Month: January 2024

Anchorage Brewing Company Better This Way – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.4% ABV (C$9.95 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 26-Oct-2023, acquired 28-Dec-2023, reviewed 12-Jan-2024)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: melon, tropical & stone fruit, pale malt, resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Everything here is fine, but just about every category could have been rated a point or so less. For example, the aroma is almost-but-not-quite mild, the taste is just ever-so-slightly unbalanced sweet, and the finish is almost-but-not-quite sticky. All in all, for me it’s just a little less than the sum of its parts, but realistically I can’t go any lower than this. (14/20)

This will be my 5,737th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company Sometimes Always – American IPA at 7.0% ABV (C$5.17 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 4-Dec-2023, acquired 28-Dec-2023, reviewed 11-Jan-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of fine white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, stone fruit, cereal grains, resiny pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body falling off slightly watery, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration slightly metallic finish. (3/5)

Brewer notes say this is hopped with Strata, Citra, and HBC 1019. I’m definitely starting to see more of HBC 1019, most recently just a couple of days ago in Irrational Brewing’s Turbidity, and I’m starting to think I might be on the way to a new favourite. I love the way this one smells overall, but was a bit disappointed that  it doesn’t seem to carry through the same with the flavour. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on there, other than to say that there’s an almost metallic note in the finish. Still a fine beer, but it doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of that first bright zesty aroma. (16/20)

This will be my 5,736th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Irrational Brewing Company Turbidity – American IPA at 7.0% ABV (C$5.17 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 28-Dec-2023, reviewed 9-Jan-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy well-defined lacing. (5/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, sweet cream, tropical & stone fruit, clean malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: smooth medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

The label says this is hopped with HBC 1019, Idaho 7, and Nectaron. I’ve had limited but generally good experience with 1019, and in particular found The Establishment’s Fuzzy Logic to be very good indeed. And, this one is pretty danged good as well. It’s easy to go too sweet with lactose, but this definitely strikes the right balance, resulting in a fruity creamsicle-like character rather than an overly sweet one. Combine that with a clean malt and you’ve got a winner in my book. (16/20)

This will be my 5,735th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery Meep Morp – American IPA at 6.7% ABV (C$5.08 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 7-Nov-2024, acquired 28-Dec-2023, reviewed 8-Jan-2024)

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

Hopped with Ekuanot Cryo-Hops, Idaho 7, El Dorado, Citra, Mosaic, and Incognito; dry-hopped with El Dorado, Mosaic, and Citra. For all those hops, it’s still not all that punchy in aroma or flavour. What there is of it is fine, but I’d like a bit more bombast, especially given the ABV. I definitely have a soft spot for one of my first ever craft breweries, but this is good, not great. (15/20)

This will be my 5,733rd unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Born Brewing Co. Stargaze – American IPA at 6.7% ABV (C$5.15 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 24-Oct-2023, acquired 28-Dec-2023, reviewed 8-Jan-2024)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fingers of fine white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: red berries, melon, tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild tart. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration slightly tart finish. (4/5)

Label says “with guava” and the web site refers to Mosaic and El Dorado hops (but doesn’t specify that those are the only hops). No hint of pink in the pour, but loads of pink sediment/residue when I rinsed my can. (Yes, I rinse my cans, don’t you? I don’t like the smell of stale beer, sue me.) Obviously the dominant character here is guava, but I probably never would have identified that beyond the description I’ve given, of berries, melon, and tropical fruit. I mean, the aroma and flavour are sort of interesting, sure, but I’ve got to moderate my scoring just a little because there’s very little going on other than the fruit adjunct. (15/20)

This will be my 5,734th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Tripping Animals Brewing Ever Haze – American IPA at 7% ABV (C$10.25 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 7-Sep-2023, acquired 28-Dec-2023, reviewed 6-Jan-2024)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one fat finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a persistent cap, spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, pine, cereal grains, tropical fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: smooth medium-full body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Never heard of this brewer, but this is a very solid effort. A pretty dead-nuts-on modern hazy IPA interpretation – it doesn’t actually stand out, as such, but it very much does the job right. I approve. (16/20)

This will be my 5,732nd unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Evil Twin Brewing / Other Half Brewing Co. Crème de la Crème de la Crème – Triple IPA at 10% ABV (C$11.65 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 21-Sep-2023, acquired 28-Dec-2023, reviewed 5-Jan-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with one fat finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin persistent cap, spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: melon, citrus, tropical fruit, oats. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: smooth medium-full body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Hopped with Citra, Citra Cryo, Mosaic, Mosaic Cryo, and Galaxy. Surprisingly mild for both the triple dry-hopping and the high ABV – and not in an entirely good way. It’s good, yeah, but I’d like more bombast here. (15/20)

This will be my 5,731st unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company Classic Cut – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$6.95 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 5-Oct-2023, acquired 28-Dec-2023, reviewed 5-Jan-2024)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: caramel, citrus, pine, floral, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

I mean, I’d criticize this for being old-fashioned, but they basically straight-up say their intent was to create a classic IPA, and this is that. It would have been a great beer a decade or two ago, so well done? I guess? Still, pretty hard to get excited about it… (15/20)

This will be my 5,730th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Anchorage Brewing Company It’s OK, I’m Here – American IPA at 6% ABV (C$9.85 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 5-Oct-2023, acquired 28-Dec-2023, reviewed 4-Jan-2024)

Appearance: hazy straw with one finger of fine white head, good retention and spotty soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: white grapes, tropical & stone fruit, citrus, dank pine, cereal grains. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

“Fermented with Omega Yeast’s thiol boosting Cosmic Punch Yeast. DDH with  thiol boosting Phantasm powder, Nelson Sauvin and Mosaic Hops” Booyah! That’s how you do, baby! I’m all about the thiols and this is massively aromatic, with pretty much a full gamut of vinous and fruit notes, as well as pine that gets progressively danker as it warms. There’s a little clean cereal grain character there, but it’s very much in a supporting role, as this is all about the hops. Well, that and the grapes – I love how Phantasm works with Nelson Sauvin hops. This is a master class in how to do modern hops. Plus, that’s a very cheerful-looking skeleton, so I’m sure it’ll all be OK. (17/20)

This will be my 5,729th unique Untappd check-in.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

S.Y.C. Brewing Co. Thank You – American IPA at 6% ABV (C$5.13 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 13-Dec-2023, acquired 28-Dec-2023, reviewed 3-Jan-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of creamy white head, good retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: mild, tropical fruit, pale malt, light pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, dry medium duration sharply astringent finish. (3/5)

Brewer notes refer to a “generous dose of Galaxy hops” but don’t actually say it’s single-hopped. They also don’t actually say they used champagne yeast, but they call it a “Champagne IPA”, so, I dunno, you tell me. I see what they were going for here, but I’m not convinced it entirely worked. In particular, the dry finish is accompanied by a fair amount of astringency, which I consider a negative. In my opinion, it’s right around or a little below average for this brewery (for n=33, μ=7.5 & σ=0.52). (14/20)

This will be my 5,728th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com