Month: January 2022

Cabin Brewing Company Evening Chorus – American IPA at 7% ABV (C$5.08 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 1-Dec-2021, acquired 23-Dec-2021, reviewed 5-Jan-2022)

Appearance: opaque hazy pale gold with a short fine pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical fruit, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: soft medium body, moderate carbonation, short duration finish. (4/5)

The label says this is “NZ-hopped”, and brewer notes specify Motueka, Rakau, and Nelson Sauvin hops – oh my, yes. And, yep, it delivers exactly what I’d expect for those hops: lots of brightly juicy citrus and tropical fruit notes, on a clean malt background. Also, the ABV is right about the sweet spot: above “training wheels”, but below “on your ass”. I really like this one. (16/20)

This will be my 5,176th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Annex Ale Project Armchair Anarchist – American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.1% ABV (C$5.17 at Collective, 473 ml, best before 30-Nov-2022, acquired 23-Dec-2021, reviewed 4-Jan-2022)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, sweetish medium duration warming finish. (4/5)

I never waved a black flag, but I’ve listened to Black Flag, does that count? The label says they used eight hops here, and brewer notes indicate “hops in the kettle, whirlpool, and three separate dry-hops using three different techniques: high krausen, standard dry hop, and a cold dry hop” – but nowhere can I find which hops. Clearly there’s a few of the starts-with-C usual suspects, but beyond that I’m not sure… which, I suppose, means it’s done fairly well, since nothing really stands out or dominates? I could have gone a little lower on scoring, maybe, but ultimately there’s nothing wrong with this, and although it drinks a little boozy, it’s certainly appropriate to the ABV. (16/20)

This will be my 5,175th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ale Architect Brewing Ltd. Joy Wave DDH NE DIPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.8% ABV (C$4.93 at Collective, 473 ml, best before 6-May-2022, acquired 23-Dec-2021, reviewed 2-Jan-2022)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium soft body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

The label says this is hopped with Citra, Simcoe, and El Dorado. The pleasant aroma and restrained sweetness on a clean malt background, with a medium body tending slightly soft and pillowy, make this very easy drinking despite the not-inconsiderable ABV. The only thing that’s stopping me from raving about this is the absence of any kind of resiny pine note, despite the fact that the Simcoe should have been capable of providing that, and as a result I find the character a bit less nuanced than I’d like to see. All in all, however, it’s a very respectable representation of that long string of initialisms that is the style. (16/20)

This will be my 5,174th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Field & Forge Brewing Co. Cranberry IPA – American IPA at 6.2% ABV | 50 IBU (C$3.73 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 23-Dec-2021, reviewed 1-Jan-2022)

Appearance: clear medium gold with two fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: cranberry, citrus, pine, pale crackery malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter, mild tart. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry crisp lightly tart finish. (4/5)

I previously had their Cold IPA, which was a collaboration with Blindman, and maybe my first example of the “Cold IPA” style, nominally associated with using pilsner malt and lager yeast (and no, I don’t how how that then isn’t just an India Pale Lager). This is pretty similar, with the added cranberry adjunct. The label says they use Enigma hops, but doesn’t say it’s exclusively single-hop. I was actually expecting this to be pink, especially given the amount of cranberry presence, and in fact the fruit juice presence ultimately makes this something similar to a Radler. It ends up being crisp, tart, and refreshing – I like it. (15/20)

This will be my 5,173rd unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Born Brewing Co. (Born Colorado Brewing) IPA Series 008 Rye IPA – American IPA at 6.2% ABV | 58 IBU (C$4.18 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 13-Dec-2022, acquired 23-Dec-2021, reviewed 1-Jan-2022)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of fine ivory head, excellent retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: spicy rye, resiny pine, caramel, citrus, black tea. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter, light peppery spice. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter lightly spicy finish. (4/5)

Hopped with Centennial and Citra, but the hopping doesn’t really dominate – but then again, neither does the spicy rye. It’s actually fairly well balanced in that regard, with a mild pleasant rye spice just barely edging out both the pine and citrus from hops, and a clean caramel malt. Pretty and pleasant. (15/20)

This will be my 5,172nd unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com