Month: March 2018

Great Divide Brewing Company Titan IPA American IPA at 7.1% ABV | 65 IBU (US$2.41 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 6-Dec-2017, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 11-Mar-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with one fat finger of creamy white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dank resiny pine, pale malt & caramel, tropical fruit. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter (9/10 ) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building and lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Now that is some seriously dank sticky icky! The bitter is big (dare I say, verging on titanic?) without being overwhelming, and nicely balanced by clean pale malt and light caramel. Despite being past the ninety day mark, this is still hoppy as all git-out. I like this a lot. (17/20)

My 256th from the 2010 Edition of 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die, 246th from the 2013 edition, and 270th combining both editions.

8.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Deep Ellum Brewing Co. Deep Ellum IPA American IPA at 7% ABV | 70 IBU (US$1.78 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 12-Dec-2017, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 11-Mar-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with one finger of fluffy pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a persistent cap, moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel, mild resiny pine, hint of honey and floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building and lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

The can calls this an “ode to the Pacific Northwest hop”, so clearly they’re going for a West Coast feel. And, it accomplishes that… more or less. Though it’s not precisely “old-fashioned”, it’s not far off, with caramel being more heavily prominent than I prefer. Given the canning date, I expect that the hops probably aren’t as bright as they would have been fresh, so perhaps I’m being slightly unfair. But right now, nothing really stands out to distinguish this from a lot of other AIPAs. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Green Flash Brewing Co. RemixIPA American IPA at 6.2% ABV | 47 IBU (US$2.41 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 25-Jan-2018, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 11-Mar-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with one finger of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, caramel, citrus, hint of cooked vegetables. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

It’s been a distressingly long time since I’ve had a Green Flash – ignoring their P49 collab, the last ones I had were in early 2016, and were fairly middle-of-the-road. This, I’m sad to say, seems to be a bit more of the same. The mediocrity starts with the label: putting “FRESH” in big letters on the front but not using a human-readable date code, makes about as much sense as they-who-must-not-be-named putting “COLD” on theirs. The absence of a date code leaves me wondering, is this the way it’s supposed to smell and taste? Who knows? I see where they’re going with this: “Remix”, as in “old school”, with a somewhat traditional hop blend, but the fact is, it just seems a bit lazy. Is it bad? Hell no. Especially in the finish, it’s pretty decent. But you can’t step into the same stream twice. What would’ve been interesting a decade ago is just slightly boring now, and, unfortunately, that’s about the way I’d have to sum this up. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Odell Brewing Co. Drumroll APA American Pale Ale at 5.3% ABV | 40 IBU (US$1.75 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, best before 18-Mar-2018, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 11-Mar-2018)

Appearance: cloudy pale amber with two fingers of creamy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt, mild grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body tending slightly light, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium finish. (4/5)

Worrisomely close to the BB date, but still quite pleasant for all that. Juicy and bright citrus hops lead the way, followed closely by tropical fruit and supported by a clean pale malt. The taste is not quite as bright as the aroma promises, but it’s still decent. Really approachable and amazingly cheap – if I had regular access to this, I’d keep it on hand to offer guests, especially during summer months, BBQs and the like. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Martin House Brewing Company Friday IPA American IPA at 6% ABV | 59 IBU (US$2.41 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 26-Dec-2017, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 10-Mar-2018)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one finger of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, caramel, mild slightly dank pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, off-dry  finish. (4/5)

Quite solid even though it’s getting a bit close to that magic ninety day freshness cutoff for AIPAs. Nothing overly memorable, but pleasant enough, with a moderately high bitterness that remains nonetheless reasonably well balanced by a caramel malt backbone. There’s just the slightest hint of astringency on the back end, but it’s otherwise fairly defect-free. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Karbach Brewing Co. Blood Orange Radler Radler at 3.5% ABV | 12 IBU (US$2.31 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 14-Feb-2018, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 9-Mar-2018)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one finger of short, short-lived white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: orange juice, burnt rubber/band-aid, grass. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, decently crisp finish. (3/5)

The burnt rubber/band-aid note is not overwhelming, but is unfortunate, tempering my enthusiasm for this beer despite it being a style for which I harbour a particular weakness. I’m not sure whether I’ve sampled the base beer, but their web site seems to indicate it’s a golden ale, a style which I’ve generally found to be somewhat prone to those phenolic off-notes. (Their Love Street Kölsch is similarly flawed, though there I’ve found it to be more diacetyl and sulphur.) It’s not terrible, by any means, but it’s not a patch on their Hopadillo or Rodeo Clown. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Nebraska Brewing Company IPA – American IPA at 6.9% ABV | 72 IBU (US$2.31 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 28-Nov-2017, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 9-Mar-2018)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of rocky white head, good retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, caramel, dank pine, earth. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet tending slightly high, high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, lingering and building bitter finish. (4/5)

Bonus points for the wide mouth can, which would at least theoretically obviate the need for a glass, were one without proper glassware – good one for packing on a hike, for example. More importantly, it’s a surprisingly solid fairly authentic West Coast IPA coming from the bald-ass prairie. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Odell Brewing Co. Rupture Fresh Ground Ale American IPA at 6% ABV | 36 IBU (US$2.41 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, best before 12-May-2018, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 9-Mar-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with a short, short-lived white head, patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: off-dry medium duration bitter finish. (4/5)

So, this beer’s hook is that they grind the hops before using them, “rupturing” out the lupulin. Ok, I can appreciate that. But, I’m more than halfway convinced that process is adding a green, almost vegetal note. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s not entirely the type of flavour I’d look for in an A/IPA, either. Really solid, but stops short of great. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

NOLA Brewing Co. Syncopation American IPA at 6% ABV (US$3.36 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 16-Feb-2018, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 9-Mar-2018)

Appearance: cloudy pale amber with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and stringy moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: juicy citrus & tropical fruit, caramel, light earthy pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

A little muddy in appearance, perhaps due to it being unfiltered and double dry hopped? Way better than their Hopitoulas Pale despite being lower in ABV, and verging on a decent interpretation of the NEIPA style with juicy citrus leading the way. The bitterness is well balanced, and there’s a mild tartness in the finish that adds to the overall “juice” character. If this were as pretty as Hopitoulas, it might’ve been a nine, but as it is it’s “just” a very strong eight. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Firestone Walker Brewing Company Leo v. Ursus: Wookus Black IPA at 8.2% ABV | 75 IBU (US$4.94 at Specs Main Houston, 473 ml, packaged on 27-Dec-2017, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 8-Mar-2018)

Appearance: clear brown with two fingers of rocky brown head, excellent retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, toasted malt, pine, spicy rye. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Surprisingly light and easy-drinking given the dark appearance and high ABV. My one criticism of its Wookey Jack progenitor was that I thought it could stand to have more emphatic aromas. I’m not sure this entirely fixes that, but it certainly has brighter aromas, with a previously absent citrus now at the forefront. Other than that, it bears a lots of resemblance to its ancestor, which is all to the good. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com