Month: September 2020

Rainhard Brewing Kapow! – American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 60 IBU (C$5.08 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 2-Sep-2020, acquired 25-Sep-2020, reviewed 30-Sep-2020)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruits, bready caramel, floral, faint pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly sticky moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

I really wanted to be dismissive of yet another brewer from the Centre of the Universe (Come on: “Rainhard? More like blowhard!” just writes itself, doesn’t it?) but this is actually decent. Malts have a bit more presence than I would prefer – caramel features significantly in the aroma, and it’s a little sweeter than I’d like – but there’s also a pleasant hop aroma and good bittering through the finish. Oh, and the label looks like propaganda-style KMFDM album art, so there’s that. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Apex Predator Brewing (Bench Creek Brewing) Westley Tropical Double IPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.5% ABV | 75 IBU (C$13.27 at Collective, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 25-Sep-2020, reviewed 29-Sep-2020)

Appearance: muddy amber-brown with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: rum, vanilla, tropical fruit, caramel, oak, resiny pine. (7/10) Taste: high sweet, high bitter. (6/10) Palate: full slick body, moderate carbonation, sticky lingering bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Woof. Drinks way heavier than the relatively light ABV would lead one to expect, weighed down with a whole lot of sweet rum barrel. I can’t say I’m hugely impressed by this – though I might be if it had a few more points of the jolly juice: it smells like it should be a double-digit Old Ale or similar, and halfway drinks that way, but ultimately falls a bit short. Now that I think of it, it’s not entirely dissimilar to their Whiskey Gap English Strong that also left me cold. Not even a theme borrowed from one of the best movies of all time (and I’ll fight anyone who says different) can save this from much more than a “s’OK, I guess”. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Nelson Brewing Company Fjord Hopper – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.50 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 25-Sep-2020, reviewed 28-Sep-2020)

Appearance: hazy straw with three fat fingers of pillowy pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pineapple & tropical fruit, citrus, pale crackery malt, earth & mild funk. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light funky tart. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lightly funky finish. (4/5)

Fruity and lightly funky, with restrained sweetness tending dry and refreshing in the finish. Nice example of the style, and definitely one that encourages a second… or a third… (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

S.Y.C. Brewing Co. Hop Me Darkly – American IPA at 5.5% ABV (C$4.85 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 10-Sep-2020, acquired 25-Sep-2020, reviewed 27-Sep-2020)

Appearance: hazy ruby brown with two fat fingers of fluffy pale beige head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and ring, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: coffee, resiny pine, citrus, tropical fruit, ash. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body tending slightly thin, moderate carbonation, off-dry finish. (4/5)

In my experience, the major risk with CDA-style beers is that the coffee ends up tasting over-extracted: more “coffee grounds in the trash” than “fresh coffee”. This one doesn’t fall into that trap, and gives a reasonable balance between coffee and West Coast-style IPA aromas. It also finishes bitter, but not astringent. It’s not perfect – I would have liked to see more emphatic hop aromas and a bit more weight in the body – but all in all, a decent attempt at the style. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

New Level Brewing Triple Berry Vanilla Milkshake IPA – American IPA at 7.5% ABV (C$4.95 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 27-Sep-2020)

Appearance: hazy purple-tinted pale amber with two fat fingers of rocky off-white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: field berries, vanilla, sweet cake dough. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish finish. (3/5)

So, let me the this straight: you’ve got the code printer, but instead of putting the packaging date on the bottom of the can, you choose to go with “BERRY YUM YUM”. Seriously? Anyway, this is emphatically sweet berry and cakey malts, with very little actual beer characteristic. It’s not bad, and it’s actually a bit impressive that so little of the hefty ABV makes itself known, but it’s not really “beer” in any traditional sense. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Town Square Brewing Market Series IPA #004 – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.18 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 26-Sep-2020)

Appearance: clear pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: resiny pine, tropical fruit, citrus, caramel, herbal, light sweaty funk. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building and lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Pretty similar to #003 in a lot of ways – probably largely due to the same feature hop, Strata – but I don’t like it quite as much. In particular, the bitterness feels a little unbalanced, resulting in an almost astringent note in the finish. (And that’s coming from an inveterate hop head!) It’s definitely good, but just as definitely solidly in third place behind #001 and #003. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ale Architect Brewing Ltd. Colour Burst 2 – American IPA at 6.3% ABV (C$4.72 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 7-Aug-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 25-Sep-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and ring, moderate spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, tropical fruit, citrus, pale malt, coconut. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-soft body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter finish. (4/5)

The label says this is hopped with Sabro, Mosaic, and El Dorado, and promises “a cocktail of intense tropical fruit flavour”. Well, there’s tropical flavour, sure – but I wouldn’t call it intense. I actually had high hopes for this, given that I rated the original Colour Burst as a world-class 8.5/10, but it doesn’t live up to those hopes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s OK, but it isn’t a patch on the first one. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Boombox Brewing Company Subsonic – Session IPA at 4% ABV (C$3.10 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 7-Sep-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 25-Sep-2020)

Appearance: hazy opaque straw with one finger of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and ring, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt, hint of coconut. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body tending slightly watery, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (3/5)

Impressively robust aroma for such a low ABV beer, but unfortunately the flavour and body just can’t keep up. The brewer notes say it’s hopped with Citra and Sabro, and I’m definitely getting the expected citrus, tropical fruit, and hint of coconut that would imply. The can calls this an India Pale Ale but the brewer web site calls it a Hazy Session Ale, which is probably far more accurate when it comes to establishing expectations, so I’m classing it as such. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ale Architect Brewing Ltd. Partea Earl Grey IPA – American IPA at 6.4% ABV (C$4.36 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 2-Aug-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 24-Sep-2020)

Appearance: clear medium gold with one fat finger of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and ring, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel, black tea, berry, herbal. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

The label notes say this is hopped with Idaho 7 and Amarillo, with an addition of Earl Grey. I have to say, though, there’s not much Earl Grey / bergamot / lemon that I can detect. There’s not even a lot of additional black tea bitterness in the finish. My fourth or so by these guys, and I have to ask myself why they monkey around with oddball flavours like this (or rose hips and calendula – need I say more?) when their straight-up IPA was a full-on world-class out-of-the-park home run? This isn’t bad, but it’s a bit muddled, with no clear direction. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

S.Y.C. Brewing Co. Hot Summer Nights – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.59 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 26-Aug-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 23-Sep-2020)

Appearance: opaque medium gold with two fingers of loose off-white head, good retention and minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, stone fruit, citrus, pale malt, resiny pine, light farmhouse funk. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

The label notes say this is fermented with kveik, and hopped with Citra, Simcoe, and Amarillo. I guess I’m sort of getting all of those, but there’s not a lot of juicy intensity. That pretty much sums up this beer for me, I think: a lot of close but no cigar moments. Not precisely a swing and a miss, but at or near the bottom of my experience with this brewer. Ultimately it’s OK, but definitely not next-level. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com