Month: April 2019

Firestone Walker Brewing Company 805 Blond Ale at 4.7% ABV (C$4.01 at Safeway, 710 ml, packaged on 10-Dec-2018, acquired 20-Apr-2019, reviewed 20-Apr-2019)

Appearance: clear medium gold with one fat finger of fluffy white head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: honey, grass. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, light bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium finish. (3/5)

Forgot I had had this one before, TBH – and that’s pretty much the best I can call it: forgettable. Even being in the 808 while drinking the 805 doesn’t really salvage it. I actually couldn’t be bothered to finish it. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Lagunitas Brewing Company 12th of Never American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV | 45 IBU (US$2.29 at KTA Super Stores, 568 ml, packaged on 23-Dec-2018, acquired 20-Apr-2019, reviewed 20-Apr-2019)

Appearance: chill hazed straw with one fat finger of fluffy white head diminishing gradually to a thin persistent cap, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus zest, resiny pine, clean cereal grains, light tropical fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, short duration medium bitter finish. (4/5)

Nice light APA. I might be letting the whole “enjoying a warm afternoon in Hawaii” experience bleed over slightly into the tasting experience, but all in all this is a solid little APA that approaches Session territory, while retaining lots of clean flavour. Good stuff. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Golden Road Brewing Wolf Pup Session IPA at 4.5% ABV | 45 IBU (US$3.17 at KTA Super Stores, 740 ml, best before 26-Jun-2019, acquired 20-Apr-2019, reviewed 20-Apr-2019)

Appearance: opaque straw with one fat finger of fluffy white head diminishing gradually to a thin persistent cap, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, resiny pine, clean cereal grains, citrus. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter finish. (4/5)

Nice flavourful Session that needs no qualifiers or excuses – lots of hoppy aroma and mild but pleasant flavour on the tongue make this a nicely crushable refresher on a beautiful Hawaiian afternoon. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brewery Ommegang Bigger and Bretter Bière de Garde at 7.6% ABV (C$12.25 at Andrew Hilton Wine & Spirits, 750 ml, best before 1-Jan-2020, acquired 25-Mar-2019, reviewed 18-Apr-2019)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of loose ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin persistent cap, spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone & orchard fruit, dry hay funk, citrus zest, bready caramel. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild funk. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Very restrained Brett funk melds well with stone and orchard fruits, backstopped by citrus zest and a pastry-like caramel. This might be worth getting another for cellaring, to give the Brett an opportunity to dig in and amp up the funk, but it’s pretty danged good as it stands. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Muskoka Brewery Pair of Wise Guys (Moonlight Kettle Series) Weizenbock at 7.5% ABV (C$4.05 at Collective, 473 ml, best before 24-Mar-2019, acquired 13-Feb-2019, reviewed 17-Apr-2019)

Appearance: clear deep amber with one fat finger of rocky ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: big banana, doughy yeast, brown sugar, cloves, light bubblegum. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, mild bitter spicy warming finish. (4/5)

A nice little Weizenbock tending slightly to the lighter end of the ABV scale in my experience, but with loads of pleasant flavour regardless. I’m constantly surprised by this style, which despite being completely about the malt and yeast, with essentially no hop character, consistently ranks among my favourites. This one is no exception, with an almost banana bread character and a mild spicy warming finish. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Twin Sails Brewing Orange Slices Citra Double IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.2% ABV | 52 IBU (C$5.58 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 22-Feb-2019, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 17-Apr-2019)

Appearance: opaque pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (5/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, clean malt, hint of resiny pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration lingering bitter mildly warming finish. (4/5)

That’s a hell of a beer. Big juicy citrus, to the point where you could be forgiven for being convinced there’s juice added (there isn’t). Big but not overwhelming bitter leads smoothly to a mildly warming high ABV finish. And I just noticed that the orange flesh in the artwork spells out the name – nice. (17/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Analog Brewing United Bass Kollective Peach Pie Saison Saison at 5% ABV (C$4.41 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 13-Feb-2019, reviewed 17-Apr-2019)

Appearance: hazy straw with three fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and spotty soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: sour peach candy, pale malt, white pepper, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, short mild bitter lightly tart finish. (4/5)

I had no great expectations here, especially given the busy-to-the-point-of-incomprehensibility label, but it’s actually fairly decent. There’s a moderate but not overwhelming aroma of stone fruit, reminiscent of sour peach candy. Despite that, the fruit character communicates through on the tongue without carrying excessive sweetness. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Freehold Brewing Co. Lacy Saisy Saison Saison at 5.8% ABV (C$3.64 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 28-Sep-2018, acquired 13-Feb-2019, reviewed 17-Apr-2019)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fat fingers of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to nothing, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: orchard fruit, grainy malt, white pepper, mild dry hay funk. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter lightly funky finish. (4/5)

The can reverse asks the only question that really matters: “Would you have another?” And yes, I think I would. It’s slightly higher in ABV than I like to see in the style, and not particularly pretty (a bit more “muddy” than “hazy”) but at the end of the day, it ends up being decently refreshing, without too hefty a spice load. Works for me. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Dog Island Brewing The Foggy Dew American Pale Ale at 5% ABV | 30 IBU (C$4.41 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 17-Apr-2019)

Appearance: near-opaque muddy pale amber with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, pine, citrus, caramel. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter finish. (4/5)

Started off smelling really promising, despite the somewhat unclean muddy appearance. However, the aroma didn’t sustain for long, fading into slightly less fruit and more caramel. The taste also didn’t quite follow through with the initial promise of the aroma. All in all, not bad, but nothing overly special. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Snake Lake Brewing Company Miss Mermaid Session IPA at 4.5% ABV | 20 IBU (C$2.92 at Collective, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 15-Apr-2019)

Appearance: opaque straw with one fat finger of creamy white head, good retention and spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruits, citrus, pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, short mild bitter finish. (4/5)

Snake Lake is proving to be one of the most reliable breweries, new, local, or otherwise, that I can think of – they simply don’t do bad beer. I waffled a little on my scoring here: basically the conundrum was, do I score it as if it were an APA, or do I make accommodations for it being a Session? Ultimately I decided to score it as a straight APA, so you can think of it as being better than the score would imply, for a Session. It’s definitely got big flavour for such a low ABV, and any way you slice it, it’s definitely refreshing. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com