S.Y.C. Brewing Co. / Eighty-Eight Brewing / Snake Lake Brewing Company Happy Trails (S.Y.C.) – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.27 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 26-Aug-2020, acquired 3-Sep-2020, reviewed 10-Sep-2020)
Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fat fingers of loose white head, good retention and spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit (guava), plastic band-aid, white grape must. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (3/5)
A “Cross-Alberta Collab” involving three breweries, but I haven’t yet located the Eighty-Eight version. I opened the Snake Lake and S.Y.C. ones side by side so as to allow for as accurate as possible a comparison.
Neither completely blew me away, but I was a little surprised and disappointed by the plastic phenolic edge on this one, particularly in the aroma. It wasn’t particularly intrusive on the tongue, but did again manifest in the finish, and this is reflected in the scores.
I was expecting a closer race, since aside from having tried a slightly different number of examples from each brewery, their performance (high/low/average) has been nearly identical in my experience. But, the Snake Lake version is a clear winner here, beating the S.Y.C. version in appearance, aroma, and palate. (13/20)
6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
