Month: July 2024

Anchorage Brewing Company The Trickster – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.4% ABV (C$11.65 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 28-May-2024, reviewed 14-Jun-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of pillowy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains. (7/10) Taste: high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, building bitter warming finish. (3/5)

I’m starting to sound like a broken record on the last few I’ve reviewed, but: this really didn’t impress me. I don’t know if it’s just age, but there really wasn’t much depth of flavour going on here. Not up to their usual standards. (13/20)

This will be my 5,862nd unique Untappd check-in.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Iron Hat Brewing Company Cloudy Sunset – American Pale Ale at 6% ABV (C$4.75 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 28-May-2024, reviewed 14-Jun-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a massive loose pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, grassy & herbal, stone & tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly sharp lingering herbal finish. (3/5)

New local (-ish) brewery, and a slightly less than auspicious start. In particular, the aroma isn’t bright and fruity, but instead largely dominated by a grassy herbal note that carries through into a slightly sharp finish. Not doing it for me. (13/20)

This will be my 5,861st unique Untappd check-in.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bellwoods Brewery Greenbelly – Triple IPA at 10% ABV (C$9.95 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 18-Mar-2024, acquired 28-May-2024, reviewed 13-Jun-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a short, short-lived loose pale ivory head, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: berry, grass, herbal, oats. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: creamy medium-full body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter warming finish. (4/5)

I’m always happy to see Bellwoods available locally! That being said, this isn’t great. In fact, it’s pretty darned near the bottom of my experience with this brewer – which, to be fair, makes it more “least good”, than “bad”. Specifically, the hopping is unimpressive, with limited fruit presence and a Noble-hop-like grassy herbal note. Not impressive. (14/20)

This will be my 5,860th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Equilibrium Brewery MC² – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8% ABV (C$8.75 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 2-Apr-2024, acquired 28-May-2024, reviewed 13-Jun-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, citrus, resiny pine, cereal grains. (9/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (9/10) Palate: creamy medium-full body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter warming finish. (4/5)

Very nice, if a little aggressive on the hop burn (at least initially). There’s a whole lot going on here, but I don’t mean that as a criticism: there’s a huge hop presence that I really appreciate, and a very clean malt that doesn’t intrude. In fact, I thought it would end up being too sweet, but that didn’t happen. All in all, a very nice offering that ends up being just slightly sneaky in how easy-drinking it is for the weight. (17/20)

This will be my 5,859th unique Untappd check-in.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Anchorage Brewing Company Lycanthropy – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.4% ABV (C$10.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 20-Feb-2024, acquired 28-May-2024, reviewed 12-Jun-2024)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with a short loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, minimal soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: field berries, tropical fruit, citrus. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, medium duration mildly warming finish. (4/5)

See? Another Anchorage label with a werewolf and skeleton – and this one is even named appropriately. They say this is brewed and double dry-hopped with Motueka, but doesn’t specifically say it’s single-hopped. It’s also apparently brewed with spelt, but I can’t say I’m getting any of that grain presence. The passionfruit adjunct, on the other hand, comes through loud and clear. I originally thought it was strawberry, but it gained ground throughout the pint, to the point where I, who previously thought I couldn’t identify passionfruit to save my life, clearly identified passionfruit. And it’s actually quite pleasant. It’s also dangerously drinkable given its high ABV, with only a very mild warming in the finish. (15/20)

This will be my 5,858th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Village Brewery Alter Ego – American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV | 30 IBU (C$4.72 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 29-Feb-2024, acquired 28-May-2024, reviewed 12-Jun-2024)

Appearance: hazy straw with one fat finger of loose white head, good retention and spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, slightly sharp slightly vegetal finish. (3/5)

Hopped with CTZ, Galaxy, Riwaka, and Mosaic, malted with Two-Row Alberta malted barley, flaked wheat, and flaked oats, passionfruit adjunct. It’s not bad, but the passionfruit adjunct is somewhat dominant, especially through the finish, where it seems to manifest as a slightly edgy melon rind or vegetal note. (14/20)

This will be my 5,857th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Anchorage Brewing Company Together Again – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.4% ABV (C$11.65 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 28-May-2024, reviewed 11-Jun-2024)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one fat finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, cereal grains, citrus, dank pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, warming slightly boozy lingering finish. (4/5)

Look, I have no desire to be critical of Anchorage’s label art, but let’s be honest: if you’ve had more than a couple of theirs, you’ve got a pretty good idea of what they’re going to look like. I was going to try a better perspective for my photo on this one, but then figured, why bother? It’s black ink line art and there’s a werewolf, and a skeleton with horns, just like 90% of all their other labels. NOT a criticism – I can barely deal with the Seasonal Affective Disorder of living 700 miles south of Anchorage, so if you forced me to live there I’m pretty sure I’d go full-on Doom Goth Metal too. The beer? Well, it’s not the prettiest, but it smells and tastes good and get your minds out of the gutter that’s not what I meant and the slightly boozy warming finish again not what I meant perverts is completely style-appropriate. (15/20)

This will be my 5,856th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

True North Ale Company Straight Up – American IPA at 6.4% ABV (C$9.95 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 15-Feb-2024, acquired 28-May-2024, reviewed 11-Jun-2024)

Appearance: crystal clear pale gold with two fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and spotty soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, dank resiny pine, citrus, pale biscuity malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

NO. Bad brewer, no cookie for you. “True North” is Canada, no ifs, ands or buts about it. We own that shit, just like Mounties Tim Horton’s I dunno, something we haven’t sold out. Passive aggressive apologising? British spelling? Anyway, nice beer. “Dry hopped with Mosaic, Simcoe, and Idaho 7”, comes across as strongly influenced by traditional WC IPA, with pleasantly dank and resiny notes in addition to new-school tropical. Just very slightly a letdown on the tongue and through the finish, which is why I’ve scored it just short of world-class, and not because of the sheer unadulterated hubris of the brewery name. (And there’s no way it’s worth the price tag, but that’s neither here nor there.) (15/20)

This will be my 5,855th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Equilibrium Brewery Wavelength – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$7.75 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 2-Apr-2024, acquired 28-May-2024, reviewed 11-Jun-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of loose pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruit, citrus, oats, pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: soft medium body, moderate-low carbonation, slightly sweetish medium duration finish. (3/5)

Simcoe and Mosaic in the whirlpool, Mosaic and Citra dry hop. Smells pretty decent, but the flavour is slightly sweetish, and that carries through into the finish. Not bad, but it falls short of next level. (15/20)

This will be my 5,854th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Nelson Brewing Company Cryo Pop Hazy IPA – American IPA at 6.7% ABV (C$5.00 at Econo Liquor Okotoks, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-Jun-2024, reviewed 10-Jun-2024)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, wheat and cereal grains. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium duration finish. (3/5)

No idea whether this was just an old can (DATE YOUR DAMN CANS!) or just not very well done, but what little fruit there is feels kind of bruised, and the finish is kind of flabby. (12/20)

This will be my 5,853rd unique Untappd check-in.

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com