Author: dpatrickryan

Ninkasi Brewing Company Maiden the Shade Summer Style India Pale Ale American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$7.16 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy off-white head, excellent retention and good lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus (mostly pithy grapefruit), tropical fruit (mango), pine, mild grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering mildly bitter finish. (4/5)

Quite nice – a bright and pleasant A/IPA with decent citrus and tropical fruits. Hop forward, with just enough malt to support. Brighter would be nice, sure, but I’m greedy that way. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie Les 2 Frères Hickson IPA American IPA at 6.2% ABV (C$4.15 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with two fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, floral, caramel. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, moderately bitter finish. (4/5)

Quite nice. Lots of interesting hop aromas – all the starts-with-C usual suspects are there, and it shows. The malt is nicely balanced, providing decent backup for the hops, without making the brew malt-forward. There’s a lingering but not overwhelming bitter finish, but I’m a little surprised by the 53 IBU the label claims – I’d’ve guessed it was more. Another Quebec brewery that bears watching. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie Les 2 Frères Charles Henri Blanche Witbier at 5.1% ABV (C$4.15 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: lemon, grassy, light yeast. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium light body, moderate carbonation, crisp and lightly tart finish. (4/5)

A pleasantly citrusy and tart witbier. A little one-dimensional, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if you enjoy that dimension – and I like tart citrus, so… (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company RuinTen (2015) American Double / Imperial IPA at 10.8% ABV (C$10.39 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 21-Jun-2015)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (5/5) Aroma: pine resin, pithy grapefruit, caramel malt, dank. (8/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, intense bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium to full body, moderate carbonation, lingering warming finish. (4/5)

Big, bombastic, and verging on brutal. Personally, though, I think there’s a slight tendency towards too much malt in support of the huge bitterness – if you ask me, the “substantial malt backbone” is a little too much so. But even so, this is one smooth (yet skanky) beast. I bought two, thinking I might try aging one, but after experiencing the malt presence that’s already there? Naw. Gonna drink the other one soon, when I feel like getting my booze on. (No, not breakfast tomorrow… probably.) (17/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Privatbrauerei Erdinger Weißbräu Werner Brombach GmbH Erdinger Kristall Kristallweizen at 5.3% ABV (C$5.20 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, best before 1-Mar-2016)

Appearance: crystal clear pale straw with a fat finger of rocky white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: muted, light wheat, banana, bubblegum. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry crisp finish. (3/5)

About what I expected for such an aggressively polished beer: the filtration seems to have stripped out some flavour, resulting in flavours and aromas being somewhat muted. Still pleasant, but it could stand to be more emphatic. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Nøgne Ø / Kissmeyer Naked Kiss Imperial Porter at 11.5% ABV (C$8.01 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, bottle date 23-Sep-2014)

Appearance: clear brown with a short, short-lived finger of tan head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild roasty malts, dark fruit, light sour red berries. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, moderately strong sour. (8/10) Palate: medium to light body, low carbonation, sour finish. (4/5)

Wow – that’s bizarre. There’s not much on the nose other than the roasty malts, but the taste is quite sour. Loads of unexpected black currant sharpness make this quite interesting. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brash Brewing Company Smoglifter Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout Milk / Sweet Stout at 10% ABV (C$9.64 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 20-Oct-2014)

Appearance: nearly solid black with one finger of dense mocha head, excellent retention and decent lacing. (4/5) Aroma: chocolate, mild coffee, roasty malts, some dark fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: full body tending a little to the watery, low carbonation, warming finish. (4/5)

I’m not sure it’s “making love to your mouth like a horny sorority girl”, but it’ll do. The body seems viscous at the outset, but turns slightly watery midway. The bitterness does pretty well at balancing the sweetness, but it lingers a little too much, making for a little bit of an edge to the finish. Still pretty good, though! (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company Farking Wheaton W00tstout (2015) Imperial Stout at 13% ABV (C$19.34 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 20-Jun-2015)

Appearance: deep brown with two fingers of dense mocha head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: chocolate, bourbon, nutty, faint coffee. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (9/10) Palate: full body, low carbonation, silky warming finish. (5/5)

“Drink fresh or age at cellar temp”. Well, I ask you: why does life have to be a series of either/or choices? Why can’t we have both? Why can’t I have my cake and eat it too?

Which is why I bought not one, but TWO of these: so I could both drink fresh AND age at cellar temp. Because sometimes, that’s just how I roll, y’all. And come on – Drew Curtis, Wil Wheaton, and Greg Koch? Three of my favourite dudes ever? Damn straight I’m in! Twice!

And this thing is, already, at a month old, a smooth criminal of a beast. Lots of complexity from the cocoa, pecans, and bourbon barrel ageing, yet nearly zero ABV presence. I’m already drooling at how this will be when it’s mellowed for a year or two. (18/20)

9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Anderson Valley Brewing Company Brother David’s Triple Abbey Tripel at 10% ABV (C$8.71 at Solo Liquor Okotoks, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: slightly hazy medium gold with some particulate, a fat finger of rocky ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: muted, biscuity malt, caramel, mild citrus and herbal. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, warming finish. (3/5)

A fairly uninspiring tripel. Nothing stands out as being poorly-done, as such, but then again, nothing stands out as being great. The aromas could be more emphatic, and there’s not much excuse for particulate in any style, but the ABV integration is actually not bad. Bottom line, I wouldn’t say “no” to this, but I wouldn’t go looking for it again, either. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com