Month: March 2021

Collective Arts Brewing IPA No. 16 – American IPA at 6.3% ABV (C$5.62 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 3-Feb-2021, acquired 17-Mar-2021, reviewed 21-Mar-2021)

Appearance: hazy straw with one finger of loose white head diminishing gradually  to a thin skim, spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pithy grapefruit, cereal grains, floral, earth. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium smooth body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly spicy finish. (4/5)

Nothing really leaps out to distinguish this one from others in the series. (Not to claim any particular authority in the matter, but I think to date I’ve tried them all except 2 & 7.) Thankfully the aroma is dominated by a pleasant hop blend, with the elderflower playing a minor supporting role, preventing things from getting too perfume-like. Similarly, the taste is pleasantly balanced bitterness with appropriate supporting sweetness and a smooth body, presumably courtesy of oats in the malt bill. Easy to drink, with a middle of the road ABV that neither knocks you on your butt, nor leaves you wondering what the point was. Certainly no criticisms here, but also nothing to particularly distinguish it from a group of admittedly solid performers. (16/20)

8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Belching Beaver Brewery Deftones Ohms Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$4.90 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 5-Feb-2021, acquired 17-Mar-2021, reviewed 20-Mar-2021)

Appearance: clear straw with two fingers of loose white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, lemon zest, tropical fruit, light pine, limestone. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short duration finish. (4/5)

Maybe not the best of the… five? BB / Deftones collabs I’ve had, but certainly not the worst, either. As usual, I grooved out to the eponymous track while drinking the beer, to good effect. I was initially a little unimpressed with this one, but it sort of grew on me as things progressed. Ultimately it felt a little like a Pilsner, or maybe a Kölsch, with a limestone minerality playing counterpoint to the mild citrus and fruit. And of course, as is usually the case with less than bombastic beers, I find myself wondering if I’m underrating it because I’m just not subtle enough to appreciate more delicate flavours. Maybe it’s time to lay off the APA/IPA lines for a bit, and focus on more challenging fare… (14/20)

7/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Town Square Brewing Market Series IPA #006 – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.45 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 17-Mar-2021, reviewed 20-Mar-2021)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one finger of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, pale malt, lightly resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration bitter finish. (4/5)

Brewer notes say “Featuring a large dry hop of strata, mosaic and cascade, this IPA boasts super dank, tropical aromas and flavours of mango, guava and passionfruit.” Yeah, OK, sure. And actually, it’s not a whole lot different from previous iterations – maybe a bit more emphasis on tropical and stone fruits this time around, and not much in the way of citrus, but otherwise very much a continuation of what has proven to be a solid performer. (16/20)

8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Annex Ale Project Dimed Out – Triple IPA at 10% ABV | 133 IBU (C$5.17 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Mar-2021, acquired 17-Mar-2021, reviewed 19-Mar-2021)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with a short loose pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, resiny pine, caramel. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-full slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, slightly sticky building bitter warming finish. (4/5)

This one marks their one hundredth batch, and is hopped with Strata, Galaxy, Idaho 7, Simcoe, and HPA016. Aside from a fancy new experimental hop, this is largely a throwback to old(er)-school hop bombs, what with the “more bitter than you can actually taste” IBU rating. (I think this is my third with that experimental hop, a.k.a. “Eclipse”. The last time I had it, a week ago in Bent Stick’s Swap the Hops, I thought it was my first, but a bit more digging suggests that I actually had it back in December in Outcast’s Slay Bells Ring, but that they erroneously called it HPA-014.) Their socials post said “every Annex icon is a sticker you can throw on your growler, bike, or beer fridge. They’re damn near impossible to get off the can. But should you succeed, you will be rewarded with one of twelve Annex-style platitudes. We even threw in a little easter egg and it’s totally money.” I think the Easter egg is the fact that behind the rest of the label, other than the icon, is all dimes – totally money, geddit? My platitude behind their icon said “this might be the best we can do”. Well, OK. I mean, don’t get me wrong, this’ll do. But shouldn’t you continue to strive for better? I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed… (16/20)

8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Trolley No. 5 Brewpub Uptown Haze – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.3% ABV (C$4.50 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 17-Mar-2021, reviewed 19-Mar-2021)

Appearance: opaque pale gold with one finger of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and minimal soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, resiny pine, pale malts. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium body tending slightly thick, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration spicy dank finish. (4/5)

