Categories
Reviews

Hop Butcher For The World Lord Octopus – American Double/Imperial IPA at 7.5% ABV

Hop Butcher For The World Lord Octopus – American Double/Imperial IPA at 7.5% ABV (C$10.25 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2024, reviewed 21-May-2024)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: overripe tropical & stone fruit, floral, caramel, citrus, vegetal. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate-soft carbonation, short clean finish. (4/5)

Hopped with Mosaic and Mosaic Cryo. A bit thick and overdone, with fruit notes that come across as overripe and floral, with vegetal hints. It’s hard to put my finger on precisely how this falls short, but it’s just not a complete success for me, and leaves me wondering if Mosaic single-hop might be prone to this issue. A quick search suggests I’ve encountered similar overripeness in at least one other single-hop Mosaic (Field House’s Cryo Pop Mosaic DIPA) but also a couple better (Collective Arts’ Mosaic Four Ways and Eighty-Eight’s Power Wheels) so I’m not sure. (15/20)

This will be my 5,832nd unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Categories
Reviews

Tool Shed Brewing Company Golden Hour – American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV

Tool Shed Brewing Company Golden Hour – American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$4.72 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2024, reviewed 21-May-2024)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, citrus, cereal grains. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, short clean finish. (4/5)

Started off quite juicy, to the point where I initially wondered if there was a fruit juice adjunct. There was an initial intense pineapple note that I quite liked, and that continued retronasally throughout. Ultimately, though, it just ended up being a little bit thin, coming across a little bit like a watered-down IPA. Good, but not great. (15/20)

This will be my 5,831st unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Categories
Reviews

Refined Fool Brewing Co. Snakebite City – American IPA at 7.5% ABV

Refined Fool Brewing Co. Snakebite City – American IPA at 7.5% ABV (C$5.26 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 19-Mar-2024, acquired 7-May-2024, reviewed 18-May-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with one fat finger of creamy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: strawberry/kiwi, tropical fruit, melon, light vegetal. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, short clean finish. (4/5)

I don’t know if I’ve ever had a prickly pear, so although that’s presumably the adjunct origin of the fruit juice aromas I’m getting, I can’t directly speak to it. All I can say is, it’s bright, tart, and flavourful, and reminds me of strawberry and/or kiwi with tropical and melon notes with a little not-unpleasantly vegetal underpinning reminiscent of melon rind. Despite the intense fruit character, it’s not overly sweet, and finishes pretty short and clean. Don’t get me wrong: there’s absolutely nothing sophisticated or complex here beyond the fruit adjunct, but it’s a heckuva lotta fun. (15/20)

This will be my 5,830th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Categories
Reviews

Hop Butcher For The World Wooden Alley – American IPA at 6.5% ABV

Hop Butcher For The World Wooden Alley – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$10.95 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2024, reviewed 18-May-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruits, citrus.  (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium bitter mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Hopped with Mosaic, El Dorado, and Riwaka. Can’t say I’m particularly thrilled by this one – lots of reviews call it “dank” but for me tends to be a bit more “bruised”. Not a lot, and it’s certainly not offensive, but it stops it from being a complete success for me. (15/20)

This will be my 5,829th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Categories
Reviews

Refined Fool Brewing Co. Todd Is An Absolute Beauty – American Pale Ale at 5% ABV

Refined Fool Brewing Co. Todd Is An Absolute Beauty – American Pale Ale at 5% ABV (C$4.72 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 5-Apr-2024, acquired 7-May-2024, reviewed 17-May-2024)

Appearance: hazy straw with two fat fingers of growing fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, floral, cereal grains, citrus.  (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: smooth medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium bitter mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Wait, I thought Todd was an Axe Man? Different Todd, maybe… Brewed with Ekuanot and Talus, dry hopped with Idaho Gem. I might be somewhat enthusiastic in my scoring here since it could probably pop a little more, but there’s really nothing negative to say here. (16/20)

This will be my 5,828th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Categories
Reviews

Hop Butcher For The World Riwakamania VIII – American IPA at 6.5% ABV

Hop Butcher For The World Riwakamania VIII – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$10.90 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2024, reviewed 17-May-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of growing fine pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, dank pine, citrus, cereal grains and caramel, earth. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: smooth medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium bitter mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Hopped with Motueka and Riwaka. Juicy tropical fruit decently balanced against dank pine and citrus, on a caramel-tending malt base. I often prefer this style when the malt doesn’t really make itself known, but in this case there’s a nice mellowness imparted by the caramel, that fits well with the mild warming without detracting from the hop notes. Very nice. (16/20)

