Month: July 2025

Hard Knox Brewery Broken Compass – American IPA at 6.3% ABV (C$4.40 at Hard Knox Brewery, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 30-Jul-2025, reviewed 30-Jul-2025)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one fat finger of fine white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, white wine, . (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (3/5)

Fairly unremarkable. Just OK. (14/20)

This will be my 6,169th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Hard Knox Brewery Root Bear – Brown Ale at 5.6% ABV (C$4.40 at Hard Knox Brewery, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 30-Jul-2025, reviewed 30-Jul-2025)

Appearance: clear deep cola red with one fat finger of fine beige head diminishing gradually to a thin ring and cap, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: sarsaparilla, vanilla, toasted bread, molasses. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (3/5)

This is a little weird, combining aspects of root beer and porter, but I don’t hate it. I particularly like the fact that it doesn’t taste as sweet as the aroma threatens, and it’s nothing like those ghastly sweet hard root beers. (13/20)

This will be my 6,167th unique Untappd check-in.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Hard Knox Brewery Wildlands – Session IPA at 4.7% ABV (C$4.40 at Hard Knox Brewery, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 30-Jul-2025, reviewed 30-Jul-2025)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one fat finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, pine, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

Not bad. I flip-flopped a little on scoring, and initially went slightly lower, largely because of the slightly unbalanced bitterness through the finish. Not that I’ve got a problem with hoppy bitterness as such, just that it’s not completely in-spec. But, I got a little more forgiving as the pint progressed, and ultimately decided it was passable. (14/20)

This will be my 6,167th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Slow Hand Beer Co. Unamerican Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$5.90 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 24-Jul-2025, reviewed 29-Jul-2025)

Appearance: clear pale gold with a fat finger of pillowy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: mild, grass, white wine, stone fruit. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

The label calls out Riwaka and Rakau, along with 100% Canadian malts. And, yeah, I totally bought this because of the label. (Most days I’m only a keffiyeh and an AK away from chanting “Death to America” in the streets.) And I’m a big fan of ANZ hops, so I had high hopes here. I’ll cut straight to the chase: it doesn’t deliver. The aroma is relatively mild and grass dominated, with very little of the bright vinous notes I expect, and the flavour runs slightly unbalanced bitter and sharp through the finish. Merely OK. (14/20)

This will be my 6,165th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Backcountry Brewing They’re Digging In The Wrong Place – American IPA at 6.4% ABV | 30 (C$7.45 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 24-Jul-2025, reviewed 29-Jul-2025)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a short, short-lived off-white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, dank resin, tropical fruit, cereal grains, faint coconut. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: smooth medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

“Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Sabro”. Very pleasant aroma and flavour, despite being not all that pretty. Slightly sweeter than I’d prefer but still pretty good. (15/20)

This will be my 6,164th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Folding Mountain Brewing Collab Series: Summer Collective IPA #8 – American IPA at 6% ABV | 75 IBU (C$5.85 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Jul-2025, acquired 24-Jul-2025, reviewed 28-Jul-2025)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with one fat finger of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains, light herbal. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, lingering building bitter warming finish. (3/5)

Slightly aggressive and edgy, combining some facets of the West Coast and Hazy styles. It doesn’t completely work, and in particular I find the lingering bitterness emphasizes the herbal, almost liquorice-like note through the finish. It’s not unpleasant, as such, just maybe not entirely completely balanced. (14/20)

This will be my 6,163rd unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Eighty-Eight Brewing SPF 88 – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$6.30 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 18-Jun-2025, acquired 24-Jul-2025, reviewed 28-Jul-2025)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, coconut, citrus. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly edgy finish. (3/5)

“HBC 1019 and Sabro hops”. Sabro is of course going to tend to give that coconut character, but once or twice I’ve noted 1019 being associated with coconut when no Sabro was present, so perhaps we’re getting a double whammy. I’ve also previously noted an almost-metallic finish with 1019, and that’s not far off what I’m getting here: nothing excessive, just a little edge that detracts slightly from the overall finish. (15/20)

This will be my 6,162nd unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company Echo Beach – American Pale Ale at 5.0% ABV (C$5.15 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 20-May-2025, acquired 24-Jul-2025, reviewed 27-Jul-2025)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one finger of fine white head, good retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, citrus pith, faint pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly sharp finish. (3/5)

Pleasant enough, I suppose, but milder than I prefer, particularly in the aroma. There’s also a slight sharpness through the finish that seems a little unbalanced. Good, but not up to this brewer’s normal standards. (14/20)

This will be my 6,161st unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Backcountry Brewing Shark Repellent – American IPA at 7.0% ABV | 30 IBU (C$7.35 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 24-Jul-2025, reviewed 27-Jul-2025)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin skim and ring, spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, cereal grains, dank resin. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

The label says Citra and Columbus, and that’s pretty much what I get in the flavour profile. Not a lot more to say here: this ticks all the boxes and drinks pretty easy for a fairly emphatic ABV. I suppose you could score it maybe half a point lower overall if you were in a bad mood, but I’ve been doing yard work and needed a beer. (16/20)

This will be my 6,160th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company / Long Hop Brewing Co. Dream Your Life Away – American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$6.15 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 3-Jul-2025, acquired 24-Jul-2025, reviewed 27-Jul-2025)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with one fat finger of pillowy white head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, field berries, cereal grains, light dank resin. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration finish with mild hop burn. (3/5)

“Featuring Citra, Strata, Freestyle Nectaron”. Quite pleasant on the front end, with juicy citrus and fruit on a clean cereal grain base. There’s a little more hop burn through the finish than I think appropriate for the style, though, which makes it feel a little hotter than it really is. It’s not a miss, but they haven’t really nailed it, either. (15/20)

This will be my 6,159th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com