Author: dpatrickryan

Blood Brothers Brewing Cactus Head – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$8.50 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 11-Jul-2024, acquired 31-Oct-2024, reviewed 22-Nov-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of fine white head, excellent retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, grape must, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-soft carbonation, sweetish slightly flaccid finish. (3/5)

“Double dry hopped w/ Citra & Mosaic + white wine juice”. Meh. Probably a little too long in the can, but the aroma isn’t as punchy as I’d like, and it’s a little sweet and heavy on the tongue, with the body falling off a bit flaccid. I get the impression that, instead of adding complexity, the grape must is just kind of adding sweetness and weighing things down. It’s not terrible or anything, but it really fails to impress. (14/20)

This will be my 6,019th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company / Lowlife Barrel House Small Enough – Session IPA at 3.8% ABV (C$5.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 7-Oct-2024, acquired 31-Oct-2024, reviewed 16-Nov-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with two fat fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, citrus zest, cereal grains, light pine, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, short finish falling off slightly watery. (3/5)

My second collaboration between these two, though this time The Establishment has top billing so I assume it was brewed there. It’s actually pretty similar to their Tiny Dancer “Nano IPA”, but unfortunately that’s not a good thing. That’s not to say this is a bad beer, but much like Tiny Dancer, it does suffer from its extremely light malt bill, in that it just doesn’t have the body to support a decent hop profile. The aroma is mild (although pleasant) and the finish tends to fall off slightly watery. I’m also detecting no barrel notes whatsoever, so I’m not sure what Lowlife are bringing to the party. Ultimately, although I’m sure it could hold its own against any number of other offerings, it’s not a great effort for The Establishment. (14/20)

This will be my 6,010th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Blood Brothers Brewing Things Will Go Wrong – Everything Goes Away – American Double / Imperial IPA at 10% ABV (C$10.25 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 22-Aug-2024, acquired 31-Oct-2024, reviewed 15-Nov-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone fruit, citrus, cereal grains, dank pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration warming finish. (4/5)

“w/ Nectaron, HBC 638 & Idaho 7” That’s a helluva beer – nicely balanced stone fruit and citrus on a clean malt base, with a hint of dank pine behind. Slightly thick, but not sweet, and impressively easy to drink for the double-digit ABV. I wouldn’t mind having a few of these to pass the time until things go wrong and everything goes away. (17/20)

This will be my 6,009th unique Untappd check-in.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Lowlife Barrel House / The Establishment Brewing Company Friends – American IPA at 5.1% ABV (C$5.40 at Collective, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 31-Oct-2024, reviewed 14-Nov-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with a massive fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: Brett funk, zesty citrus, floral. (8/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate-low bitter, mild tart. (8/10) Palate: light body, moderate-lively carbonation, dry short duration attenuated finish. (4/5)

The label calls this a “Modern IPA”, but in some ways I beg to differ: although the Brett notes and attenuation might not be common in old-school IPAs, they certainly are in Saisons or Table Beers, which this very emphatically resembles. Not that that’s a complaint, mind you – I like a funky beer with a crisp dryness, so I like this. (16/20)

This will be my 6,007th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bridge Brewing Company The Grinch – Winter Warmer at 6.5% ABV | 26 IBU (C$5.04 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 31-Oct-2024, reviewed 13-Nov-2024)

Appearance: clear deep cola red with one fat finger of fluffy beige head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: toasted bread, pine, dried fruits, chocolate. (7/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, short duration mildly warming finish. (3/5)

Herself is making Christmas cookies, so what the hell, let’s go with a seasonal even though it’s 7º outside. Can’t figure out what kind of godless heathen date code they’re using, but it was newly-delivered at the retailer two weeks ago so it can’t be all that old. A bit light-bodied for the style, but pleasant enough. I particularly like that it’s not too sweet. (Yes, I know, it’s sort of the wrong glass. I was thinking it was a Black IPA. Fact is, it’s not all that far off being one.) (14/20)

