Month: April 2019

Twin Sails Brewing Day-Blink Simcoe Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5% ABV | 35 IBU (C$5.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 24-Feb-2019, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 15-Apr-2019)

Appearance: cloudy straw with two fat fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruits, citrus, pale malt, hint of pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, short mild bitter finish. (4/5)

Another nice one from Twin Sails. A really good example of a single-hop implementation of Simcoe, giving big flavour despite the low ABV, yet no hint of cattiness. The bitterness is restrained on a soft, almost creamy body. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bridge Brewing Company Prime Time American Pale Ale at 5.0% ABV (C$2.38 at Collective, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 15-Apr-2019)

Appearance: clear pale straw with a short white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, crackery pale malt, grass. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (5/10) Palate: thin watery body, moderate carbonation, short bland finish. (3/5)

Well, that’s kinda crappy. I probably wouldn’t have bought it had I paid a little more attention to the label, but it’s about what you might expect for a low-carb, low-cal beer. To be perfectly blunt, despite the “no compromises” assertion on the label, they pretty much compromised on every aspect. Pale, bland alcohol delivery.  In fact, to be honest, I’d probably prefer a Michelob Ultra.(11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ale Architect Brewing Ltd. Akitu Dry Hopped Brut Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.2% ABV (C$4.09 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 18-Mar-2019, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 14-Apr-2019)

Appearance: slightly hazy straw with two fingers (and growing) of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, tropical fruit, crackery pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body tending slightly thin, lively carbonation, dry moderate bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

I got a bit excited when I saw the label indicated a hop blend of Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy – pretty much my three favourite hops – and while they’re not as emphatic on the nose as I’d like, they’re definitely there. But overall, while it’s not bad, it doesn’t quite live up to my expectations. As often happens with this style, the high degree of attenuation has resulted in a body that, though pleasingly dry, is also light to the point of tending watery, and the finish ends just a little astringent. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Texas Ale Project 100 Million Angels Singing American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.2% ABV | 100 IBU (C$5.00 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 20-Nov-2018, acquired 3-Mar-2019, reviewed 12-Apr-2019)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with one finger of rocky pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pine, citrus, caramel. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, lingering building bitter finish. (4/5)

The label says “Pine, resin, citrus” and that’s pretty much what it delivers: a solid, old school DIPA one-two punch of big malt and big hoppy bitter. Well-balanced and enjoyable, if not exactly subtle or crushable. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Quidi Vidi Brewing Company QVxNF Milky Way American IPA at 5.9% ABV (C$3.57 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 27-Feb-2019, acquired 18-Mar-2019, reviewed 12-Apr-2019)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky white head, good retention and moderate stringy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: overripe tropical fruit, lactose, faint citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, moderate bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

I was hoping this would be the star of the four pack, but in fact it’s a less than impressive offering. The aroma is dominated by overripe tropical fruit, and the finish is more bitter than appropriate, with an astringent edge. I wonder if this is oxidized, actually, but in any case it’s definitely not a good example of the style. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Evil Twin Brewing Nasty Trunks (Batch #002) Sour / Wild Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$6.07 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 13-Feb-2019, reviewed 10-Apr-2019)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one fat finger of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: short-lived pine, lactic tart, citrus zest, grassy weeds. (7/10) Taste: moderate tart, moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration moderate tart finish. (3/5)

This commits a sin that’s fairly rare in my experience with Evil Twin: it’s, well, a bit boring. The brewer notes claim this is a fuller-bodied version of Sour Bikini, which I tried nearly four years ago, but I think I preferred that one even though it was only 3% ABV. I’m speculating that the lactose used in this one is cutting the tartness without really adding any sweetness, making the overall experience a bit less extreme (read: interesting) than its predecessor. There was an initial whiff of piney hops that made me think this was going to have a lot more IPA character than it ended up having, but that dissipated rapidly. Ultimately, it’s OK, but not really all that exciting. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

To Øl Sur Citra Sour / Wild Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$5.35 at Collective, 500 ml, best before 5-Mar-2019, acquired 13-Feb-2019, reviewed 7-Apr-2019)

Appearance: cloudy deep gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: lactic tart, citrus, grainy malt, hint of pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high tart, moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate tart finish. (3/5)

I kind of see where they were going with this, but in my opinion the tartness is excessive, particularly since it’s a plain lactic sour adding no complexity or depth. On the other hand, it’s fairly crisp and easy to drink, and not completely unlike a Radler, so it’s something you could easily demolish a lot of on a summer patio. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Quidi Vidi Brewing Company QVxNF Perfect Storm Dunkelweizen at 6% ABV (C$3.57 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 26-Jan-2019, acquired 18-Mar-2019, reviewed 7-Apr-2019)

Appearance: murky brown with a large rocky beige head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: banana, wheat, molasses, dark fruit, bubble gum. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body tending slightly thin, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild finish. (3/5)

Not a bad example of the style. The aroma is particularly well done, with a nice balance of banana, wheat malt, and dark fruit. On the down side, the taste isn’t quite as good, though serviceable, and the body tends just slightly thin. Pleasant enough, overall. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Quidi Vidi Brewing Company QVxNF Iron Cherry Sour Sour / Wild Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$3.57 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 12-Feb-2019, acquired 18-Mar-2019, reviewed 7-Apr-2019)

Appearance: clear ruby with one fat finger of rocky off-white head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tart cherry, lactic, slight medicinal edge. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate tart finish. (3/5)

I’m more than a little sick of kettle sours, so I didn’t have any great expectations here. I’ll stop short of saying I found anything about it dislikable, but the cherry aroma wasn’t particularly authentic, and had a slight cough syrup-like medicinal edge. (That’s in addition to lacking any depth or complexity, but since that’s par for the course for kettle sours, I didn’t really penalize it for that.) All in all, a fairly inoffensive if somewhat forgettable example of the style. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Quidi Vidi Brewing Company QVxNF Uncle Fred’s Kolsch Kölsch at 4.5% ABV (C$3.57 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 30-Jan-2019, acquired 18-Mar-2019, reviewed 6-Apr-2019)

Appearance: clear straw with two fat fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and chunky soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: clean malt/honey, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

I like the idea of Quidi Vidi using a competition with the Newfermenters home-brew club to come up with some new beers. This is of course not a particularly challenging or interesting style, but decently well done regardless, with a clean aroma and flavour. I waffled on the palate score, but ultimately decided that the bitterness of the finish, while not personally objectionable, was far enough out of spec that there had to be a slight score reduction. (Though it didn’t really affect the final score.) Solid, but just slightly less than great. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com