Author: dpatrickryan

De Proef Brouwerij / Mikkeller Mosaic American Double/Imperial IPA at 8.9% ABV ($5.50 from Highlander Wine & Spirits)

Pours slightly hazy pale amber with a fat fingers of loose off-white head gradually diminishing to a thin cap and well-defined lacing. Nose is citrus, tropical fruit and caramel malt. Taste is moderate caramel sweet, resin and tropical bitter hops. Medium body, moderate sustained carbonation, and a dry, lingering bitter finish and only a very mild, late alcohol warming.

OK, I’m confused. This is a DIPA, with nearly double the ABV of the Mikkeller Peter, Pale and Mary that I just had – and yet it tastes almost exactly the same. If anything, it’s a touch smoother on the palate, without the hint of funk that I seemed to get with the PP&M. It’s basically the same colour, too, except without the same kind of head explosion and retention. About the only difference I can really pin down is that the PP&M seemed to have a slight thinness to the flavour that isn’t the case with this one. As well, this doesn’t have the one-dimensional flavour I normally associate with single-hop ales – it seems that Mosaic really is the “wonder hop”. Very well-behaved and potentially very dangerous DIPA. And double the booze for the same price? Yeah, I don’t think I’d ever choose the PP&M over this one, given the choice.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

De Proef Brouwerij / Mikkeller Peter, Pale and Mary American Pale Ale at 4.6% ABV ($5.50 from Highlander Wine & Spirits)

Pours slightly hazy pale amber with an unmanageable two fingers of loose off-white head that continues to grow long after pouring, overflowing the glass before finally gradually settling down to a thin cap and heavy chunky lacing. Nose is lemony citrus, tropical fruit and pale malt, with a little funk in the background. Taste is moderate caramel sweet, resin and tropical bitter hops. Medium body, moderate sustained carbonation, and a dry, lingering bitter finish.

What the hell, Mikkeller? I deliberately overchilled this thing, and poured it gently, and it still assaulted me and my light box. And APA? I’ve had ales that claimed to be DIPA’s that weren’t this hoppy. I’m halfway convinced there’s just a tiny bit of brett in there, or maybe it’s just the edge of the citrusy starts-with-C hops – I’m guessing Citra and Centennial. Smells maybe a bit better than it tastes. Really good, especially for the somewhat reasonable price.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie McAuslan St-Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale Fruit Beer at 5% ABV ($3.49 from Quarry Park Co-Op)

Pours clear medium gold with a short finger of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. Nose is overwhelmingly apricot, with faint hints of wheat, yeast, and pale malt. Taste starts low to moderately sweet, giving way to mild bitter and a lingering apricot flavour. Light body, initially prickly champagne-like carbonation settles to moderate sustained levels, and an off-dry finish.

Not bad but I’m less than convinced. On the up side, it doesn’t actually taste fake. The sweetness is actually pretty restrained, preventing it from becoming syrupy or sickly. All things considered, I wouldn’t turn one down on a hot day – but it’s not their best, not by a long margin.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Alameda Brewing Co. Yellow Wolf Imperial IPA Imperial/Double IPA at 8.2% ABV

Pours hazy pale gold with a fat finger of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thick cap, moderate lacing. Nose is moderately intense citrus, piney, and herbal hops balanced with pale malt. Taste starts moderately sweet, giving way to moderately intense bitter. Medium body with low sustained carbonation and a long dry bitter finish.

I’m not sure if I entirely like Columbus hops in a DIPA. For me, the herbal aspect reduces the overall impact of the hops and makes this feel like it’s not quite the 103 IBU hop bomb it might otherwise be. It sort of leaves the door open for the malt to have a greater presence on the nose and the tongue, edging into the malty DIPA territory I don’t prefer. I don’t dislike this beer, and it’s quite drinkable, but a better hop blend might make it more memorable.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Half Pints Brewing Co. Humulus Ludicrous Imperial/Double IPA at 8.0% ABV

Pours clear pale amber with two fingers dense beige head (that doubles in size after the pour becoming a marshmallow) and great retention, heavy lacing. Nose is moderately intense citrus and piney hops with light pale malt in the background. Taste starts moderately sweet, giving way rapidly to intense bitter. Medium body with moderate sustained carbonation and a lingering spicy bitter finish.

“Ludicrous” is a good name for this beer. The head, the nose, and the finish might all be described as such. This is not a beer that believes in hiding its light under a bushel. I like it! The flavour of the Centennial and Cascade hops comes through loud and clear, and despite the colour and the initial nose, the pale malt plays very much a supporting role, rather than coming to the forefront. I like precisely this balance in a DIPA. An excellent choice to hold its own against spicy foods.

My 112th from the 2010 Edition of 1001 Beers, 106th by the 2013 Edition, and 115th overall.

8.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

8 Wired Brewing Company iStout Imperial Stout at 10% ABV

Pours nearly solid black with only a hint of ruby around the margins, a short finger of dense chocolate brown head with great retention, moderate lacing. Nose is somewhat muted, coffee and dark chocolate, dark roasted malt, faint vanilla. Taste is dark roasted malt, coffee, light vanilla, ending mildly bitter. Full bodied and viscous, with mild sustained carbonation and a mild bitter finish.

A very nice example of the Imperial Stout / RIS style. Suffers only very slightly by comparison to the Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel I had immediately before it – a little less smooth and rich, but only barely, and possessing a little more typical coffee astringency. All that said, still a helluva fine beer, and a helluva lot cheaper than the Mikkeller! (Yes, I’m marking it down for the stupid name.)

9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel Imperial Stout at 10.9% ABV

Pours a solid inky black (without even a hint of colour round the margins) with two fingers of dense chocolate brown head diminishing gradually to a half finger cap, moderate lacing. Nose is dark roasted coffee and dark chocolate, with a hint of café latte milkiness and maybe some dark fruit. Taste is dark roasted malt, rich coffee, perhaps a hint of liquorice and only a very mild, very late bitterness. Full bodied and viscous, with mild sustained carbonation and a smooth finish.

Wow. I didn’t realize before tasting this, that the titular “weasel” was the civet cat, and that this is basically made with kopi leuwak. And it shows – there’s no bitterness or astringency from the coffee at all. In fact, there’s very little bitterness at all, despite the rich coffee flavour. I keep waiting for the bitterness to hit, and it just doesn’t. The bitterness is not the only thing that’s conspicuously absent here, either: the ABV is utterly and completely missing. This thing is nearly 11%, and it drinks like a cup of coffee. One could get in a great deal of trouble with this exceedingly dangerous beer… were it not roughly as expensive as unicorn blood – or, given the colour, printer cartridge ink…

9.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie McAuslan St. Ambroise Vintage Ale Millésimée (2013) Barleywine at 10% ABV

Pours a slightly hazy deep amber with a fat finger of fluffy beige head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, moderate lacing. Nose is toffee and caramel, candi sugar, dark fruit and spice, with a boozy edge. Taste starts burned sugar sweet and gives way to building bitter as the sweet fades. Heavy body, slick buttery texture, low carbonation, and a sticky bitter boozy finish.

Lots going on here – burned sugar, dark fruit, big booze… This isn’t a beer that does subtle. That’s not entirely a good thing, mind you, since that does apply to the bitter finish, which comes on strong and lingers, with some harshness. Could perhaps use some cellaring time to smooth the rough edges.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com