Author: dpatrickryan

Gigantic Brewing Company Catch 23 America Pale Ale at 5.6% ABV (C$6.76 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours clear pale gold with two fingers of fluffy light tan head, diminishing gradually to a thick cap, moderate lacing. (4/5) Nose is pineapple, mango, citrus and mild pine, light caramel malt. (7/10) Taste is mild to moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly oily texture, finishes crisp and bitter. (4/5)

So, as far as I can tell, Experimental Hop 527 is a Yakima Valley grown “more subtle cousin” of Azacca. It’s nice – fruit and citrus dominating, with a little pine and maybe just a hint of onion. A bit more complex than the clear bright fruitiness of e.g. Nelson Sauvin, but definitely an interesting hop to watch. Another solid performer from Gigantic. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Lagunitas Brewing Company Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale American Strong Ale at 9.3% ABV (C$2.83 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours clear red-tinged pale amber with a fat finger of rocky white head, great retention and heavy lacing. (5/5) Nose is brown sugar, raisins, dank piney resin, citrus, mild boozy fruit. (8/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (8/10) Medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Wow – that’s a whole lotta hops for a non-IPA. But, it’s almost all on the nose and relatively little on the tongue (which is why I’m thinking it’s a lot of dry hopping, as opposed to in the boil). Interesting. (And the name is pretty much what you think. Let’s just say, the residents of Sonoma County are/were somewhat more accepting of certain other intoxicants than the state Alcohol Beverage Control, and that Lagunitas’ tastings reflected that sense of accommodation.) Aesthetically, you’d be hard-pressed to find a prettier beer – seriously, I can’t think of one. (17/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Anchor Brewing Company Saison Spring Ale Saison at 7.2% ABV (C$2.23 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 355 ml, best before 1-Feb-2017)

Pours clear pale gold with a fat finger of off-white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is cloves, light banana, wheat, earthy pale malt, mild lemony citrus. (6/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderate bitter, mild white pepper, very mild funk. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly spicy finish. (3/5)

Limited Belgian character, very limited barnyard funk. Not unpleasant, but not a heckuva saison. Not really all that interesting, but it does grow on you – the flavours, in particular the pepper, build as the pint progresses. Not enough to make it memorable, perhaps, but enough to salvage it from the doldrums of mediocrity. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Driftwood Brewery Fat Tug IPA American IPA at 7% ABV (C$5.10 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottled on 25-Mar-2015)

Pours clear deep gold with two fingers of rocky white head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, chunky lacing. (4/5) Nose is dank pine resin, bright citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt. (9/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderately strong bitter. (9/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Went into this with high hopes… and was not disappointed. Lovely and bright – so nice to be able to get an IPA that’s under a month old! – and with the right balance of complexity and clean flavour. A very solid performer, and one I’d love to try on tap or in a fresher bottle. (17/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Wild Rose Brewery Switch Hitter IPL India Pale Lager at 6% ABV (C$5.95 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours clear straw with a fat finger of white head, good retention and excellent lacing. (4/5) Nose is citrus, pine, tropical fruit and light caramel malt. (8/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Light to medium body, moderate carbonation, dry and crisp with a lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Wow – that’s actually pretty nice. (And yes, I know I’m normally a bit negatively biased towards lagers.) A surprising amount of bright hops makes this something that I can legitimately enjoy on its own merits, rather than making the obligatory “for the style” caveats. I usually say, “Sure, you can overcome the inherent boring character of lagers, but why bother?” – but this doesn’t feel like it’s compensating for anything. Probably the best thing Wild Rose makes, and actually much better than their IPA. Well done, Wild Rose! (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

To Øl Reperationsbajer American Pale Ale at 5.8% ABV (C$4.54 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 330 ml, best before 18-Dec-2015)

Pours hazy pale amber with two fingers of off-white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is grapefruit, pine, light caramel malt. (8/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium body, lively carbonation, dry and crisp with a lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

“Reparationsbajer” is Danish for “recovery beer” – as in, a hangover recovery beer. Genius. A little heavy on the ABV for an APA – so as to provide maximal medicinal hair-of-the-dog benefit, I suppose – but not to the point that it would upset one’s presumably already delicate constitution. The lively carbonation seems perfect to cut through flannel-mouth, as does the dry crispness. And the blend of Amarillo, Centennial, and Nelson Sauvin (seriously, my new favourite hop) provide a nice fruity and citrusy flavour without being too bitter. I’m almost disappointed I’m not hungover, so as to test it better. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company Enjoy By 4.20.15 American IPA at 9.4% ABV (C$10.26 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, best before 20-Apr-2015)

Pours clear pale gold with two fingers of white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, spotty lacing. (4/5) Nose is pine resin, caramel malt, light boozy stone fruit. (9/10) Taste is mild sweet, strong bitter. (9/10) Medium to full body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Don’t tell me how to live my life, bottle! (Again.) You’re not the boss of me! You’re also not the most impressive of the Enjoy By series, so I don’t see where you get off, being all demanding. “Devastatingly dank”? Nope, sorry. Gotta count this as a little bit of a swing and a miss for Stone. (But if we’re being honest, only a little.) I was expecting true West Coast dank from the 4.20 – for obvious, if somewhat sophomoric, reasons – and though it’s nice, it’s not legen-wait-for-it-dary. Not malt-forward, perhaps, but malt-emphatic, for sure. Hey, I drank it the day I got it, that’s as fresh as I could do – what do you want from me? But I don’t think it’s really an age issue. Damn nice, but not quite up to the bar set by the previous iterations. (18/20)

9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Caldera Brewing Company Ashland Amber Ale American Amber / Red Ale at 5.6% ABV (C$2.16 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 355 ml, canning date 11-Mar-2015)

Pours clear pale amber with two fingers of light tan head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (4/5) Nose is caramel malt, hoppy citrus, light toast. (7/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

A pretty good amber. Decently hoppy, but in a supporting role that doesn’t turn it into a brown IPA – it doesn’t lose the malt-forward character that you’d expect for an amber, but instead builds on it. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Caldera Brewing Company Caldera IPA American IPA at 6.1% ABV (C$2.16 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 355 ml, canning date 18-Mar-2015)

Pours clear pale amber with three fingers of off-white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderately well-defined lacing. (4/5) Nose is bright citrus, tropical fruit, mild grainy caramel malt, very slight onion and garlic. (7/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderately strong bitter. (8/10) Medium body with a slightly oily texture, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

A nice balance of Amarillo, Centennial, and Simcoe – there’s a lot of bright citrus and pleasant tropical fruit, with an interesting savoury aspect that really does come through as onion and garlic, especially on the aftertaste. (But not in a negative way.) (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com