Author: dpatrickryan

Quidi Vidi Brewing Company Calm Tom’s Double IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.5% ABV (C$2.83 at NLC Stavanger, 341 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 12-Mar-2018, reviewed 12-Mar-2018)

Appearance: opaque medium gold with a short loose loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin persistent cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, stone & tropical fruit, pale malt, earthy dank pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly sticky body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering and building bitter finish. (4/5)

This… might be the best thing QV has ever done. Scratch that, this is by far the best thing they’ve ever done. I had high hopes when it was announced that the legal wrangling between the two owners was finally at a close, and that they would be moving bravely forward into the twenty-first century. (Hey, better late than never, right?) The prime position in the province was theirs to lose, and I’m very much afraid they’ve lost it, but beers like this might be the recipe for a comeback. QV say this is a West Coast IPA, but the fact is, with its cloudy appearance and juicy smooth hops it’s almost a passable version of an NEIPA, and it can hold its own against nearly any other IPA in North America. (And, is it a bad thing that this isn’t the first beer I’ve had where I actually know the guy on the label?) (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Omnipollo Zodiak American IPA at 6.2% ABV | 65 IBU (C$5.98 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, best before 25-Jun-2018, acquired 10-Mar-2018, reviewed 12-Mar-2018)

Appearance: opaque pale straw with three fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention, soapy patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tart juicy citrus, tropical fruit, crackery malt, light earthy pine. (10/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, light tart. (9/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, dry semitart clean finish. (5/5)

Damn near perfect. Sorta-kinda an NEIPA, sorta-kinda reminiscent of a Bellwoods IPA, all great. (Brewed in Ontario under license, making it a great way to get it fresh!) (19/20)

9.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brazos Valley Brewing Co. Lost Highway Galaxy IPA American IPA at 6.9% ABV (US$2.31 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 12-Mar-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pineapple, pale malt, citrus. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet tending slightly high, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly sticky body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium bitter finish. (4/5)

Another one I can’t find dating for, but the brewer web site says it’s a “Feb thru Apr” release, so it should be fresh. Galaxy hops have got to be among my favourite ANZ varietals, and this showcases them to good effect. Very similar to its sibling Lost Highway I just tried, although slightly lighter in colour and exhibiting slightly different hop character, but having much the same issues with overall appearance and excess sweetness. If one were to pretty this up and clean up the malt a bit, it would be a stonking good brew. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brazos Valley Brewing Co. B-Sides and Rarities End of the Line Simcoe IPA American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 58 IBU (US$2.52 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 12-Mar-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with one finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, pale malt, citrus. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet tending slightly high, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly sticky body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium bitter finish. (4/5)

This is a decent implementation of Simcoe, with absolutely none of the cattiness that so easily accompanies this hop. They don’t actually say it’s a single hop, and I can’t find any brewer notes, so I’m a bit unclear there – though it wouldn’t surprise me if there were some other starts-with-C-hops in the mix. No dates anywhere on the can, but the hops seems reasonably bright so I’m guessing this is fairly fresh. (Update: according to their web site, it’s a February release, so, yup.) Although the aroma is fairly bright hops and clean malt, I find it just a touch sweet on the tongue. This lingers as a slight stickiness into the finish, making me disinclined to reach for another. Good, not great. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Great Divide Brewing Company Titan IPA American IPA at 7.1% ABV | 65 IBU (US$2.41 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 6-Dec-2017, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 11-Mar-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with one fat finger of creamy white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dank resiny pine, pale malt & caramel, tropical fruit. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter (9/10 ) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building and lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Now that is some seriously dank sticky icky! The bitter is big (dare I say, verging on titanic?) without being overwhelming, and nicely balanced by clean pale malt and light caramel. Despite being past the ninety day mark, this is still hoppy as all git-out. I like this a lot. (17/20)

My 256th from the 2010 Edition of 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die, 246th from the 2013 edition, and 270th combining both editions.

