Author: dpatrickryan

Blood Brothers Brewing Dream Vine – American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$8.65 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 11-Nov-2025, acquired 10-Feb-2026, reviewed 2-Mar-2026)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, citrus, cereal grains, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

“w/ Simcoe & Riwaka” Not quite as juicy as I prefer. I know I say this with some frequency, but there really are a lot of respectable offerings out there from solid brewers, so it’s harder to reach that upper tier of performance. This is perfectly fine, but falls just a little short of being great. (15/20)

This will be my 6,358th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Cabin Brewing Company Stargazer – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$6.00 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 26-Jan-2026, acquired 10-Feb-2026, reviewed 23-Feb-2026)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy tropical fruit, citrus, floral, cereal grains. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration mild bitter finish. (4/5)

No complaints to speak of here, but nothing really breaks through. Good, if not memorable. (15/20)

This will be my 6,356th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Superflux Beer Company Cottontail – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$6.90 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 12-Jan-2026, acquired 10-Feb-2026, reviewed 22-Feb-2026)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy tropical fruit, berry, dank pine, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium bitter slightly sticky finish. (4/5)

“brewed with mostly Mosaic and a bit of Simcoe and Citra”. Excellent. Juicy and pleasant, with mild dank. No notes. (16/20)

This will be my 6,355th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie du Bas-Canada Espace Libre – American IPA at 7.0% ABV (C$10.90 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 11-Nov-2025, acquired 10-Feb-2026, reviewed 20-Feb-2026)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one fat finger of pillowy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: juicy tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains, faint floral. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, medium bitter slightly sticky mildly warming finish. (4/5)

“Strata et Citra”. Nicely done. I was a little worried about the age of this one, but it’s still quite pleasant (though now I wonder how much nicer it’d have been fresh). It flirts with tending a little too sweet, but never really gets there, and eventually gives way to a pleasantly bitter finish. There’s also a mild warming, but it’s otherwise very drinkable for the elevated ABV. All in all, a very nice offering. (16/20)

This will be my 6,354th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Dageraad Brewing Lekkers – Belgian Strong Dark Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$6.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 18-Nov-2025, acquired 10-Feb-2026, reviewed 18-Feb-2026)

Appearance: clear brown with one finger of loose beige head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, minimal stringy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: burnt sugar, orange peel, faint Belg-ish esters. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly sticky finish. (3/5)

Not really a “Strong” Dark, but I wasn’t sure how else to classify it. For that matter, there’s not a whole lot of “Belgian” there, either. So, just “Dark”, I suppose? Anyway. This doesn’t really come across as having anything really dominate – which can be good, when it feels balanced, or less good when it feels aimless. This feels a bit more aimless than balanced. Dageraad generally does good Belgian-derived offerings, and this one could use a bit more of that lineage. Just OK. (13/20)

This will be my 6,353rd unique Untappd check-in.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Longroof Brewing Co. January Dry – American IPA at 6.1% ABV (C$5.15 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 10-Feb-2026, reviewed 18-Feb-2026)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one fat finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: vinous, herbal, mild funk. (7/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, dry crisp finish. (4/5)

I occasionally like dry and attenuated as a change of pace, and this accomplishes that fairly well. It could, however, benefit from a little more… well… everything. Not a lot, just a little. It’s fine, but not great. (15/20)

This will be my 6,352nd unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Blood Brothers Brewing Child of the Sun – American IPA at 5.5% ABV (C$7.65 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 5-Dec-2025, acquired 10-Feb-2026, reviewed 17-Feb-2026)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one fat finger of fine near-white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, resiny pine, white grape, tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration building bitter finish. (4/5)

“w/ NZ Cascade & Simcoe” Decent contender. It doesn’t punch above its weight, exactly, but it’s certainly got a fairly emphatic presence for a fairly mundane ABV. Which, don’t get me wrong, is definitely not a flaw. (It might also be a little faded after a couple of months in the can.) Not exactly memorable, but it’ll definitely do. (15/20)

This will be my 6,351st unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Sea Change Brewing Co. Sweetheart – American IPA at 6.9% ABV (C$5.85 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 27-Jan-2026, acquired 10-Feb-2026, reviewed 16-Feb-2026)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of creamy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish with a slight edge. (3/5)

It’s fine but I feel like I could have scored it a little lower pretty much across the board were I so inclined. That being said, my only real complaint – and it’s a minor one – is that there’s a tiny bit of an edge in the finish, which really doesn’t belong in this style. It’s fine, but there are lots better out there. (15/20)

This will be my 6,350th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company Let it Flow – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$6.45 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 12-Jan-2026, acquired 10-Feb-2026, reviewed 16-Feb-2026)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one fat finger of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy tropical fruit, berry, dank pine, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium bitter slightly sticky finish. (4/5)

The Establishment is more and more (to me, at least) a victim of their own success: it’s getting harder and harder to continue to get excited about truly world-class beers in my own back yard. At least, it’s getting harder and harder to get excited about the “rinse and repeat” approach of a brewer regularly turning out new variants of the same approach. And that’s probably more than a little unfair, because pretty much every single one of them is truly great – and this one is no exception. It’s great. But, gun to my head, is it much different than about two dozen more of their recent offerings? Probably not. Doesn’t stop me from liking it. (16/20)

This will be my 6,349th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie du Bas-Canada Entrelacs – American IPA at 7.0% ABV (C$10.90 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 28-Nov-2025, acquired 10-Feb-2026, reviewed 14-Feb-2026)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one fat finger of creamy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, white grape, citrus, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

“Citra, Hallertau Blanc, Nelson Sauvin & Amarillo”. New brewery to me, and, I have to say, a pretty auspicious start. I suppose it might have faded just slightly given its age, but figured it wasn’t quite old enough to reject on that basis. As it is, it’s pleasant and fruity, with very little indication of its fairly respectable ABV. No complaints at all for this offering from Lower Canada. (16/20)

This will be my 6,345th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com