This will be my 5,827th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Categories
Reviews

Born Brewing Co. (Born Colorado Brewing) Lap Six Anniversary Hazy IPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.0% ABV

Born Brewing Co. (Born Colorado Brewing) Lap Six Anniversary Hazy IPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.0% ABV (C$4.95 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2024, reviewed 16-May-2024)

Appearance: slightly hazy straw with two fat fingers of growing fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: slightly mild, tropical fruit, melon, hint of cannabis. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, medium bitter mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Light and easy-drinking, probably too much so for the style. That is, both the aroma and flavour were surprisingly light, and the malt bill could probably have supported a more bombastic approach. It’s fine, but not next level. (15/20)

This will be my 5,826th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Categories
Reviews

Manual Labour Beer Co. Second Opinion – American IPA at 4.9% ABV

Manual Labour Beer Co. Second Opinion – American IPA at 4.9% ABV (C$4.72 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2024, reviewed 16-May-2024)

Appearance: clear pale straw with two fat fingers of growing fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, stone fruit, citrus, pale crackery malt, retronasal coconut & grass. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: light body, lively carbonation, short medium bitter finish. (4/5)

Pilsner malt, hopped with Amarillo, Galaxy, and Sorachi Ace. This one’s a bit of an odd duck and hard to nail down. Initially, I got pretty big coconut notes, albeit only retronasally, to the point that I figured it had to be hopped with Sabro. (Turns out I was wrong there.) That faded fairly quickly though, and turned into a sort of grassy finish, and the aromas were quite mild overall. On the up side, although Sorachi Ace is not a particularly pleasant hop in my experience – I generally find it a bit dill-forward – no such negative notes were present here. The overall character was quite mild and not all that engaging. (13/20)

This will be my 5,825th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Categories
Reviews

Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery Paradise Delight – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.3% ABV | 35 IBU

Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery Paradise Delight – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.3% ABV | 35 IBU (C$5.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 28-Mar-2024, acquired 7-May-2024, reviewed 15-May-2024)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of growing fluffy white head, good retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: coconut, lemon, hints of vanilla and cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, moderate-low tart. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, short mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Malts are Pale Malt (2-Row), Pale Ale Malt, and Oat Malt. Hops are Cashmere and Idaho 7, dry-hopped with Sabro, Cashmere, and El Dorado. Coconut purée and lemon peel adjuncts. “Coconut Lemon Chiffon DIPA” Not gonna lie, this sounds like a kitchen sink kinda deal, but I’ve always had a great deal of respect for this brewery, so I’m willing to give it a fair shake. And I like it. This could have gone very very wrong and been a sweet mess, but in fact it’s surprisingly restrained on the palate despite the bombastic coconut aroma. It definitely succeeds in coming across as a not-too-sweet dessert cake, but in liquid form that makes you go a little cross-eyed. I’m probably rating this a touch high, but it’s just such goofy good fun that I’m OK with that. (16/20)

This will be my 5,824th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Categories
Reviews

Irrational Brewing Company Autonomic Mind – Saison at 6.5% ABV

Irrational Brewing Company Autonomic Mind – Saison at 6.5% ABV (C$5.04 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2024, reviewed 15-May-2024)

Appearance: clear straw with a short, short-lived loose white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pineapple, peppercorns. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, short mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Look, I like strong beer as much as the next guy – hell, probably more than most – but with very few exceptions, that’s not a characteristic of a good Saison. With this style, I’m looking for light, crisp, dry and refreshing. And yes, a low ABV is part of that. And while this one isn’t overly aggressive, it’s still largely lacking the earthy complexity that makes the style shine. In fact, the use of pineapple and peppercorn adjuncts here, instead of boosting the natural flavours, overwhelms them with the simplistic analogs. It’s not unlike comparing a Kettle Sour to a true Wild: yes, they’re both sour, but the former’s a kazoo and the latter’s a philharmonic. A Saison might not have the depth of character of a Wild, but it should be similar – and this isn’t, not very. (14/20)

This will be my 5,823rd unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com