Born Colorado Brewing Myopia – American IPA at 8% ABV | 68 IBU (C$4.27 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 28-Jan-2021, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 27-Feb-2021)
Appearance: clear straw with a short loose white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: coconut, citrus, pale malt, resiny pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)
Hopped with Sabro and Magnum, and that’s exactly what I get, with surprisingly emphatic coconut over citrus and pine. (Which, to be honest, might not actually be to everybody’s liking.) The bitterness is definitely on the high side, but it’s still pretty drinkable, and not sharp or unbalanced. I’m not unhappy with it, on the whole. (14/20)
Definitive Brewing Company Fallstreak – American IPA at 7.4% ABV (C$9.80 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 31-Dec-2020, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 27-Feb-2021)
Appearance: hazily opaque pale gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical fruits, bready malt, resiny pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium soft body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (4/5)
Juicy appearance, aroma, and taste. Very pleasant, lots of fun. Probably the best one I’ve had by this brewery. (17/20)
Definitive Brewing Company Behind the Light – American IPA at 7.4% ABV (C$9.80 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 25-Feb-2021)
Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruits, melon, citrus, pale cereal malts, resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, building & lingering bitter finish. (4/5)
Double dry hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe, giving a nice complexity in the aroma and flavour. Pretty similar to Cellar Echoes, which is hardly a surprise given the hop similarities, but a bit better looking. Good one. (16/20)
Definitive Brewing Company Cellar Echoes – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.2% ABV (C$9.95 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 24-Feb-2021)
Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of fine pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap & ring, sparse soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruits, pale cereal malts, melon & berries, resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, building & lingering bitter finish. (4/5)
Secondary sources say this is a DDH DIPA brewed with Mosaic, Simcoe, Mosaic Cryo, and Simcoe Cryo. It’s my first from this brewery, so it was a bit of a blank slate – though, the fact that they’re Maine-based certainly excited a set of expectations. And, fact is, this one didn’t completely meet those expectations, particularly not given the price point. I mean, yeah, I personally don’t really care how much a given example costs, but when you’re at least twice the cost of a baseline local one, there’s a certain minimum standard I think you should meet. This… isn’t world-class. It’s good, but not great. And “definitive”? No, sorry. (15/20)
Captain Lawrence Brewing Company Interstellar Fog – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.5% ABV (C$9.85 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 1-Dec-2020, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 24-Feb-2021)
Appearance: hazy straw with two fingers of loose pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, stone fruit, pale cereal malts, tropical fruit, light earthy pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter slightly astringent finish. (4/5)
Dry hopped with Galaxy, Zeus, and Mosaic. For lack of a better term, I find this a little “edgy”, in the sense that the flavours don’t seem to be melding the way I’d like to see. In particular, there’s a little astringent edge in the finish that slightly interferes with its drinkability. Good, but that’s about as far as I’d go with it. (14/20)
Zero Issue Brewing Observatory IPA (Issue #37) – American IPA at 6.0% ABV (C$4.41 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 23-Feb-2021)
Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fingers of pillowy pale ivory head, excellent retention and chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, tropical & stone fruit, pale cereal malts, citrus, chocolate, hint of pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter slightly spicy finish. (4/5)
No date on the can, but it was announced just under two weeks ago on the social-media-that-must-not-be-named, so it can’t be old. That same post claims they used “experimental hops” but doesn’t specify which ones. The chocolate/coffee is definitely an interesting touch, but it doesn’t really move this to the next level (though it might be the reason for the lingering bitter finish). It’s decent enough, but not really wowing me. (15/20)
Best of Kin Brewing Big Hat Hazy IPA – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.45 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 1-Dec-2020, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 22-Feb-2021)
Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fingers of pillowy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, citrus, stone fruit, pale cereal malts, light earthy pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, medium duration soft finish. (4/5)
