Author: dpatrickryan

Driftwood Brewery Crooked Coast Altbier Altbier at 5.1% ABV (C$6.75 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear pale to medium amber with two fingers of rocky tan head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Aroma: caramel, bready malt, grass, earth. (7/10) Taste: medium-light sweet, medium bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, short duration finish. (4/5)

Not malt-forward on the nose as such, but certainly malt-emphatic. The maltiness and the hops play off each other well, with neither clearly dominating the profile. However, the taste has much less sweetness than the nose would suggest, and the overall feel is surprisingly dry. Very well done, if ultimately somewhat light for my tastes. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Category 12 Brewing Disruption Black IPA Black IPA at 6.7% ABV (C$8.25 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear brown with two fingers of fluffy tan head, good retention and moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, floral, roasty malt, bitter cocoa, pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet and moderately strong bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, short duration building bitter finish. (3/5)

Not a bad example of the style: despite the dark colour, citrus and floral hops lead the way, with roasty malts playing a supporting role. The finish, while not precisely smoky, has a burnt toast astringency that works well with the moderately strong hop bitterness. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company Enjoy By 10.31.15 American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.4% ABV (C$14.75 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, bottle date 24-Sep-2015)

Appearance: clear pale gold with two fingers of white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mango, pine resin, grapefruit, pale and caramel malt. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet and moderately strong bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium body and moderate carbonation, with an off-dry building bitter finish and a gentle warming. (5/5)

As usual, a seriously top-notch brew. Tending somewhat to the maltier for the series, like the April. I prefer the brighter variations, but this is still pretty darned good. (18/20)

9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Big Rock Brewery Harvest Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5% ABV (C$6.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear pale amber, one fingers of rocky ivory head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: biscuity pale malt, caramel, honey, grassy hops. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering and building bitter finish. (3/5)

Initially I was going to castigate this for not being very representative of the APA style – and it’s not. In fact, at first it smells and tastes very much like any number of their standard offering, particularly their Honey Brown. However, the hop bitter, which seems so unassuming at the front end, gradually builds in the finish, becoming almost interesting. Still a fairly uninspired offering, however – the over-filtered bright colour sort of tells the whole story: pretty, but insubstantial. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Central City Brewers + Distillers White Ale Witbier at 5% ABV (Gift – thanks, DougB!, 355 ml, packaging date 7-Jul-2015)

Appearance: cloudy straw, short, short-lived off-white head with no lacing. (2/5) Aroma: doughy wheat, coriander, light orange zest. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light peppery spice. (5/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lightly spicy finish. (3/5)

A fairly mediocre wit. Retention and lacing are bad, and the nose is reminiscent of old lady soap. Nothing terrible stands out, but that’s about as good as it gets, unfortunately. A surprising swing and a miss for a brewery that can usually be relied upon for a solid performance. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ballast Point Brewing Company Sculpin American IPA at 7% ABV (C$9.27 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear pale amber, two fingers of rocky ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pale malt, citrus and fruity hops. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (9/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

A really good example of the A/IPA style: nicely balanced hop bitterness supported by a clean malt. Lots of citrusy tones from the hops, with a clean bitter finish. Really good, but for me not quite as good as the grapefruit version. (17/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ballast Point Brewing Company Grapefruit Sculpin American IPA at 7% ABV (C$3.45 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear pale amber, one finger of fluffy ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pithy grapefruit, pale malt, citrus and fruity hops. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (9/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Just excellent. The balance between the pithy grapefruit and the citrus from the hops is nigh-on perfect, and there’s just enough sweetness from the pale malt (and probably the grapefruit) to keep it from getting too sharp. Really good. (18/20)

9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Pfungstädter Brauerei Hildebrand Edel Pils Pilsener at 4.9% ABV (C$3.09 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, best before 27-Aug-2016)

Appearance: clear pale straw, one finger of rocky white head, good retention and patchy minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grainy pale malt, grassy. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Light body, lively to moderate carbonation, crisp dry and astringent bitter finish. (3/5)

I like the sharpness of the finish, which comes across almost as fresh-cut grass, but other than that, nothing remarkable. Pretty simple and straightforward, with not a lot to distinguish it from any other number of pale Euro legs or Czech style pilseners. Perfectly OK with supper, though. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brewsters Brewing Company Oktoberfest Oktoberfest / Märzen at 5.5% ABV (C$5.79 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 1-Aug-2015)

Appearance: clear pale amber, one finger of fluffy light tan head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: caramel and toasty malts, floral and earthy, nutty. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration finish. (3/5)

Yeah, yeah, I know – it’s November and I’m still drinking Octoberfests. Considering I was greeted by snow at 0500 this morning, it’s definitely the beginning of the end for autumn. Decent example of the style, if a little simplistic. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com