Month: March 2022

Four Winds Brewing Co. Extralux – American IPA at 5.8% ABV | 50 IBU (C$4.95 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 16-Dec-2021, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 27-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of creamy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bright citrus, melon, stone fruit, pale malt, vinous grapes. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, short duration finish. (4/5)

Lovely bright aromas upon opening, despite the fact that it’s probably been in the can too long. Quite nice one. (16/20)

This will be my 5,207th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Vancouver Island Brewing Deep Sea IPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8% ABV (C$4.45 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 14-Nov-2021, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 27-Feb-2022)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fat fingers of rocky ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: caramel, earthy pine, citrus, light tropical & stone fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, sweetish lingering bitter mildly warming finish. (3/5)

Brewer’s notes describe this as being “juicy and tropical”, but it very much isn’t. Caramel malt dominates a throwback West Coast earthy pine and citrus, with some lesser fruit aromas behind. On the tongue, it’s as sweet as you’d expect from the aroma, and that sweetness remains through the bitter finish. I remember when pretty much all DIPAs were like this. It’s… fine… I guess? (14/20)

This will be my 5,206th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Category 12 Brewing Multiverse – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.9% ABV | 40 IBU (C$5.17 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 23-Nov-2021, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 26-Feb-2022)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy tropical fruit, citrus, bready yeast, mildly boozy. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-full body, lively carbonation, lingering sweetish mildly warming finish. (3/5)

Hopped with Simcoe and Citra, brewed with a “new top-secret yeast strain”. I actually got an initial note of bready yeast, but that faded rapidly to leave behind a sweet pineapple and slightly boozy citrus. There’s a bit of nectar sweetness throughout that’s not entirely offset by the fairly lively carbonation, resulting in a slightly sticky mildly warming finish. This might’ve been brighter when fresh, but I can’t see that changing the body or finish a whole lot, so my guess is I wouldn’t have scored it much differently. (14/20)

This will be my 5,205th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Old Yale Brewing Co. / Neighbourhood Brewing Kviek Hazy – American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV | 30 IBU (C$4.14 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 25-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy straw with two fat fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, barnyard funk, citrus, cereal grains, light coconut. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Hopped with Strata, Mosaic, and Sabro. I’m not sure I’m entirely sold on how the hop selection works with the funky barnyardy notes of the Kviek yeast. (13/20)

This will be my 5,204th unique Untappd check-in.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Burdock Brewing Small Hoppy Beer Tiny IPA – American IPA at 2.9% ABV (C$5.04 at Collective, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 24-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with two fingers of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: bright citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt, hint of pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, short slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Hopped with Simcoe and Idaho-7, brewed with Escarpment Hydra. It certainly ticks all the boxes as far as the label description goes: it is indeed small and hoppy. The hopping is quite nice, with bright fruity notes of lemon and candied pineapples. Unfortunately, it’s also quite small, to the point where it ends up being a bit astringent in the finish. Not without its charms, but not quite as nice as the aroma first promises, and not one I’d necessarily want again. (13/20)

This will be my 5,203rd unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Zero Issue Brewing Mycelium (Issue #61) – American IPA at 6% ABV (C$4.50 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 17-Feb-2022, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 23-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of fine pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, citrus, pale malt, hint of pine. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

I don’t usually have a lot to say about beer names these days, because to be honest it’s generally a load of nonsense, but I have to say: naming a beer after fungus is just off-puttingly wrong. No date stamp, but it was only announced on February 17, so it can’t be much older than that. Definitely not offensive, but a little disappointing: the aroma is relatively mild, and there isn’t a lot of the citrus and pine the brewer notes promise. In fact, they call it a “classic West Coast style IPA”, which it, well, isn’t. Not even close. If it were another brewery, I might shrug and move on, but my experience with this brewer (for n=24, μ=7.4 & σ=0.5) had me expecting better. Just OK – and if I were actually scoring it as a WCIPA, it would score quite a bit lower. (14/20)

This will be my 5,202nd unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Long Hop Brewing Co. Tropical Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5.2% ABV | 37 IBU (C$4.05 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 11-Dec-2021, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 22-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fingers of fine pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Not a lot to say here – not a lot of flavour intensity, and a slightly astringent finish despite the body not being particularly thin. A bit boring, in fact. (14/20)

This will be my 5,201st unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Revival Brewcade Invader – American Pale Wheat Ale at 4.5% ABV (C$3.60 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 22-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy straw with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: wheat and cereal grains, lemony citrus, hint of grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, short finish. (4/5)

I quite like this. Yes, it’s definitely a wheat ale, and yes, it’s definitely hopped, but neither aspect really exerts dominance. Instead, it nicely balances elements of each (and somewhat surprisingly, there are no Hefe-like banana notes). Maybe one of the better examples of Mandarina Bavaria hopping I’ve encountered, possibly because it’s bolstered with Citra. Pleasant and easy to drink, flavourful despite the low ABV and lean malt bill, and not too sweet. (16/20)

This will be my 5,200th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com