Month: February 2019

Evil Corporation Brewing Initial Public Offering American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$4.14 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 31-Jan-2019, reviewed 4-Feb-2019)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with two fingers of rocky ivory head, good retention and moderate clingy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grainy caramel & buttery toffee, resiny pine, citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Contract brewed by Last Spike, this is the first offering from yet another new Calgary brewery. Well… I say “new”, but I guess they’re technically still “non-existent”, at least in a bricks-and-mortar sense. (Though, they’re hardly alone there – for example, I think Six Corners’ “planned” location in Okotoks has been such for more than a year and is still a bare lot.) And yeah, I like their tongue-in-cheek send-up of corporate culture, but it feels both late (Calgary’s been moribund for a good three or four years now) and hollow (they’re not good enough to pull it off). Most egregious is the slight buttery note on the front end, and the way the promised bombastic bitter ends a little astringent. It’s not terrible, and arrogance is all well and good when you’re Stone’s Arrogant Bastard, but this ain’t that. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Fernie Brewing Company Campout West Coast Pale American Pale Ale at 5.4% ABV | 39 IBU _(C$2.47 at Collective, 355 ml, best before 13-Jun-2019, acquired 31-Jan-2019, reviewed 4-Feb-2019)_

Appearance: clear medium gold with a towering fluffy ivory head, good retention and moderate clingy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, citrus, caramel, tropical fruit, resiny pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium bitter finish. (4/5)

I had this a couple of years ago, back when it was first introduced and called Base Camp. Have I mentioned I hate arbitrary name changes that result in my thinking I haven’t had a beer before? (Though this isn’t bad, so I’m not too livid… I’m a bit peeved I don’t get a tick on Untappd, though.) At the time, I complained that they were using a fairly cryptic date/BB code, and to give all due credit at least they’re gone with a human-readable BB now – but I’d still prefer a packaging date. As before, I’m getting a balance between citrus and caramel, with some assorted fruitiness and lightly dank pine following behind. A combination of English and West Coast Pale attributes, and a clean decently dry finish make this a pleasant thirst-quencher. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Delta Brewery Inductive IPA American IPA at 5.6% ABV | 62 IBU (C$2.29 at Solo Liquor Okotoks, 355 ml, best before 27-May-2019, acquired 3-Feb-2019, reviewed 3-Feb-2019)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of creamy off-white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dank pine, caramel, citrus, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Given the name I assumed these guys were a new BC brewery, but no, they’re Airdrie. Except not really, because this one is contract brewed by GP in Grande Prairie. So, BC name for a southern AB brewing company but a beer brewed in northern AB. Makes perfect sense, right? Anyhoo, the beer is OK: emphatic-leaning bitter and resiny pine on a malty caramel backbone. I’d like more hop (variety and intensity) in the aroma, but overall it’s a good enough six pack for SuperBowl LIII. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Belching Beaver Brewery Mosaic Double IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.8% ABV | 60 IBU (C$4.63 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 31-Jan-2019, reviewed 2-Feb-2019)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one finger of rocky white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy orange, tropical fruit, clean cereal malt, resiny dank pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Dam! That’s some beer! At first, the front end is utterly dominated by sweet and juicy citrus and tropical fruits (hello Mosaic!) which is pleasantly contrasted by a resiny dank pine bitterness on the tongue. Eventually that rainy pine makes itself known on the nose (retro nasally, perhaps?) but the balance remains even-handed and pleasant. Drinks much more easily than the big ABV would imply, with only a mild warming accompanying. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Driftwood Brewery Limb From Limb Rye IPA at 7% ABV (C$7.38 at Collective, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 31-Jan-2019, reviewed 2-Feb-2019)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with two fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (5/5) Aroma: bready rye, resiny pine, caramel, earth. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter, mild spice. (8/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, slightly sticky lingering bitter slightly spicy finish. (4/5)

Look, I know that Driftwood is a BC brewery, but the label notes go a bit far even for BC, what with the whole “the trees had it coming” theme. (But yes, yet another beautiful label!) Oh, wait, now I get it: Lumberjack hops. A new one on me, but it seems well-suited for a Rye IPA. This is a solid example of that style, with balanced rye spiciness complementing an emphatic hop bitterness. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Analog Brewing Ready Paler One Session IPA at 4.1% ABV | 35 IBU (C$3.91 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 31-Jan-2019, reviewed 2-Feb-2019)

Appearance: slightly hazy medium gold with two fingers (and growing) of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus zest, pale malt, oats, grassy weeds, petrichor. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter slightly resiny finish. (4/5)

Drinks somewhat more bitter than the 35 IBU on the can might indicate, but I’ve noticed that seems to be the case with lower ABV Session Ales. That’s not a criticism, since that bitterness works fairly well with the flavour profile, which leans more towards IPA than ISA. Bonus points for the name, even though the videogame-inspired naming they like to use makes me wonder whether they really understand what “Analog” means…? (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Eighty-Eight Brewing Land Line Session IPA at 4.5% ABV (C$2.61 at Collective, 330 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 31-Jan-2019, reviewed 1-Feb-2019)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with one finger of rocky white head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap & ring, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, slightly resiny pine, bready malt, light tropical fruit, grassy weeds. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter slightly resiny finish. (4/5)

No packaging date but the brewer’s web site says first brewed on December 16, 2018, so it apparently can’t be much more than six weeks old. Decent implementation of a Session Ale: good aroma and flavour on a light but not watery body. You’d be slightly disappointed if you went looking for full-on IPA flavours here, but for the weight, it packs a decent flavour profile. (And arguably, if you’re silly enough to go asking for an IPA flavour profile from an ISA, you deserve to be disappointed.) (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bridge Brewing Company Turf War Modern IPA American IPA at 6% ABV | 55 IBU (C$7.65 at Collective, 650 ml, packaged on 20-Dec-2018, acquired 31-Jan-2019, reviewed 31-Jan-2019)

Appearance: clear pale straw with two fingers of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pine, cracker pale malt, tropical fruit, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

The label notes say this is neither East Coast nor West Coast, which I guess I agree with. Though, if I had to pick a direction, I’d say it’s more West than East. I’m not sure why I don’t like this more, but overall it’s just OK, and not particularly memorable. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com