Month: October 2021

Superflux Beer Company Jellystone – American IPA at 6% ABV (C$5.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 19-Aug-2021, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 12-Oct-2021)

Appearance: hazy near-opaque straw with one finger of fine pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dank & zesty citrus, pale biscuity malt, faint pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, dry crisp finish. (4/5)

Now that’s the way I like it! Citrus leads the way here, roughly equal parts zesty, dank, and bright. Very aromatic and flavourful, with an emphatic hop punch, but restrained bitterness and a lean malt bill. As usual, Superflux nails it. (For an admittedly small n=6, the performance is an impressive μ=8.3 & σ=0.27. They just don’t know how to do a bad beer.) (15/20)

This will be my 5,085th unique Untappd check-in.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Newburgh Brewing Company Gigaboss – American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.0% ABV (C$8.90 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 11-Oct-2021)

Appearance: clear medium gold with one finger of fine pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: boozy tropical fruit, citrus, biscuity malt, melon, herbal. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-full slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, sweetish building lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Brewer notes say “loaded with American hops, but we […] added some English hops too” without giving specifics. And that’s what I’m getting form the aroma and flavour: non-specific hoppiness, with a lean towards the Noble/English style, and significant malt presence. Not bad, but not great. (15/20)

This will be my 5,084th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Born Colorado Brewing Racing Moose – American Pale Ale at 5.6% ABV | 15 IBU (C$4.05 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 20-Sep-2021, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 11-Oct-2021)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one finger of fine pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, dank resiny pine, caramel, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, medium duration mild bitter finish. (4/5)

Hopped with Centennial, Cascade, and Simcoe, and it’s very bit as traditional as that would imply. My only real complaint here is that I’m finding the aroma to be a bit on the mild side – maybe not boring, as such, but not far off that, either – and a bit more malt-heavy than I’d prefer. I acknowledge that’s a personal preference, and that not everyone wants a hop bomb… but I do. A very straightforward and well-executed beer that’s just not all that interesting. (15/20)

This will be my 5,083rd unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Common Roots Brewing Company Original Concept New England India Pale Ale – American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$8.80 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 29-Jul-2021, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 10-Oct-2021)

Appearance: hazy near-opaque straw with one fat finger of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dank resiny pine, grass, melon, citrus, floral. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: smooth medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Double dry-hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado. Excellent complex juicy dank aroma. Nice one. (16/20)

This will be my 5,082nd unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

High River Brewing Co. Cruis’n High River West Coast IPA – American IPA at 7.0% ABV | 90 IBU (C$3.91 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 10-Oct-2021)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: caramel, resiny pine, citrus, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering building bitter finish. (4/5)

Old-school WCIPA, but a bit too malt-dominant for my preference. There’s resiny pine, sure, and citrus, but they’re behind the caramel malt. Very pretty, though, and structurally decent. (15/20)

This will be my 5,081st unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Fremont Brewing Head Full of Dynomite Hazy IPA – American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$5.98 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 16-Aug-2021, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 8-Oct-2021)

Appearance: hazy near-opaque medium gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, citrus, cereal grains, hint of pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body tending slightly thin, moderate carbonation, mild bitter finish. (3/5)

Brewer notes for HFOD v.31 indicate 2-Row Pale, Rolled Oats, Flaked Wheat, and Vienna malts; Strata, Simcoe, El Dorado, Citra Cryo, Talus, and Ekuanot hops; and an IBU of “ACT” (“a crap ton”). Quite pleasant juicy aroma and flavour, but the body, which starts off medium and slightly creamy, drops off a little thin as the pint progresses. Good, but it could have been better. (15/20)

This will be my 5,080th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Omnipollo Stars Azacca Citra Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$5.95 at Collective, 330 ml, best before 2-Feb-2022, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 8-Oct-2021)

Appearance: hazy straw with one finger of fluffy white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim and ring, moderate droopy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, caramel, tropical fruit, green & cooked vegetables. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, short duration finish. (3/5)

Shocker, brewer notes say this is hopped with Azacca and Citra. Initially, the aroma reflected this, with a bright zesty citrus dominating. However, that faded relatively quickly, with caramel becoming more emphatic, and a vegetal note growing towards the end of the glass. Still fairly easy-drinking, but not one of Omnipollo’s better efforts. (14/20)

This will be my 5,079th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Endeavour Brewing Company End of Trail – American Pale Ale at 5.0% ABV | 47 IBU (C$3.91 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 7-Oct-2021)

Appearance: clear deep gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: grass, caramel, citrus, earth. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, moderate duration bitter finish. (4/5)

Not my first encounter with the first Canadian proprietary hop, Sasquatch, and I remain, shall we say, less than impressed? As I’ve noted before, to me this hop is more Noble in character, than it is bright and fruity American-style. The name and back story (they hiked a trail that just ended for no reason, “not every hike is a great one”) is perhaps a bit on the nose, since it perhaps embodies a similar lesson here: not every hop is a great one. Perfectly serviceable, pretty and well-made, but ultimately the hop selection just isn’t that interesting. (14/20)

This will be my 5,078th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Eighty-Eight Brewing Danger Zone – American IPA at 7.5% ABV | 68 IBU (C$4.72 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 29-Sep-2021, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 6-Oct-2021)

Appearance: clear pale gold with three fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: resiny pine, citrus, tropical fruit, caramel, herbal/pepper. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, building bitter slightly boozy finish. (4/5)

The labels says “Centennial + Azacca Hop Hash w/ Pacific Jade”, and the brewer web site gives a little more detail with the “malt bill consisting of Pilsner, Munich, and Caramel Steam.” Despite the “hop hash” approach being new, in the sense of really ramping up the lupulin extraction, this is largely an old-school WC DIPA, with emphatic hop presence built on a clean caramel base. To the extent it’s any different than the older generation of WC DIPAs, it’s in the bitterness being somewhat restrained for the hop presence. (16/20)

This will be my 5,077th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Île Sauvage Brewing Azacca Dry-Hopped Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5.8% ABV (C$4.90 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 5-Oct-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a massive unruly loose pale amber head, good retention and heavy soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus zest, herbal & wild funk, bready yeast, stone fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, light funky tart. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, dry mild bitter slightly astringent finish. (4/5)

Definite indications of Wild / Kveik brewing here, starting with the unruly head rendering this nearly unpourable, and carrying through into the aroma and slightly astringent finish. Not being told this was a kveik, I initially thought there was some sort of Brett-like infection going on. Then I dug a little, and re-evaluated. Still, the overall structure feels a bit haphazard, rather than having a clear focus – bottom line, if it’s going to be a Wild or a Kviek, then roll with that, instead of calling it an Azacca dry-hopped Pale. I mean, yes, fine, it’s not wrong, but maybe use “wild” or “kveik” on the label to give the drinker a heads up? Not bad overall, but lacking focus. (14/20)

This will be my 5,076th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com