Author: dpatrickryan

Snake Lake Brewing Company Prairie Dreams – American Pale Ale at 5.2% ABV | 28 IBU (C$4.18 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 25-May-2021, reviewed 4-Jun-2021)

Appearance: hazy straw with two fingers of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thick persistent cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, grapefruit, tropical fruit, melon, pale crackery malt, light earthy pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium finish. (4/5)

The label says it’s hopped with El Dorado, Citra, and Pahto, and that’s pretty much what I’m getting. It’s got a pleasant aroma, but not very emphatic – I was hoping for more, well, everything. The scoring could have gone a little either way here: higher, for the fact that the aroma was nice, or lower, because of how little of it there was. Bottom line, though, it was a little short of great, for me anyway. (15/20)

7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

2 Crows Brewing Roble – American Wild Ale at 4.2% ABV | 19 IBU (C$5.08 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 2-Mar-2021, acquired 25-May-2021, reviewed 3-Jun-2021)

Appearance: hazy straw with one fat finger of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thick persistent cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tart stone fruit & pomes, orange peel, yeasty funk, leather, wheat, oak, light coriander. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, low bitter. (8/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly tart finish. (4/5)

The label says “FUN FUNKY FRESH”, and I’ll give ‘em the first two, but the third near-on enrages me. I absolutely hate seeing that on a label, though in their defence at least they use readable date codes, so it’s on the consumer if it isn’t actually fresh. They call this a wild-fermented witbier, and the wild definitely dominates, with a tart stone fruit character up front, and a pleasant yeasty funk through the mid. I like the fact that the label lists coriander as an ingredient (it’s supposed to be a witbier, after all) but its spice content is really mellow – oftentimes if you can smell the coriander at first, it’s overwhelming by then end, but this is nicely done. The name means “oak” in Spanish, and as a result I was expecting a little more woodiness, but again I’m finding that component even-handed and well-balanced. All in all, this is a very nice little experiment and a crushable, anytime, anywhere kind of beer. (15/20)

7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Fair State Co-Op Party Forward – American IPA at 6.0% ABV (C$3.85 at Collective, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 25-May-2021, reviewed 28-May-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with one finger of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pithy and zesty citrus, cereal grains, tropical fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry mild bitter finish. (4/5)

The labels says it’s brewed with wheat, oats, and Citra, but doesn’t specify if it’s single-hopped. On the other hand, the brewer web site says Citra and Citra Cryo, so presumably it is in fact single-hopped. Certainly the citrus is the dominant factor here, along with some pleasant tropical fruit. The aroma and flavour are generally pretty decent, but seem to fade fairly rapidly, so I might be just a little enthusiastic on the scoring there, or it might be a bit elderly because there’s NO PACKAGING DATE YADDA YADDA YADDA I’M TIRED OF HEARING MYSELF COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS. On the other hand, the malting is spot-on, providing appropriate support to the hops but otherwise not intruding. Just drink it fast, I guess? (15/20)

7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Cannery Brewing Company HDHC Mosaic IPA – American IPA at 7% ABV (C$4.81 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 25-Mar-2021, acquired 25-May-2021, reviewed 28-May-2021)

Appearance: hazy straw with two fat fingers of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bright juicy citrus, tropical fruit, pale biscuity malt, dank resiny pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (9/10) Medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter slightly spicy finish. (4/5)

This is a new technique to me, apparently pioneered by Other Half: High-Density Hop Charge, using pelletized hops, lupulin pellets, and Incognito™ CO₂-extracted hop oil. In other words, take the single-hop concept, crank it to 11, and break off the knob. And damn, that is some shit: think, Mosaic on crack. Juicy fruit on the front end, dank pine on the back, and a mild spicy hop burn in the finish. Easily and by far (nearly two full standard deviations above the mean: for n=12, μ=7 & σ=0.89) the best I’ve ever had from Cannery. I could quite happily drink arbitrarily more of these, until I fell over. (17/20)

8.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

57 North Brewing Snye PA – American IPA at 5.2% ABV (C$3.82 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 25-May-2021, reviewed 27-May-2021)

Appearance: clear pale amber with a large loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin skim and ring, spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: sweet caramel, grass, citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

