Hoyne Brewing Co. Carte Blanche – White IPA at 6% ABV (C$4.65 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 17-Mar-2021, reviewed 23-Mar-2021)
Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of pillowy pale ivory head, excellent retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: complex, Belgian esters, lime, green pepper, melon, herbal, white pepper. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild peppery spice. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration lightly spicy finish. (4/5)
It’s been a while since I had a Belgian White, and even longer since I had a really good one. This… is a pretty good one. It’s not really “authentic”, whatever that word means, not least of which due to the hopping with Cashmere and Ekuanot(/Equinox/HBC 366), but the German wheat malt is on-spec, as is the Belgian yeast. (I also really like the “young lions” concept – train ‘em up and turn ‘em loose is definitely my philosophy when it comes to the whippersnappers.) There are at least a couple of reasons I might be over-rating this one, including the fact that I miss Belgium (Hell, travelling in general!) like a motherfucker, but also because I might have been overdoing the AIPA/NEIPA range of the spectrum for the past few months (comfort beer?) and need to move on to other things – but even if I am being generous it’s not by a whole lot. (16/20)
8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze
