Author: dpatrickryan

Phillips Brewing Company Little Wonder Hazy IPA – American IPA at 4.0% ABV (C$2.95 at Collective, 355 ml, best before 10-Sep-2021, acquired 7-May-2021, reviewed 24-May-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with a massive rocky white head, excellent retention and heavy droopy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, oily citrus zest, cereal grains, faint grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: light body falling off watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry short duration finish. (3/5)

Brewer notes indicate wheat malt, spelt and flaked oats, dry-hopped with Citra, Ekuanot, Mosaic, Sultana, and Sabro. Mild aroma and flavour on a body that starts thin before falling off further into watery territory. What little character it has is pleasant and inoffensive, but it’s clearly watered down – which is to say, it’s a diet beer and it shows. Its most memorable characteristic is its frankly stupid head, so crush it and forget it. (13/20)

6.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Molson Coors Canada Common Bond – American Pale Lager at 6.1% ABV (C$3.57 at Crowfoot Liquor Heritage Pointe, 473 ml, packaged on 5-May-2021, acquired 23-May-2021, reviewed 23-May-2021)

Appearance: brightly clear medium gold with one fat finger of rocky ivory head, good retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: sweet caramel, oak, vanilla, faint smoke. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, sweetish medium bitter finish. (3/5)

That packaging date is a bit of a wild-assed guess on my part: the date code was A0912408:26, so I assumed the “08:26” to be time and the “124” to be a Julian representation of the next-most significant units i.e. days. But, it might be t’other way ‘round, with “A” meaning 2021 and “091” being the Julian, so 33 days older. (Or, maybe it’s “A” meaning January and “09” being the day, so a couple months older again?) Any way you slice it, it’s not really elderly. And, it’s not really terrible. The obvious comparison is of course Innis & Gunn, and I’ve almost totally given up on them, so there’s that… I mean, for a mass-market macro, it’s… well, a mass-market macro, in that I can’t believe anybody involved at any stage of its production is actually proud of it. But it’s not a terrible one? (13/20)

6.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Blackrocks Brewery Mykiss IPA – American IPA at 7.5% ABV | 60 IBU (C$5.08 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 16-Mar-2021, acquired 7-May-2021, reviewed 23-May-2021)

Appearance: clear straw with one fat finger of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains, floral, resiny pine, grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium bitter finish. (4/5)

Nice one. The aroma starts off sweetly fruity and flowery, but as it warms (and/or retronasally) there’s a distinct shift to citrus and pine. My major complaint here is that it’s way too easy to drink for the higher ABV – that, or the 12 oz can is far too small. (16/20)

8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Four Winds Brewing Co. Greg West Coast IPA – American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 50 IBU (C$4.90 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2021, reviewed 22-May-2021)

Appearance: clear deep gold with one finger of loose white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, pine, caramel, citrus, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Pleasant, but a bit too mild in both aroma and flavour for my preference.  I like a bit of bombast in my WCIPAs, and this one, though nice, is definitely not bombastic. (15/20)

7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Superflux Beer Company Ohms – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$5.35 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2021, reviewed 22-May-2021)

Appearance: hazy, nearly opaque pale gold, two fat and growing fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bright juicy tropical & citrus, cereal grains, coconut, light pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium bitter finish. (4/5)

There was a rush of bright juicy aromas immediately upon cracking the can, that persisted all through the pint, accompanied by a little coconut that seems to grow upon warming. Similar to Marigold, perhaps, but with less pine emphasis. Brewer notes indicate it’s hopped with Galaxy, Vic Secret, and Citra Cryo. Good one. (16/20)

8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Apex Predator Brewing (Bench Creek Brewing) Miyagi – India Pale Lager at 6.6% ABV | 57 IBU (C$4.63 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 13-Apr-2021, acquired 7-May-2021, reviewed 21-May-2021)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep brown with just a hint of relief around the margins, two fat fingers of rocky beige head, excellent retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: roasty malts, coffee, chocolate, pine, dark fruits, citrus. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Me before tasting this: “What the hell does Mr. Miyagi have to do with a Black Lager/IPL?” Me after tasting this: “Who the hell cares?”. Slightly malt-dominant, but well-balanced regardless, with pleasant piney and citrus notes. A crane kick of flavour! (16/20)

8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Overhop Brewing Co. HopGoddess – American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 60 IBU (C$6.07 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 16-Apr-2021, acquired 7-May-2021, reviewed 20-May-2021)

Appearance: clear deep gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: caramel, tropical fruit, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Brewer notes describe a combination of American and Australian hops, but don’t specify which. Sort of old-school in both the appearance and the malt-forward nature, which makes sense given the brewer describes it as their “classic American IPA”. Reasonably well done, and it’s certainly pretty enough, but at the end of the day there’s just too much malt emphasis for me to rank it into next-level territory as a modern AIPA. (15/20)

7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Yukon Brewing Company Galaxy IPA – American IPA at 6.2% ABV (C$4.50 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 7-Apr-2021, acquired 7-May-2021, reviewed 20-May-2021)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one finger of fine white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap and ring, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grass, pine, tropical fruit, caramel, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

The label doesn’t specify whether this is single-hopped with Galaxy, and I can’t find proper brewer’s notes for it. Either way it’s not one of the better implementations of the hop I’ve encountered, in that the grassy and piney notes seem to dominate over the tropical fruit and such little citrus as is present. Don’t get me wrong: it’s not bad, and I’m not getting any real negatives at all, but it’s just not a very effective showcase of Galaxy hops. I might’ve been more impressed by it a decade ago, but the state of the art moves on. (14/20)

7/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

33 Brewing Experiment Fluffy Cloud IPA – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$3.10 at Collective, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2021, reviewed 19-May-2021)

Appearance: hazy straw with a massive fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, pithy grapefruit, tropical fruit, cereal grains, light resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium duration bitter finish. (3/5)

I dunno about fluffy cloud, but it’s certainly fluffy head and then some! Not a complete success for me: although the aroma is decent, it’s mild, and the sweetness being a bit too much to really make it refreshing or crushable. Good, not great. (14/20)

7/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Collective Arts Brewing Good Monster – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.0% ABV (C$5.22 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 14-Apr-2021, acquired 7-May-2021, reviewed 17-May-2021)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fingers of loose off-white head, good retention and minimal spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical & stone fruits, pale malt, light pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry medium duration lingering bitter mildly warming finish. (4/5)

It might be slightly monstrous in terms of the ABV, but it drinks very easily with a light-tending body and lively carbonation. There’s just a hint of warming giving the game away – well, that, and the fact that halfway through the pint the world starts to seem a little less grim… Hopped with Mosaic, Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo, the aroma is bright and juicy, balanced far more to the fruit end of the spectrum, but underpinned by a clean malt and mild pine. Who’s a good monster? This guy! (16/20)

8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze