Author: dpatrickryan

Surly Brewing Co. Logic Bomb – American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (2023 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #23, 355 ml, best before 31-Dec-2023, acquired 14-Dec-2023, reviewed 25-Dec-2023)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one fat finger of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation falling off fast in the finish. (3/5)

Hopped with Warrior, Centennial, Citra, Talus, and Sabro; malts are 2-Row, Munich, Aromatic, Crystal, Carafoam, and Acidulated. I don’t know if it’s age – thanks for throwing in a beer with a BB of a week from now guys! – or if this is always like this, but it starts off promising and fizzles fast. A bright citrus led the way upon opening, followed quickly by tropical fruits, but both died back relatively rapidly. More importantly, the flavour and carbonation both fell a bit flat pretty quickly, ending up a bit flaccid and uninteresting. If anything, I’m being a little generous on this final score. (14/20)

This will be my 5,720th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Echoes Brewing Company LLC Rauchbier – Rauchbier at 5.0% ABV | 20 IBU (2023 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #22, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 14-Dec-2023, reviewed 25-Dec-2023)

Appearance: clear deep amber with one finger of fine ivory head diminishing gradually to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: bready caramel, chocolate, light clean smoke. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium duration finish. (4/5)

Nice one. It’s been a minute since I’ve had a Rauchbier, but this one is quire approachable, with only mild smokiness. I’m sure there are folks who would recoil from this in shock and horror, but as Rauchbiers go, this is pretty entry-level, and the smokiness is really a minor addition to what is basically a caramel malty Dunkel. In fact, I suspect I’d find it a bit too sweet were it not for the smoke, so this is pretty well-balanced indeed in my estimation. (15/20)

This will be my 5,719th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Noon Whistle Brewing Co. Leisel Weapon – Hefeweizen at 5.2% ABV (2023 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #21, 355 ml, best before 29-Apr-2024, acquired 14-Dec-2023, reviewed 24-Dec-2023)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of creamy white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: banana, cloves, hint of citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium duration finish. (3/5)

A pretty unremarkable Hefe. (13/20)

This will be my 5,718th unique Untappd check-in.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Vocation Brewery Hop, Skip & Juice – American Pale Ale at 5.7% ABV (2023 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #20, 330 ml, best before 30-Jun-2024, acquired 14-Dec-2023, reviewed 24-Dec-2023)

Appearance: hazy straw with one fat finger of creamy white head, good retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus zest, cereal grains, light pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation falling off rapidly, off-dry short duration finish. (3/5)

Hopped with Simcoe and Citra BBC, malts are Extra Pale, wheat malt, and jumbo oats. This one started off promising, with a pleasant aroma of zesty citrus, clean malt, and a hint of pine – pretty much what I’d hope for Simcoe and Citra hopping. However, the flavour didn’t quite deliver on the promise of the aroma, and despite a fairly lively carbonation the finish fell flat fairly quickly. Not bad, but needs some tuning up. (14/20)

This will be my 5,717th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Silver City Brewery Ridgetop Red Ale – Irish Red Ale at 6% ABV | 15 IBU (2023 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #19, 355 ml, packaged on 26-Jul-2023, acquired 14-Dec-2023, reviewed 23-Dec-2023)

Appearance: clear red-tinged medium amber with a short, short-lived light beige head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: bready caramel, light floral, hint of pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, slightly sticky short duration finish. (4/5)

Brewer notes say Liberty hops and a whole bunch of malts (NW Pale, Munich, Carafa, Dark Wheat, Light Crystal, Caramel Wheat) – and ,yeah, that’s what it smells like: all malt, with very little hop character, and what there is of it, Noble in variety.   Another deeply boring offering, albeit technically clean and inoffensive. Tough not to score this with a modern palate, but I guess realistically it’s well-executed, and that’s got to be acknowledged. (14/20)

This will be my 5,716th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Hutton & Smith Brewing Company Basecamp Blonde – Blond Ale at 4.8% ABV (2023 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #18, 355 ml, packaged on 28-Aug-2023, acquired 14-Dec-2023, reviewed 23-Dec-2023)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold one finger of fine white head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: cereal grains, grass, honey. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, short duration finish. (3/5)

Meh. There’s nothing wrong here, as such, but man, is it boring. (12/20)

This will be my 5,715th unique Untappd check-in.

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Madtree Brewing Company Happy Amber – Amber Ale at 6% ABV (2023 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #17, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 14-Dec-2023, reviewed 23-Dec-2023)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one fat finger of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: floral, bready caramel, citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, bitter finish. (4/5)

Brewer notes say hopped with Cascade, Chinook, and Centennial. According to the can, “If it weren’t for autocorrect you’d be drinking hoppy amber”. I feel that – if I had a nickel for every time autocorrect changed “hoppy” in my reviews… Anyway, amber? Check. Hoppy? Meh… sorta – more so on the tongue, certainly, than on the nose. Moving on. (14/20)

This will be my 5,714th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Tiny Rebel Brewing Five Dollar Shake – American IPA at 4.5% ABV (2023 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #16, 330 ml, best before 9-Jun-2024, acquired 14-Dec-2023, reviewed 22-Dec-2023)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with two fat fingers of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, zesty grapefruit, lactose, cereal grains, mild resin. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

“Creamy Citra IPA” – yup. Much better than the last one of theirs I had, and very much my speed despite the surprisingly low ABV. I could pound quite a few of these while watching the game on TV. (16/20)

This will be my 5,713rd unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Florida Avenue Brewing Co. You’re My Boy, Blue! – Wheat Ale at 5.3% ABV (2023 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #15, 355 ml, packaged on 15-Aug-2023, acquired 14-Dec-2023, reviewed 22-Dec-2023)

Appearance: slightly hazy tea-tinged pale gold with one finger of fine white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: blueberry, bready wheat. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

An initial surprisingly emphatic blueberry aroma upon opening falls back rapidly but never disappears, and might even make a bit of a return as the pint warms. Hopped with Warrior, but I can’t say that I’m getting much actual hop character. I haven’t really had great experiences with fruited ales in general, or blueberry ones in particular, but overall this isn’t bad at all. (14/20)

This will be my 5,712nd unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Vocation Brewery Life & Death – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (2023 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #14, 330 ml, best before 30-Jun-2024, acquired 14-Dec-2023, reviewed 21-Dec-2023)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one finger of fine white head, good retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, bready malt, hint of pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Hopped with Citra and Mosaic, malts are Extra Pale, Caramalt, Jumbo Oats, Wheatmalt. Smells promising at first, but the malting comes through more bready than I’d like for the style. Not quite “bad home-brew” levels, but certainly more “bread dough” than “clean cereal grains”. This is definitely a British take on an American style – as in, I see what you’re going for, but there’s definitely something being lost in translation. (15/20)

This will be my 5,711st unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com