The name is an acknowledgement of a waterway in the home of the brewery, Fort McMurray. Which has, well, nothing going for it, and should be avoided at all costs. The beer’s not terrible, but certainly doesn’t justify a trip to Fort Mac, “the second-largest city in Newfoundland”. (Yes, it’s in Alberta, and yes, I’m a Newfoundlander, so I can make obscure references like that.) What it is, is a very old-fashioned malt-forward AIPA with English influences. Like I said, very old-fashioned. If you like noble hops, good for you, have at it. (13/20)

6.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Alley Kat Brewing Co. Hot Tropic – American Pale Ale at 5.2% ABV | 25 IBU (C$4.41 at Collective, 473 ml, best before 10-Nov-2021, acquired 25-May-2021, reviewed 27-May-2021)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fat fingers of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pineapple, stone fruit, barnyard funk, citrus, wheat. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, light funky tart. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short duration tart finish. (4/5)

The label indicates El Dorado hops as an accompaniment to the kveik yeast, but doesn’t specify whether or not it’s actually single-hopped. The pineapple doesn’t completely dominate the aroma, but is certainly present. Despite this, and with my complete approval, it doesn’t come through as excessive sweetness on the tongue. Not a bad little beer overall, and it’s actually hovering on the cusp of next-level. (15/20)

7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Bellwoods Brewery Jelly King Plum Cherry – Sour / Wild Ale at 5.6% ABV (C$12.91 at Collective, 500 ml, packaged on 25-Feb-2021, acquired 25-May-2021, reviewed 26-May-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale pink-purple with two fat fingers of rocky pale purple head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tart stone fruit, field berries, light grapefruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high tart, moderate sweet, low bitter. (8/10) Medium-light body, lively carbonation, short duration tart finish. (4/5)

This is pretty much exactly what I expected, considering my experience with the Plum version: the stone fruit character (in this case, plum and cherry), completely overwhelms the hop complexity of the base version, both in aroma and flavour. Like the Plum this is not quite as good as the original, but still pretty good. (16/20)

8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Snake Lake Brewing Company / Craft Beer Commonwealth Patio Life – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8% ABV | 25 IBU (C$4.36 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 25-May-2021, reviewed 25-May-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains, resiny pine, earthy tobacco/leather. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter lightly warming finish. (4/5)

I was a bit worried about this one, because somewhere between the shop and the house, it sprung a leak from the side (!) of the can. But, it still had good pressure when I cracked it, so I think it’s fine, albeit with perhaps slightly lower carbonation than it otherwise would’ve had. It’s got an interesting aroma, with definite tropical and citrus notes, but also an earthy pine note reminiscent of tobacco or leather. I couldn’t find any proper brewer’s notes, but the label indicated hops from New Zealand, Australia and the United States. The ABV is very well integrated, presenting barely at all as a mild warming. So, yeah, it’s a patio beer, until you fall off the patio. (16/20)

8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Vancouver Island Brewing West Coast IPA – American IPA at 7.0% ABV | 80 IBU (C$3.00 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 8-Apr-2021, acquired 7-May-2021, reviewed 24-May-2021)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with a short, short-lived off-white head, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: floral, pine, caramel, citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

I was initially a bit unimpressed by the aroma, which started off a little soap-like with floral notes dominating. However, the floral settled down rapidly, and the pine became a little more pronounced, giving a better overall balance. Still not as dank and resiny as I like to see in a WCIPA, but it (barely) ends up roughly middle of the pack, both overall for AIPAs (for n=803, μ=7.4 & σ=0.76), and for my somewhat limited experience with this brewery (for n=9, μ=6.7 & σ=1.12). (14/20)

7/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Deschutes Brewery Squeezy Rider – American IPA at 7.0% ABV (C$3.37 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 29-Mar-2021, acquired 7-May-2021, reviewed 24-May-2021)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with a short, short-lived off-white head, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, tropical fruit, melon, bready malt, hint of solvent. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Disappointing, to be honest. Right off the top, the appearance is unimpressive. This is followed by an aroma that is not only surprisingly (I’d argue, inappropriately) mild, but also marred by a slight solvent edge. The flavour follows suit, with not a whole lot of anything making itself known. There’s little indication of the higher ABV, sure, but I’m left wondering why there’s so little… well… anything, if there’s a decent malt base there to support things. A bit of a swing and a miss for a brewery that I’m pretty familiar with, and generally pleased by (for n=39, μ=7.6 & σ=0.78). (13/20)

6.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze