Month: July 2020

Quidi Vidi Brewing Company Night Cap Gin & Tonic Ale – Blond Ale at 5.1% ABV (C$3.75 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 19-Apr-2020, acquired 30-Jun-2020, reviewed 5-Jul-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: cucumber, herbal juniper, gin barrel, lemon-lime. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly boozy finish. (4/5)

Well, it’s definitely gin-and-tonic-ish, even if it’s not very beer-ish. Now, if you only do traditional G&T’s with lime you might think that the cucumber is out of place, but I’ll tell you: a G&T with cucumber is well worth your time trying. I’ve called the finish “slightly boozy”, but it’s not really warming or otherwise alcohol hot – it’s just so much like a G&T that I can’t convince myself it isn’t. Definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m giving it bonus points for both originality and quality of implementation. Bottom line: try it if you like G&T’s, don’t if you don’t. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Quidi Vidi Brewing Company Aloha Sour IPA – American IPA at 6% ABV (C$3.92 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 20-May-2020, acquired 30-Jun-2020, reviewed 5-Jul-2020)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one fat finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: lactic sour, tropical & stone fruit, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, mild bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, medium duration lightly tart finish. (4/5)

Meh. The comparison between Newfoundland and Hawaii is a little on the nose, what with the 7º and rain here. Not to mention, I had to cancel my Hawaii trip in April… Personal context aside, this is OK, but no better. It’s a pretty basic fruited sour IPA, with the typical single-note lactic kettle sour, and some non-specific tropical, stone, and citrus fruits. I wouldn’t be very excited about this even if I didn’t already have heartburn today. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ninepenny Brewing Blinding Light – American IPA at 6.6% ABV (C$4.93 at NLC Stavanger, 500 ml, packaged on 24-Jun-2020, acquired 30-Jun-2020, reviewed 4-Jul-2020)

Appearance: muddy hazy deep gold with two fat fingers of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: stone fruit, caramel, wet cardboard. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (5/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration lightly warming finish. (3/5)

Extremely disappointing. I had this one a year ago at Landwash, and was hoping to be able to do a more detailed review of what was then a good beer, but this bears no resemblance to that, is far inferior, and clearly damaged. I’m hoping just a bad batch, because with only ten days in the bottle it clearly hasn’t had time to oxidize. Sorry guys, not good – sink poured it. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ninepenny Brewing 12 Bricks – American IPA at 5.6% ABV (C$5.14 at NLC Stavanger, 500 ml, packaged on 17-Jun-2020, acquired 30-Jun-2020, reviewed 4-Jul-2020)

Appearance: opaque purple-pink with two fingers of loose light pink head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: raspberry, floral, faint lactose. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: smooth medium body, moderate carbonation, short duration lightly tart finish. (4/5)

This thing pours a shockingly intense purplish-pink, and is imbued with nearly as intense raspberry aroma and flavour. Despite the intense fruit flavour, the sweetness is quite mild, and I’m not getting a lot of lactose, except perhaps as a smoothness in the body. Yes, it’s all about the fruit, but in a way that emphasizes flavour over sweetness. In fact, it’s almost reminiscent of a Belgian Framboise,  and once I got over the shock of how completely unexpected the whole thing was, I quite enjoyed it. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ninepenny Brewing Original Sin – White IPA at 5.6% ABV (C$4.71 at NLC Stavanger, 500 ml, packaged on 3-Jun-2020, acquired 30-Jun-2020, reviewed 4-Jul-2020)

Appearance: muddy opaque deep gold with two fingers of rocky off-white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: clove, wheat, oats, floral, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter mildly warming slightly spicy finish. (3/5)

A bit more “muddy” than “white”, in my opinion. Brewed with Ardennes yeast and hopped with Equanot, Cascade, Centennial, and El Dorado – but the yeast definitely dominates with the clove-like aromas. Personally I’d like a bit more (as in, some) citrus from the hops selection. Not bad, but not a lot to distinguish it, either. On the other hand, it’s yet another new (-ish / to me) Newfoundland brewery, so that’s all to the good. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Innis & Gunn Brewing Company Gunnpowder IPA – American IPA at 5% ABV (C$3.48 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, best before 30-Apr-2021, acquired 30-Jun-2020, reviewed 3-Jul-2020)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of dense pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, bready caramel, floral, oak. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration mildly warming finish. (3/5)

Slightly surprisingly, a halfway-decent AIPA. Or, at least, what halfway-decent AIPA’s were like about a decade ago. Old-fashioned, and a bit oaky, but Ok overall. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Molson Coors Canada Coors Slice Lime – American Pale Lager at 4.2% ABV (C$3.66 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 14-Apr-2020, acquired 30-Jun-2020, reviewed 2-Jul-2020)

Appearance: clear pale straw with a short, short-lived white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: lime cordial, faint pale malt. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, low bitter. (5/10) Palate: light body, lively carbonation, short crisp lightly spicy finish. (3/5)

Sometimes slumming it can be fun. This… isn’t one of those times. Well, to be fair, there’s nothing really objectionable here – but that’s because there’s not much of anything here, other than the lime cordial. Aside from the slight hint of bland pale malt, this could be a lime mineral water. Oh, well – I was thirsty, and it was cold and wet. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Boomstick Brewing Company Veto Power – Pilsner at 4.9% ABV | 23 IBU (C$3.83 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Mar-2020, acquired 30-Jun-2020, reviewed 1-Jul-2020)

Appearance: clear brilliant pale gold with one finger of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: honey, cracker malt, floral, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, crisp mild bitter lightly earthy, spicy, and astringent finish. (3/5)

Yet another new (-ish / to me) Newfoundland brewer, whose name I’m choosing to interpret as an Evil Dead reference, regardless of whether or not they meant it that way. I’m glad to see they take their labelling seriously, including not just ABV and IBU, but also SRM and FTU (this being, I think, the first time I’ve seen the latter reported on a label). A solid effort, reasonably clean and crisp, with just a hint of astringency in the mildly earthy, spicy finish. It’s hard to be blown away by a Pils, and I’m not by this, but it is decent. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com