This will be my 6,006th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery Krispee Dreamz – American Double / Imperial IPA at 9% ABV | 32 IBU (C$6.55 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 17-Oct-2024, acquired 31-Oct-2024, reviewed 11-Nov-2024)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with a short loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: peaches. Lots of peaches. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, medium duration mildly warming finish. (5/5)

“Powdered with peach terpenes and punched up with perfect Motueka and Idaho7 hops.” These guys always do goofy shit, but they get a near-on automatic pass from me because they’re among the first, if not the actual first, “craft” beer I ever had. That being said, they also do a damn fine beer. Case in point. No idea what the fuck a peach terpene is… wait one… oh, it’s a thing. Yup, it’s an adjunct. Peach. Which, is what this is. I… have nothing more to say about this. It’s peachy. Really peachy. I like it. A lot. It’s goofier than shit. And it’s great. Fight me. (18/20)

This will be my 6,005th unique Untappd check-in.

9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Small Gods Brewing Co. Starfall – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.5% ABV (C$6.25 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 31-Oct-2024, reviewed 11-Nov-2024)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with a short loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruit, citrus, pine, pale malt. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium warming finish. (4/5)

A “showcase of Oregon-grown Strata & Luminosa hops”, “balanced with a healthy dose of Strata”. Oh, that is nice. When I sniffed it, I made the same involuntary “Tim The Tool Man” noise as yesterday when I walked past the DeWalt display at Home Depot. (No, I’m not a Boomer. Yes, I love my wife. But I also love power tools.) To the best of my knowledge I’ve had Luminosa hops exactly one time before, so there’s that – I’m always up for a new hop. Although this falls off a little through the mid, it’s still pretty solid, and surprisingly easy to drink for the weight. (16/20)

This will be my 6,004th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Alley Kat Brewing Co. Krush DIPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.5% ABV | 75 IBU (C$5.85 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 1-Oct-2024, acquired 31-Oct-2024, reviewed 11-Nov-2024)

Appearance: clear deep gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone fruit, citrus, tropical fruit, cereal grains, pine, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sticky medium warming finish. (3/5)

This started off brightly juicy, but the bigger fruity notes fell off fast. Still fairly pleasant, and a decent exploration of the Krush (/586) hop. (14/20)

This will be my 6,003rd unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Hard Knox Brewery Beyond The Pines – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$3.75 at Hard Knox Brewery, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 10-Nov-2024, reviewed 10-Nov-2024)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, cereal grains, citrus, faint pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly sticky medium duration finish. (3/5)

I’m assuming this is super fresh, because I bought it from their booth at the Millville Christmas Market today, so no excuses there. It’s not terrible, but there’s precious little pine, and if anything I’m being generous on my rating here because it fell off fast as it warmed. But, I was just so happy to have my boys home and having a beer with me that I’m giving it sappy good vibes scoring. (14/20)

This will be my 6,002nd unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Gorilla Mode Thunder Punch – American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.0% ABV (C$5.90 at Collective, 568 ml, best before 2-Apr-2025, acquired 31-Oct-2024, reviewed 8-Nov-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of fine pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, cereal grains, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, sticky mildly warming finish. (3/5)

Brewer notes say “featuring Alora, Motueka, and Eclipse hops”. Sure, why not? Overall this is pretty much what I was expecting for a brewery who in my experience (for n=59, μ=7 & σ=0.89) has raised mediocrity to an art form. That’s not to say they haven’t had some flashes of competence, but those are generally offset by some truly abysmal offerings. (To be fair, they don’t actually make the worst beer I’ve ever had… by half a point.) I’d lump these guys with e.g. Big Rock, as pseudo craft macro micro. About the only thing that distinguishes this one is that it drinks easily for the weight. I don’t hate it. I don’t love it. (14/20)

This will be my 6,001st unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com