8.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Deep Ellum Brewing Co. Deep Ellum IPA American IPA at 7% ABV | 70 IBU (US$1.78 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 12-Dec-2017, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 11-Mar-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with one finger of fluffy pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a persistent cap, moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel, mild resiny pine, hint of honey and floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building and lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

The can calls this an “ode to the Pacific Northwest hop”, so clearly they’re going for a West Coast feel. And, it accomplishes that… more or less. Though it’s not precisely “old-fashioned”, it’s not far off, with caramel being more heavily prominent than I prefer. Given the canning date, I expect that the hops probably aren’t as bright as they would have been fresh, so perhaps I’m being slightly unfair. But right now, nothing really stands out to distinguish this from a lot of other AIPAs. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Green Flash Brewing Co. RemixIPA American IPA at 6.2% ABV | 47 IBU (US$2.41 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 25-Jan-2018, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 11-Mar-2018)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with one finger of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, caramel, citrus, hint of cooked vegetables. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

It’s been a distressingly long time since I’ve had a Green Flash – ignoring their P49 collab, the last ones I had were in early 2016, and were fairly middle-of-the-road. This, I’m sad to say, seems to be a bit more of the same. The mediocrity starts with the label: putting “FRESH” in big letters on the front but not using a human-readable date code, makes about as much sense as they-who-must-not-be-named putting “COLD” on theirs. The absence of a date code leaves me wondering, is this the way it’s supposed to smell and taste? Who knows? I see where they’re going with this: “Remix”, as in “old school”, with a somewhat traditional hop blend, but the fact is, it just seems a bit lazy. Is it bad? Hell no. Especially in the finish, it’s pretty decent. But you can’t step into the same stream twice. What would’ve been interesting a decade ago is just slightly boring now, and, unfortunately, that’s about the way I’d have to sum this up. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Odell Brewing Co. Drumroll APA American Pale Ale at 5.3% ABV | 40 IBU (US$1.75 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, best before 18-Mar-2018, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 11-Mar-2018)

Appearance: cloudy pale amber with two fingers of creamy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt, mild grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body tending slightly light, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium finish. (4/5)

Worrisomely close to the BB date, but still quite pleasant for all that. Juicy and bright citrus hops lead the way, followed closely by tropical fruit and supported by a clean pale malt. The taste is not quite as bright as the aroma promises, but it’s still decent. Really approachable and amazingly cheap – if I had regular access to this, I’d keep it on hand to offer guests, especially during summer months, BBQs and the like. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Martin House Brewing Company Friday IPA American IPA at 6% ABV | 59 IBU (US$2.41 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 26-Dec-2017, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 10-Mar-2018)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one finger of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, caramel, mild slightly dank pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, off-dry  finish. (4/5)

Quite solid even though it’s getting a bit close to that magic ninety day freshness cutoff for AIPAs. Nothing overly memorable, but pleasant enough, with a moderately high bitterness that remains nonetheless reasonably well balanced by a caramel malt backbone. There’s just the slightest hint of astringency on the back end, but it’s otherwise fairly defect-free. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Karbach Brewing Co. Blood Orange Radler Radler at 3.5% ABV | 12 IBU (US$2.31 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 14-Feb-2018, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 9-Mar-2018)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one finger of short, short-lived white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: orange juice, burnt rubber/band-aid, grass. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, decently crisp finish. (3/5)

The burnt rubber/band-aid note is not overwhelming, but is unfortunate, tempering my enthusiasm for this beer despite it being a style for which I harbour a particular weakness. I’m not sure whether I’ve sampled the base beer, but their web site seems to indicate it’s a golden ale, a style which I’ve generally found to be somewhat prone to those phenolic off-notes. (Their Love Street Kölsch is similarly flawed, though there I’ve found it to be more diacetyl and sulphur.) It’s not terrible, by any means, but it’s not a patch on their Hopadillo or Rodeo Clown. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com