Sour / Wild Ale at 4% ABV (C$6.13 at NLC Stavanger, 650 ml, packaged on 24-Jul-2017, acquired 25-Nov-2017, reviewed 30-Nov-2017)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with three fingers and growing of fluffy white head, excellent retention and heavy clingy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: citrus, wheat, lactic sour, pine, floral, cranberry. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, low bitter. (8/10) Palate: light body, effervescent carbonation, dry tart finish. (4/5)

Surprisingly good head development and retention are the first hints that this ain’t your typical kettle sour. The next is the aroma, where, yes, you get the typical sharp tang of lactobacillus, but balanced quite well alongside hop and wheat character, as well as an authentic cranberry undertone. Sweetness and tartness are both restrained on the tongue, coming across as neither cloying nor aggressively puckering, finishing clean and refreshing. You could do a lot worse for an accompaniment to your next turkey and cranberry feast. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com