Author: dpatrickryan

Burdock Brewing Small Hoppy Beer Tiny IPA – American IPA at 2.9% ABV (C$5.04 at Collective, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 24-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with two fingers of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: bright citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt, hint of pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, short slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Hopped with Simcoe and Idaho-7, brewed with Escarpment Hydra. It certainly ticks all the boxes as far as the label description goes: it is indeed small and hoppy. The hopping is quite nice, with bright fruity notes of lemon and candied pineapples. Unfortunately, it’s also quite small, to the point where it ends up being a bit astringent in the finish. Not without its charms, but not quite as nice as the aroma first promises, and not one I’d necessarily want again. (13/20)

This will be my 5,203rd unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Zero Issue Brewing Mycelium (Issue #61) – American IPA at 6% ABV (C$4.50 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 17-Feb-2022, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 23-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of fine pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, citrus, pale malt, hint of pine. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

I don’t usually have a lot to say about beer names these days, because to be honest it’s generally a load of nonsense, but I have to say: naming a beer after fungus is just off-puttingly wrong. No date stamp, but it was only announced on February 17, so it can’t be much older than that. Definitely not offensive, but a little disappointing: the aroma is relatively mild, and there isn’t a lot of the citrus and pine the brewer notes promise. In fact, they call it a “classic West Coast style IPA”, which it, well, isn’t. Not even close. If it were another brewery, I might shrug and move on, but my experience with this brewer (for n=24, μ=7.4 & σ=0.5) had me expecting better. Just OK – and if I were actually scoring it as a WCIPA, it would score quite a bit lower. (14/20)

This will be my 5,202nd unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Long Hop Brewing Co. Tropical Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5.2% ABV | 37 IBU (C$4.05 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 11-Dec-2021, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 22-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fingers of fine pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Not a lot to say here – not a lot of flavour intensity, and a slightly astringent finish despite the body not being particularly thin. A bit boring, in fact. (14/20)

This will be my 5,201st unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Revival Brewcade Invader – American Pale Wheat Ale at 4.5% ABV (C$3.60 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 22-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy straw with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: wheat and cereal grains, lemony citrus, hint of grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, short finish. (4/5)

I quite like this. Yes, it’s definitely a wheat ale, and yes, it’s definitely hopped, but neither aspect really exerts dominance. Instead, it nicely balances elements of each (and somewhat surprisingly, there are no Hefe-like banana notes). Maybe one of the better examples of Mandarina Bavaria hopping I’ve encountered, possibly because it’s bolstered with Citra. Pleasant and easy to drink, flavourful despite the low ABV and lean malt bill, and not too sweet. (16/20)

This will be my 5,200th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Cabin Brewing Company / Another Beer Co. Triples Is Best – Triple IPA at 10% ABV (C$5.40 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 12-Jan-2022, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 21-Feb-2022)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with two fat fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bready yeast, juicy citrus, cream, vanilla, stone fruit, light pine, hint of coconut. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, mildly warming finish. (4/5)

The brewer notes say this is triple dry-hopped with Talus, Cryo Pop, and HBC 630. They also strongly imply they live at the brewery and survive on instant ramen (and, presumably, beer), so I almost feel like I should pop by with a care package of socks, underwear, and a home-cooked meal…? The aroma was first dominated by a surprisingly emphatic bready yeast, but that faded quickly to leave behind orange juice, and eventually lactose, vanilla, peach, and earthy pine, with a hint of coconut (Talus – previously known as HBC 692 – is a relative of Sabro, so that’s my guess as the source of that). I was initially a little unimpressed by this, but it grew on me rapidly – possibly due to the interesting complexity, but more probably due to the double-digit ABV, presumably proving the premise of the name. “Triples is best”? I’m willing to accept that. (16/20)

This will be my 5,199th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Collective Arts Brewing IPA No. 20 (Citra Four Ways) – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$5.08 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 21-Dec-2021, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 21-Feb-2022)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with two fat fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: light body tending slightly watery, moderate-low carbonation, short finish. (3/5)

