Author: dpatrickryan

Central City Brewers + Distillers Red Racer Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5% ABV (Gift – thanks, Kath!, 355 ml, packing date 25-Jun-2015)

Appearance: clear medium gold with two fingers of loose ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pine, citrus, caramel malt, light tropical fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, short duration medium bitter finish. (3/5)

I was a bit surprised by the way it foamed up on opening, lost a mouthful or two. Other than that, not bad. Smells a bit better than it tastes: it tends to the watery, so it doesn’t quite have the body to pull off the hop character. The flavours end up dropping off a little rapidly, leaving a little bit of an unbalanced lingering bitter. Quite sessionable, though. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company Evolution IPA American IPA at 6.4% ABV (C$6.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 15-Sep-2015)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pine, citrus, caramel malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering and building bitter finish. (4/5)

Definitely an improvement over other Grizzly Paw offerings I’ve tried, with the possible exception of their Sour IPA and their Kettle Valley Sour Brown (which I was probably slightly too generous in rating at 7/10 and 8/10, respectively). This one verges on that malt-forward D/IPA character, but doesn’t quite get there, which means it’s pretty well balanced, I guess? A solid but not all that memorable A/IPA – try it if you see it, but don’t lose any sleep over it. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Apteryx IPA American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$6.79 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bright citrus, vinous, pineapple, light caramel, earthy. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry finish. (4/5)

OK, so I’m a little slow on the uptake – and in my defence, it’s because I was trying to remember the line and the comic strip associated with “Apteryx” (“Hi there, I am an Apteryx, a wingless bird with hairy feathers.”, and “B.C.,” in case you obsess over shit like that, like I do.) – but I was wondering what the heck a bird shaped like a hairy potato had to do with beer. Until I looked more closely at the label, and realized no, it’s not shaped like a potato at all, but a hop cone. And of course, Kiwi are Apteryx. And Nelson Sauvin hops are from New Zealand, just like kiwi. Yes, that’s the kind of shit that goes on in my head. Sad, isn’t it? Oh, the beer? Yeah, it’s good. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Alley Kat Brewing Co. Full Moon IPA American IPA at 5.5% ABV (341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of rocky light tan head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pine, caramel, citrus, grassy and floral. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

An OK A/IPA, nothing special. Hops are too muted, and malt too pronounced, for my preference. Despite the low hop aroma, the finish tends to an unbalanced aggressive bitter. It’s not bad, but not worth making a special effort to get. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Mikkeller Cali Rare California Common at 4.8% ABV (C$6.30 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 330 ml, best before 4-Nov-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy straw with one fat finger of fluffy off-white head, excellent retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bright citrus, tropical fruit, pine, pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry finish. (4/5)

Yeah, yeah, we get it – Mikkeller’s version of a California Common is a Cali Rare. Jeez, smug much? Just because he makes an awesome beer or three… dozen… And this doesn’t even taste like a “real” California Common, like Anchor Steam. (It tastes far better.) But that’s not the point! This is just a (really good) APA! (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Big Rock Brewery The Cascadian American Brown Ale at 6.1% ABV (C$3.62 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one fat finger of fluffy light tan head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: muted, citrus, caramel malt, pine, earthy and vegetal. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (5/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

Not unpleasant, but not really a true “Cascadian” (black IPA). The hops are nowhere near as pronounced as they should be for the style, with the caramel malt more so. OK, but nothing special. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Pfungstädter Brauerei Hildebrand Weizen Hefe Hell Hefeweizen at 5.3% ABV (C$3.09 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: wheat, light clove, little to no banana/bubblegum/fruit. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (7/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry finish. (4/5)

Not a very in-spec weizen, but pleasant to drink regardless. By which I mean, there’s very little of the banana/bubblegum that one associates with the style, and indeed very little fruit at all. But, it’s an extremely pretty beer, pretty much dead nuts on for the style, with an excellent body. It’s just not all that interesting on the nose or the tongue. (12/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Turning Point Brewery/Stanley Park Brewing/Mark Anthony Group Lululemon Curiosity American Pale Lager at 4.6% ABV (C$2.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one finger of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grainy pale malt, grassy, light citrus, honey. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Light body, lively to moderate carbonation, crisp finish. (3/5)

Allow me to assuage your curiosity: it’s a fairly typical pale lager. Not badly done for the style, but not all that remarkable. It does have a particularly clean finish, and just a hint of tartness on a restrained honey sweetness, so you could certainly do a lot worse. (10/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Mikkeller Stateside IPA American IPA at 6.9% ABV (C$6.4 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with two fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and moderate patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel, tropical fruit, dank and earthy. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (8/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Nice. Well-balanced, with lots of starts-with-C hop character trading off against the smooth caramel of the malt base. Despite the high IBU, the bitterness never overwhelms, yet the malt stays where it should be, supporting rather than taking centre stage. I still can’t figure out, though, what black magic Mikkeller wields, to have a two year shelf life for a highly hopped A/IPA – I dunno whether I’m impressed or disturbed. Maybe both? (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Mikkeller Crooked Moon Tattoo American Double / Imperial IPA at 9% ABV (C$7.70 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with one finger of rocky ivory head, good retention and moderate patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pithy citrus, melon, vinous, stone fruit, floral. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter, mild tart. (8/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, lingering slightly boozy bitter finish. (4/5)

A DIPA named after a tattoo parlour? Yeah, OK, sure, why not? Decent complexity with a nice hop/malt balance. (Yeah, I see you there, Nelson Sauvin, don’t think I didn’t.) And it’s a sneaky bugger – the 9% ABV doesn’t really make its presence know until you’re well through the bottle and the room gets a little wobbly. I like this. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com