My beer store guy recommended this one pretty hard, ultimately saying he felt it might be the best NEIPA in the city. Given my experience with this brewer thus far, I was pretty skeptical, but I gotta say, he might be right. The usual starts-with-C suspects (Centennial, Citra, and Columbus) are rounded out by Mosaic to produce a lovely juicy, resiny, dank hop bomb that isn’t excessively bitter, yet retains a nice spicy bite in the finish. By far the best I’ve had from Trolley No. 5, and by a long shot. I mean, this is like the football team with the absolute lowest regular season record in history making a successful Superbowl run, and what are the odds of… what? Oh, right… Uhhh… Did T5 hire Tom Brady? (17/20)

8.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Brasserie Dunham Richilieu Pinball – American Pale Ale at 4.5% ABV (C$5.85 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 17-Mar-2021, reviewed 18-Mar-2021)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, resiny pine, pale malts, herbal. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry medium duration slightly resiny finish. (4/5)

I figured there had to be a story behind can art like that, and a little research revealed a story of two Montreal brothers capitalizing on a ban on the importation of arcade machines into Canada (“to conserve a dwindling US dollar supply” – you get the feeling this story could lead down any number of rabbit holes?), and fifty years later, a pinball bar (!) named in their honour: North Star. (Though, being in Montreal, one wonders how the bar can get away with that name, rather than Étoile Polaire or Étoile Du Nord or some such.) “Richelieu” was one of the two pinball machines North Star made during their brief (three year) existence. Fair enough, why not name a beer after that? The beer itself is decent, with nicely emphatic aroma and flavour despite the light ABV. (15/20)

7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Omnipollo Soluzen – American IPA at 7% ABV (C$8.95 at Collective, 330 ml, best before 14-Jul-2021, acquired 3-Mar-2021, reviewed 17-Mar-2021)

Appearance: slightly hazy straw with one finger of loose white head diminishing gradually to a persistent cap, moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical and mixed fruits, citrus, cereal grains, earthy petrichor. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

The can describes it as Idaho 7, Citra, and Mosiac IPA. So, from me, that’s yes, yes, and hell yes. It smells pretty much like you’d expect with that mix, although there’s also a not unpleasant earthy, slightly funky note in the aroma. But, to be honest, my biggest complaint here is that these little cans are a tease – it drinks very easy given its ABV. (15/20)

7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Revival Brewcade Pineapple Princess – American IPA at 6.2% ABV (C$4.85 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 3-Mar-2021, reviewed 16-Mar-2021)

Appearance: slightly hazy straw with a short, short-lived loose white head, no lacing. (2/5) Aroma: overripe tropical fruit, lactose, citrus. (5/10) Taste: high sweet, moderate-low bitter, light tart. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sticky sweet finish. (3/5)

Disappointing. I dunno whether it’s just age because BLAH BLAH BLAH DATE YOUR DAMN CANS. Bruised – verging on rotting – pineapple over top of excessively sweet lactose and a hint of citrus, cloyingly sweet. Pretty much a textbook example of how not to do a Milkshake IPA. (11/20)

5.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Omnipollo Elvis – American IPA at 7.5% ABV (C$9.10 at Collective, 330 ml, best before 19-Mar-2021, acquired 3-Mar-2021, reviewed 17-Mar-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a short, short-lived loose white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: smoke, peanut butter, lactose, vanilla, banana, bourbon. (8/10) Taste: high sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sticky sweet finish. (3/5)

So, when I hear “Elvis”, I think peanut butter banana bacon sandwiches, but that would be crazy, right? Nobody’s actually going to put that combination in… oh. “Smoked Bacon Banana Ice Cream Bourbon Peanut Butter Freakshake IPA”. OK, then. I… don’t hate it? Actually, the more I sip it, and the more it warms, the more it grows on me. It’s sweet – really sweet – but other than that, it’s actually not bad at all. Initially, smoke and peanut butter lead the way, with bourbon being a mild and late addition to the party. Eventually the peanut butter really takes over the nose, and the mouthfeel is sticky sweet all the way through, so it’s not one you’d want to drink a lot of – one was plenty. But, it’s interesting, and that counts for a lot in my world. No regrets, certainly. (14/20)

7/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Warehouse Brewing Company Anonymous Tip IPA – American IPA at 6.2% ABV | 63 IBU (C$4.45 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 11-Dec-2020, acquired 3-Mar-2021, reviewed 16-Mar-2021)

Appearance: pale amber with two fingers of fine ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: caramel, citrus, pine, rye. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, building bitter mildly warming finish. (3/5)

Really old-fashioned, with caramel vying for dominance over citrus and pine, and emphatic bitterness on the tongue. Nothing wrong with it as such, and there’s an interesting little spicy rye note that saves it from being a total snooze-fest, but really not a lot to recommend it either. All told, perhaps a bit better than just OK. (14/20)

7/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze