Month: December 2025

Village Brewery Monk Vanilla Chai Porter Special Edition – American Porter at 6.2% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 19-Aug-2025, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 19-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear brown with one finger of fine beige head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, chai, chocolate/roasty malt, vanilla. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate-lively carbonation, medium duration finish. (3/5)

Collective Advent #16. The label says “Special Edition” but I’m not able to find out any details beyond that. I had their Monk Chai Winter Porter something like eight years ago, and didn’t note any vanilla at the time, so maybe that’s the difference? In any case, this isn’t wowing me any more than it did the first time, and strikes me as being too light in the body to support this kind of flavour profile. (12/20)

This is apparently not a unique Untappd check-in.

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Dageraad Brewing Rainshine – Blond Ale at 6.0% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 30-Apr-2025, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 19-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear straw with two fat fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: cloves, grapefruit zest, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, medium duration tart mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Collective Advent #15. Nice hoppy blond, with zesty grapefruit adjunct. I like it. (15/20)

This will be my 6,304th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company Un Petit Peu – American Wild Ale at 7.9% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 375 ml, packaged on 15-Aug-2023, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 19-Dec-2025)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with a short loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: barnyard funk, barrel, vinous, red berries. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, mild bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, medium duration tart mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Collective Advent #14. I mean, structurally this is basically a Gueuze – and a good one, at that. It alleges to be dry-hopped with Barbe Rouge and Mistral, but the wild and barrel notes completely overwhelm any hop character that might once have been present – not that I’m complaining. (17/20)

This will be my 6,303rd unique Untappd check-in.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ale Architect Brewing Ltd. Joy Wave 3 – American IPA at 7.8% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 18-Dec-2025)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus zest, tropical and stone fruit, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly tart and edgy finish. (3/5)

Collective Advent #13. Double dry-hopped with Krush, Dolcita, and Vic Secret. Definitely zestier than its predecessors, but carrying a not entirely pleasant bite through the finish. (15/20)

This will be my 6,302nd unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Burdock Brewing Cabo (2023) – American Wild Ale at 7.9% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 18-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear ruby red with a short fizzy pink head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (4/5) Aroma: red wine, oak, field berries. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, short tart finish. (4/5)

Collective Advent #12. I really like this, but I think I’d’ve liked it more if there were a touch less Cab Franc adjunct, allowing more of the Wild to show through. (16/20)

This will be my 6,301st unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Refined Fool Brewing Co. Bobhouse Banger Peanut Butter Porter – American Porter at 6% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 2-Oct-2025, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 17-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear deep cola red with a short fine beige head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: peanuts, cocoa, toasted malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, soft carbonation, lingering bitter slightly thin finish. (3/5)

Collective Advent #11. I sort of like the fact that the peanut butter is mild and doesn’t overwhelm, but on the other hand, I’d like for something to step up here. It’s a bit too mild overall, and definitely a bit too thin through the finish, for my preference. (14/20)

This will be my 6,300th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Irrational Brewing Company Ethereal 24 – Pilsner at 4.8% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 17-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear pale straw with two fingers of fluffy white head, moderate retention and spotty soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: mild, tropical fruit, melon, faint grassy malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, short duration slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Collective Advent #10. “w/ simcoe & riwaka amplifire”. It’s a Pilsner. I was hoping for brighter aromas given the “modern” hop bill, but it’s actually pretty mild. And although it’s fairly crushable, it turns slightly astringent through the finish. Definitely nothing memorable. (14/20)

This will be my 6,299th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

2 Crows Brewing Return to Innocence – Blended Saison at 6.3% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 16-Dec-2025)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a massively overblown loose pale ivory head, good retention and heavy chunky lacing. (3/5) Aroma: floral, berries, oak, light funk. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter, mild tart. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, slightly sticky finish. (3/5)

Collective Advent #9. Not bad, but not without its issues – not least of which is, it’s basically impossible to pour. Once you get past that little hurdle, the aroma is the star of the show, dominated by pleasant floral and fruit notes with a little wood and funk underneath. However, it’s a little too sweet on the tongue, and falls off slightly flaccid to a slightly edgy finish. I think this would have been better had it been a little more attenuated, but then again that probably wouldn’t have helped the edgy finish, so…? Bottom line, I wanted to like this more than I did. (14/20)

This will be my 6,298th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Small Gods Brewing Co. Uncommon Grounds – Bock at 6.2% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 16-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear deep gold with a short, short-lived off-white head, no lacing. (4/5) Aroma: overextracted coffee, caramel. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly sticky finish. (3/5)

Collective Advent #8. Nope, sorry. Not my first exposure to an attempt at doing a coffee beer that isn’t a stout, and it just doesn’t work – you always end up with something that smells and tastes like stale coffee grounds got spilled in your beer. Overextracted coffee utterly dominates this, with just mild caramel and no hop character whatsoever. If anything, this scoring is generous. (12/20)

This will be my 6,297th unique Untappd check-in.

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Fierce Beer Ltd. Maple Pancake – American Pale Ale at 6.5% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 440 ml, best before 2-Apr-2026, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 16-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: maple syrup, vanilla, cereal grains, light grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly sticky finish. (4/5)

Collective Advent #7. Aroma starts off literally what it says on the label, utterly dominated by maple pancakes (highly seasonally-appropriate) but then drops off a little to reveal hints of grassy hops. And yes, it’s sweet-tending, but far less so than the aroma would lead one to expect. I fully acknowledge this is gimmicky as hell, and I’m sure purists would hate it. I, on the other hand, just spent ten days in Germany trying fairly unsuccessfully to find a beer that didn’t taste exactly like every other one, so I really don’t. I acknowledge that my scoring might be a touch enthusiastic here, but other than stylistic disagreements there are really no flaws to justify a lower score. (16/20)

This will be my 6,296th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com