I guess it says I’ve been a transplanted westerner too long when my immediate reaction to this one’s name was “All hat and no cattle”. That’s not to suggest that’s going on here, though, because it does deliver a pleasant, easy-to-drink thirst quencher. And yet… the only reason I haven’t given this a higher score in aroma and taste is because it’s mild, almost to the point of muted. A bit more enthusiasm could make it memorable, but as it is it’s merely quite serviceable. On the other hand, it is more than two months in the can, so I’ll make a note to try a fresher copy if I find one. (15/20)
Odd Company Brewing Strazzacca Pale – American Pale Ale at 5.3% ABV (C$8.82 at Collective, 500 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 20-Feb-2021)
Appearance: hazy straw with two fingers of pillowy white head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: dank pine, mint, stone fruit, citrus, wheat. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium smooth body, moderate-low carbonation, medium duration slightly astringent finish. (3/5)
I assumed based upon the difficult-to-pronounce name, that this was hopped with Strata and Azacca (the extra “Z” notwithstanding). And yes, I sort of get both, but it’s really not all that emphatic or exciting. As well, there’s a hint of astringency in the finish that I don’t really appreciate. All in all, it’s OK, or maybe a little better, but that’s about it. (14/20)
Cabin Brewing Company / Eighty-Eight Brewing Love Shack (88) – American IPA at 6.8% ABV | 30 IBU (C$4.68 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 5-Feb-2021, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 15-Feb-2021)
Appearance: hazy medium gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap & ring, minimal lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dank resiny pine, stone & tropical fruit, citrus, oats, wheat. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium smooth body, moderate-low carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)
(RIGHT) Bookkeeping note: I don’t think I have any particular favourite in these two breweries, and would have to go to my records to determine whether I actually have a historical preference for one or the other. However, in order to avoid any possibility of bias, I made my notes referring to the two simply as “LEFT” (in the ribbed IPA glass) and “RIGHT” (in the smooth one). I looked at the labels only after the fact, to determine which was which. Turns out, “LEFT” is Cabin’s version, and “RIGHT” is 88’s.
The collaboration claims to use the same recipe at both breweries, but I don’t know whether that includes hop ratios or choice of yeast. The commercial description I can find seem to indicate both versions are hopped with Galaxy, Vic Secret, Cryo Mosaic and Cryo Sabro hops. On their web site, I see that 88’s version also includes Mosaic Incognito and Sabro, but Cabin doesn’t have any brewing details so I’m not sure if theirs does as well. Both get less fruity and more dank as they warm, but RIGHT starts off just a hair danker. I’m hard-pressed to detect any other differences between the two (and that’s side-by-side – I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to just from memory or notes). Both have the clean malt base and slightly smooth body that I associate with oats, and I’m halfway convinced I can detect just a touch of wheaty tartness. Gun to my head, I like RIGHT just a little more, but the bottom line is, they’re both fun, NE-style hazy IPAs with a lot of fruit adjunct working well with the underlying hops. (Unfortunately, they’re also both guilty of the egregious sin of putting that stupid fucking song in my head.) (16/20)
Cabin Brewing Company / Eighty-Eight Brewing Love Shack (Cabin) – American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$4.68 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 15-Feb-2021)
Appearance: hazy medium gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap & ring, minimal lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruit, dank resiny pine, citrus, oats, wheat. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium smooth body, moderate-low carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)
(LEFT) Bookkeeping note: I don’t think I have any particular favourite in these two breweries, and would have to go to my records to determine whether I actually have a historical preference for one or the other. However, in order to avoid any possibility of bias, I made my notes referring to the two simply as “LEFT” (in the ribbed IPA glass) and “RIGHT” (in the smooth one). I looked at the labels only after the fact, to determine which was which. Turns out, “LEFT” is Cabin’s version, and “RIGHT” is 88’s.
The collaboration claims to use the same recipe at both breweries, but I don’t know whether that includes hop ratios or choice of yeast. The commercial description I can find seem to indicate both versions are hopped with Galaxy, Vic Secret, Cryo Mosaic and Cryo Sabro hops. On their web site, I see that 88’s version also includes Mosaic Incognito and Sabro, but Cabin doesn’t have any brewing details so I’m not sure if theirs does as well. Both get less fruity and more dank as they warm, but RIGHT starts off just a hair danker. I’m hard-pressed to detect any other differences between the two (and that’s side-by-side – I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to just from memory or notes). Both have the clean malt base and slightly smooth body that I associate with oats, and I’m halfway convinced I can detect just a touch of wheaty tartness. Gun to my head, I like RIGHT just a little more, but the bottom line is, they’re both fun, NE-style hazy IPAs with a lot of fruit adjunct working well with the underlying hops. (Unfortunately, they’re also both guilty of the egregious sin of putting that stupid fucking song in my head.) (16/20)