The hopping was exactly what I expected from the name: Citra, plus its Cryo, Incognito, and Spectrum versions. For all that, it’s not as brightly hoppy as I would have expected for so many hops, and the body is surprisingly light, tending watery. Definitely not among the best in this series. (14/20)

This will be my 5,198th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

BeerMKR Future IPA – American IPA at 5.8% ABV | 45 IBU (Initial Setup 1-Feb-2022, Pitch & Hop 2-Feb-2022, Dry Hop 5-Feb-2022, Keg & Carb 14-Feb-2022, Reviewed 19-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy, tropical fruit, citrus, oats & cereal grains, earthy pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration very slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

My fourth BeerMKR batch. Still having issues with my kegging setup, so there’s still a bit more oxygenation and trub disturbance going on than I’d like. We’re inching out of “middle of the pack” and towards respectability here, but there’s still a ways to go. Part of the issue might be what appears to be a packaging error with the kit, so that I ended up with only 50g of CaraFoam instead of the 200g that was supposed to go in. Thus, I’m ending up with a slightly lower ABV than intended, and more importantly a slightly thinner body, verging a bit more towards APA than IPA. This thinner body seems to be resulting in it being slightly overhopped for the malt bill and so mildly astringent. Still very drinkable, especially after a week of cold conditioned carbing, and good enough that I was disappointed when it ran out. I’ll probably run this one again at some point. (15/20)

This will be my 5,197th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Cabin Brewing Company Hypersonic – American IPA at 7% ABV (C$5.04 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 2-Feb-2022, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 18-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy tropical fruit, dank resin, citrus, pale malt. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, soft carbonation, slightly sticky moderate duration finish. (4/5)

Probably even better than Super Duper Saturation, and definitely one of their best to date. (Possibly made even more impressive by the fact that two of their three others I scored as highly were a DIPA and a TIPA, which is usually a bit of an unfair advantage.) Juicy tropical dank fun. (17/20)

This will be my 5,196th unique Untappd check-in.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company Trick to Happy – American IPA at 6.4% ABV (C$5.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 15-Feb-2022, acquired 18-Feb-2022, reviewed 17-Feb-2022)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy tropical fruit, citrus, light dank resin. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate-soft carbonation, slightly sticky moderate duration finish. (4/5)

I’m not sure it’s a “trick”, as such. I mean, they say money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy beer, and that’s close enough for me. This one is brewed with Escarpment Labs new Thiol Libre (thiol liberating) yeast and hopped with Nelson Sauvin, Citra, and Galaxy. Um… yes, please? I’m a little surprised that there’s no vinous notes coming through from the Nelson, but it’s still quite brightly hoppy, with lots of tropical fruit and citrus on top and a hint of dank underneath. (16/20)

This will be my 5,195th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Collective Arts Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Porter – Imperial Porter at 11.5% ABV (C$6.99 at Okotoks Co-Op, 355 ml, packaged on 25-Aug-2021, acquired 12-Feb-2022, reviewed 17-Feb-2022)

Appearance: opaque brown with a hint of ruby around the edges, one finger of fine beige head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: bourbon, oak, vanilla, chocolate, hint of liquorice, leather. (9/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate-low carbonation, sticky moderate duration slightly edgy warming finish. (4/5)

Definitely reminiscent of another certain “Kentucky”, at least in aroma and to some extent flavour. Unlike the other, though, this one has some structural issues, particularly regarding head development and retention. They might appear close in score, but trust me, at this level the scoring almost becomes logarithmic in nature, and there’s a world of difference in complexity and finesse encapsulated in that roughly half a point out of ten. The ABV is also just a hair aggressive, and I would normally suggest a year or two of cellaring to mellow – except this one was a can, and although I’ve come a long way in my attitude toward cans, I’m not about to even countenance cellaring one, no way, no how. (17/20)

This will be my 5,194th unique Untappd check-in.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com