Author: dpatrickryan

Cameron’s Brewing Company Ambear Red Ale American Amber / Red Ale at 5% ABV | 30 IBU (2018 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #10, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 30-Nov-2018, reviewed 10-Dec-2018)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one finger of pillowy ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bready yeast, caramel, floral, nuts, light citrus, hint of buttery diacetyl. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium finish. (3/5)

I guess it’s seasonal. Sort of. Untappd tells me I had this before, four years ago, but it was called “Cameron’s Auburn Ale” at the time. Decent enough example of the style, I guess. And I’m back to 50% of the calendar being repeats for me… (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Tofino Brewing Co. Cosmic Wave American Double / Imperial IPA at 9% ABV (C$9.36 at Collective, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 4-Dec-2018, reviewed 9-Dec-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with one fat finger of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel, pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter warming finish. (4/5)

I sometimes use “old-fashioned” as a bit of a criticism, but in this case, it really isn’t: this is an old-school hop bomb DIPA, whose malt bill, despite being beefy, is just sufficient to provide the necessary support. I don’t think I’ll ever stop appreciating this particular style of A/DIPA, and this is a good example of it. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Coal Harbour Brewing Co. 3.11 Helles Lager Helles Lager at 5% ABV | 19 IBU (2018 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #9, 473 ml, packaged on 1-Aug-2018, acquired 30-Nov-2018, reviewed 9-Dec-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with one fingers of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: cereal grains, grass, bruised fruit, slight buttery diacetyl. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short finish. (3/5)

I have to admit I sighed heavily when I saw today’s offering. I really tried to evaluate it with an open mind, but it’s so hard to get excited about such a very pedestrian style. Overall, it’s certainly a decently well-made example of the style. My biggest complaint was the slight note of buttery diacetyl on the nose, but that faded fairly rapidly, and the finish was decently clean. On the up side, it was quite refreshing. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Odin Brewing Company Super Galactic Space Dragon American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.9% ABV (C$3.65 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 26-Oct-2018, acquired 4-Dec-2018, reviewed 8-Dec-2018)

Appearance: hazy particulate-laden pale gold with one fat finger of rocky white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt, pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Take Galactic Space Dragon. Supersize the malt and hops. Works for me! Any questions? (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bridge Brewing Company The Fuzz Milkshake IPA American IPA at 6% ABV | 45 IBU (2018 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #8, 473 ml, packaged on 30-Jul-2018, acquired 30-Nov-2018, reviewed 8-Dec-2018)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone fruit, citrus, vanilla, cream. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild tart. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, moderate bitter and slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

I liked this a fair bit better than the one I had 18 months ago, despite the fact that this is more than four months old. (Though, to be fair, I have no way of knowing how old the prior one was, since the bottle was undated.)  There’s definitely more stone fruit going on, and it seems cleaner overall. I described the prior one as “a melted Creamsicle spiked with grain alcohol and vanilla extract” and this is definitely more subtle than that. All in all, it feels like they’ve tweaked the recipe to good effect. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Red Bison Brewery Alta Mira Oatmeal Stout at 5.9% ABV (2018 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #7, 473 ml, packaged on 3-Aug-2018, acquired 30-Nov-2018, reviewed 7-Dec-2018)

Appearance: unrelieved black with one fat finger of rocky beige head, good retention and heavy stringy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: anise, dark chocolate, roasty malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Medium-full body, moderate-low carbonation, dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

I was pretty favourably disposed towards this before even opening it: local (Calgary) brewery, seasonally appropriate, and a sub-genre I particularly like (Oatmeal Stout). At this point, the fact that it’s a good beer is just icing on the cake. Or maybe chocolate on the oatcake? (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Steamworks Brewing Company North by Northwest American IPA at 6.8% ABV | 60 IBU (C$2.93 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Oct-2018, acquired 4-Dec-2018, reviewed 7-Dec-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt, light pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Decent albeit not very “West” A/IPA. Citrus and tropical fruit aromas are pleasant but fairly nondescript – the whole thing would benefit from a little more juiciness, or alternatively more dank pine – basically, come down a little harder on one coast or the other. I think the overall problem here (to the extent that there is one) is that it’s just a bit dated and old-fashioned in style. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Category 12 Brewing Hiatus Saison at 5% ABV | 16 IBU (2018 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #6, 473 ml, packaged on 18-Jul-2018, acquired 30-Nov-2018, reviewed 6-Dec-2018)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with one fat finger of rocky white head, excellent retention and heavy stringy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: cucumber, lemon zest, grainy pale malt, weed and grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, low bitter. (8/10) Medium-light body, moderate-high carbonation, dry short duration lightly bitter finish. (4/5)

Absolutely no seasonal tie-in at all here, as far as I can tell, but a beer that I really enjoyed the first time I had it and again today, so I’ll give it a pass. (I’m getting a little concerned about duplication here, though – in other years, I’ve had no duplicates I can recall, but this makes half of the six so far this year, that I’ve had before. Oh, well – if all the other duplicates are this good, I won’t complain too bitterly.) Pretty much exactly what it says on the label: cucumber and lemon zest on a lightly funky Saison background make this pleasantly light and refreshing. An excellent example of the style. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Spearhead Brewing Company Hawaiian Style Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 6% ABV | 60 IBU (2018 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #5, 473 ml, packaged on 10-Aug-2018, acquired 30-Nov-2018, reviewed 5-Dec-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with an unmanageable massive rocky ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel malt, light tropical fruit, faint pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Because nothing says “Christmas” like a “Hawaiian Style” Pale Ale, right? Though, I suppose one could start singing Mele Kalikimaka… Lord knows, you need something to do for the five minutes it takes to pour this without the head getting completely out of control! To be honest, I’m more perturbed by the age than anything: if you’ve got to start assembling the beers for the calendar in August, maybe Pales aren’t the go-to style? I thought I recognized the label – it looks like I had it almost five years ago, before I started keeping detailed notes. And I was far too generous with my scoring at the time – blame it on the enthusiasm of youth… (What? I was young…er… then!) (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Twin Sails Brewing Single Whammy American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 56 IBU (C$5.00 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 23-Oct-2018, acquired 4-Dec-2018, reviewed 5-Dec-2018)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt, light dank pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

That’s some good stuff right there. My experience with Twin Sails has been a lineup of solid, if slightly unremarkable products, but this one breaks through to the next level. It’s definitely not a true-to-spec NEIPA, mostly because of the fairly beefy bitterness in the finish, but it’s certainly juicy and aromatic. Hop selection obviously has a lot to do with my attitude towards this: Galaxy and Vic Secret are among my very favourites, and they’re showcased to good effect here. Fair warning, though: I’m going to be deeply disappointed if this isn’t shortly followed by a “Double Whammy” DIPA. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com