Month: November 2024

The Establishment Brewing Company Middle Child – Amber Lager/Vienna at 4.6% ABV (C$4.90 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 7-Aug-2024, acquired 9-Oct-2024, reviewed 19-Oct-2024)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one finger of fluffy pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, minimal spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: caramel, bready malt, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, short duration finish. (4/5)

Look, I know that I’m a complete sucker for a hop bomb, and that my ability to appreciate anything less is probably deeply questionable. But the brewer – who, by the way, is absolutely one of my favourites in the world – said they “pumped up the hop aromatics” on this one. And I’m not criticizing this – it’s a lovely little Czech Amber. But it’s not hoppy! (15/20)

This will be my 5,981st unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Cabin Brewing Company / Parkside Brewery Super Dreamy – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.3% ABV (C$6.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 20-Sep-2024, acquired 9-Oct-2024, reviewed 19-Oct-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a large fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, citrus zest, herbal/green tea, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, short duration slightly edgy finish. (4/5)

A collaboration between Cabin and Parkside, mashing up Super Saturation and Dreamboat, hopped with Centennial, Elani and Nectaron. Super Saturation was the first of Cabin’s offering I ever tried, about a month after they opened, and at the time I would have liked it to be a little more boozy and/or less sweet. I found Dreamboat tended slightly thin and astringent. This largely fixes my issues with both, but there’s still a little bit more of an edge than I prefer for an NE (or even DNE) style. My scoring here is therefore just slightly grudging, because I could maybe have gone half a point less on both flavour and palate, but ultimately this really is better than the sum of its parts, and better than its progenitors. (16/20)

This will be my 5,980th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Tired Hands Brewing Company Double Alien Church – American Double / Imperial IPA at 9% ABV (C$13.85 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 15-Jul-2024, acquired 9-Oct-2024, reviewed 17-Oct-2024)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one finger of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruit, dank pine, citrus, cereal grains. (9/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, sweetish warming finish. (4/5)

As far as I can tell, this is a fairly straightforward doubling of the base version, with the same hopping: brewed with Cascade and Columbus, dry-hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and Chinook. A little hop-burny, with a moderate sustained warming through the finish. Different than the DDH version, but similarly better than the base version. (16/20)

This will be my 5,979th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Tired Hands Brewing Company DDH Alien Church – American IPA at 7.0% ABV (C$13.85 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 26-Jul-2024, acquired 9-Oct-2024, reviewed 17-Oct-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, stone & tropical fruit, cereal grains, dank pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Brewed with Cascade and Columbus, dry-hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and Chinook, secondary dry-hopped with Citra and Galaxy. Quite a bit better than the base version. It’s only about three weeks younger, so I’m not sure that’s the deciding factor here, or whether it’s the hopping. I lean towards it being the hopping, actually, because there’s still a little edge (though not as pronounced) on the tongue and through the finish. Again, probably not worth the price tag, but pretty great. (16/20)

This will be my 5,978th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Tired Hands Brewing Company Alien Church – American IPA at 7.0% ABV (C$12.85 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Jul-2024, acquired 9-Oct-2024, reviewed 17-Oct-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a massive fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, cereal grains, dank pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Brewed with Cascade and Columbus, dry-hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and Chinook. It’s probably a little too long in the can for a fair assessment, but hell with it – if you’re going to ship it and shelf it, I’m going to review it as it is. The aroma is decent, but not quite as bright as I’d like it to be. The taste and finish have a little sharpness throughout – not enough to call astringency, but enough that it’s not entirely smooth. So, pick your poison and knock a point off the taste or palate, but either way it’s just a little short of great. (And certainly not worth the price tag, given the number of fresh local options that are better for less money, but that’s always the risk you run when dealing with imports, right?) (15/20)

This will be my 5,977th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Refined Fool Brewing Co. Hazy Roy A Hazy Boy – American IPA at 6% ABV | 30 IBU (C$5.31 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 16-Sep-2024, acquired 9-Oct-2024, reviewed 14-Oct-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: field berries, coconut, bready malt, citrus, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

I mean, it’s not bad, but it certainly doesn’t live up to the brewer’s hype. The aroma is decently complex, but nowhere near as juicy as I was hoping for. Very much a middle of the pack offering in a very crowded field. (14/20)

This will be my 5,975th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Outer Range Brewing Co. Alpine Dreams – American IPA at 6.6% ABV (C$8.15 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 31-May-2024, acquired 9-Oct-2024, reviewed 14-Oct-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: melon, gooseberry, cereal grains, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Hopped with Citra Cryo, Nelson, hop terpenes. I suspect a little too long in the can, as it’s not as bright as I’d like or expect given the hopping. Good, not great, and certainly hard to justify the price. (15/20)

This will be my 5,974th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Born Brewing Co. (Born Colorado Brewing) Park Pass 003 – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.50 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 9-Oct-2024, reviewed 14-Oct-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a persistent cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: field berries, cereal grains, light dank resin, hint of mint. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry slightly sharp finish. (3/5)

Dry hopped, but I don’t think single-hopped, with Idaho Gem. The aroma is not exactly typical for the style, with more berries and mint than the normal citrus or tropical notes. I waffled a little on scoring aroma and flavour, but ultimately decided that this different character is really neither bad nor good – just different. That said, it ends just a little sharp so ultimately falls just a little short for me.(15/20)

This will be my 5,973rd unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Irrational Brewing Company Exp. Krush DDH Hazy IPA – American IPA at 6.0% ABV (C$5.31 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 9-Oct-2024, reviewed 14-Oct-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: sweet tropical and stone fruit, cereal grains, light dank resin. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Looks to be single-hopped with Krush, formerly experimental HBC-586. The brewer calls it their favourite hop, but my experience with it seems to have been a bit hit and miss. This one, however, is removing all uncertainty regarding its qualifications, and is pretty emphatically the best implementation of the hop I’ve encountered to date. Quite nice. (16/20)

This will be my 5,972nd unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bellwoods Brewery / Eighty-Eight Brewing Co. Pool Shark – American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.1% ABV (C$6.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 26-Sep-2024, acquired 9-Oct-2024, reviewed 13-Oct-2024)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one fat finger of fine pale ivory head, good retention and  heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains, resiny pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry mildly warming finish. (4/5)

The Eighty Eight version of the collaboration with Bellwoods. The ABV is a fair bit higher in this one – thus the warming – though they’re otherwise pretty similar. Which is to say, damn fine. No notes. Go get one. (17/20)

This will be my 5,971st unique Untappd check-in.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com