Category: Reviews

Dandy Brewing / Bellwoods Brewery Hells Bells – American IPA at 5.8% ABV (C$5.26 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 6-Oct-2025, reviewed 13-Oct-2025)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruits, zesty citrus, cereal grains. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, sweetish lingering hop burn bitter finish. (3/5)

“Nelson Sauvin, Nectaron, Rakau, and Loral hops” Tends a bit sweeter than I’d like, and despite that has a somewhat bitter finish with unexpected levels of hop burn. Not the level I’d expect for Bellwoods, but pretty much par for the course for Dandy. (14/20)

This will be my 6,236th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Long Bay Brewery Bantam – American Pale Ale at 5% ABV | 40 IBU (C$6.00 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 29-Aug-2025, acquired 6-Oct-2025, reviewed 13-Oct-2025)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mixed fruits, caramel. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, moderate bitter medium duration finish. (3/5)

“Dry hopped with Cascade, Centennial and Citra” Maybe, but I’m not getting the kind of bright hoppiness I like with that particular blend. In fact, despite the low gravity, it’s fairly plodding and malt-forward. No real faults here, but also nothing to recommend it. (13/20)

This will be my 6,235th unique Untappd check-in.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Origin Brewing Fieldbrew – American Strong Ale at 6.5% ABV (C$4.85 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 4-Mar-2025, acquired 6-Oct-2025, reviewed 12-Oct-2025)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one fat finger of fine pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thick persistent cap, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mixed fruits, caramel. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration finish. (3/5)

Meh. Age might be playing a role here – not sure how I managed to pick up such an old can, but I wouldn’t have had I noticed the date code – but the hops are fairly muted and muddled. There’s nothing really wrong here as such, but there’s certainly nothing interesting. (13/20)

This will be my 6,234th unique Untappd check-in.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Born Brewing Co. Western Boundary – American IPA at 6.7% ABV (C$5.08 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 19-Aug-2025, acquired 6-Oct-2025, reviewed 10-Oct-2025)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one fat finger of fluffy white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: honey, floral/herbal. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

I like the premise here, of all-Alberta ingredients (honey, malt, hops). As usual, the presence of honey doesn’t really impart extra sweetness because so much of the sugars attenuate, but the flavour remains. It’s not blowing me away, but it’s decent. (15/20)

This will be my 6,233rd unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Long Bay Brewery Dragon Fly-PA – American Pale Ale at 5% ABV | 30 IBU (C$6.00 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 21-May-2025, acquired 6-Oct-2025, reviewed 10-Oct-2025)

Appearance: hazy straw with two fingers of fluffy off-white head, excellent retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains, slight herbal. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body falling off slightly watery, moderate carbonation, short duration slightly spicy finish. (4/5)

Pretty decent offering. It tends just a little thin through the finish, but I suppose that’s hardly unexpected given the gravity. I see there’s a double version of this, and I suspect that might be more my speed. (15/20)

This will be my 6,232nd unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Born Brewing Co. Wilderness – American IPA at 6.7% ABV (C$4.72 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 6-Oct-2025, reviewed 9-Oct-2025)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pithy citrus, resiny pine, caramel. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter mildly dank finish. (4/5)

No production date but it must be relatively new. Brewer notes reference Motueka but don’t specify that it’s single-hopped (and I suspect it isn’t). Decent old-school WCIPA with mild dank notes and big bitter, but just very slightly muddled in both aroma and taste. (15/20)

This will be my 6,231st unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company Blinding Lights – American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$6.15 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 29-Sep-2025, acquired 6-Oct-2025, reviewed 8-Oct-2025)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one finger of fine white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mixed berries, citrus, resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, medium duration finish with lingering dank. (4/5)

“Mosaic, Citra, Idaho 7” It’s not your father’s WCIPA, that’s for sure: the dank pine on the aroma doesn’t translate through into big bitter on the tongue. Pretty easy-drinking and approachable for a fairly enthusiastic ABV. (16/20)

This will be my 6,230th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company Dizzy New Heights – American IPA at 6.6% ABV (C$6.15 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 25-Sep-2025, acquired 6-Oct-2025, reviewed 8-Oct-2025)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of pillowy pale ivory head, excellent retention and well-defined stringy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical fruit, cereal grains, hints of lactose and resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

“Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Mosaic” Yet another excellent offering from The Establishment… that’s pretty hard to distinguish from any number of other excellent offerings from The Establishment… Look, I’m not complaining, and there’s certainly no basis for me to penalize this in scoring – but… hell, I dunno. It seems a bit ungracious to say “Stop making great beers that are only slightly different from other great beers!” doesn’t it? So, carry on, I guess. (16/20)

This will be my 6,229th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Cabin Brewing Company Luminous Rain – Cold IPA at 6% ABV (C$5.08 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 12-Sep-2025, acquired 6-Oct-2025, reviewed 6-Oct-2025)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with one fat finger of loose white head diminishing gradually to a persistent cap, moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, resiny pine, pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, clean medium duration finish. (4/5)

Hey, remember when Cold IPAs were a thing for about five minutes, a couple years ago? Me neither… Anyhoo, this is basically a Pils hopped like a WCIPA (Mosaic, Citra, Simcoe, and Centennial). Which I’m perfectly fine with, particularly since Sunshine Rain is one of the few beers that I will grab as a go-to for out on the deck. I’m not sure this is better than Sunshine Rain, but it’s an interesting variation, and that’s not nothing. (15/20)

This will be my 6,228th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

St. Austell Brewery Tribute – English Pale Ale at 4.2% ABV | 35 IBU (C$4.75 at Collective, 500 ml, best before 31-Mar-2026, acquired 6-Oct-2025, reviewed 6-Oct-2025)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of fine pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: toasted bread, grass, light citrus, faint herbal. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, clean medium duration finish. (4/5)

Perfectly well-behaved and very English. Also completely forgettable, with absolutely nothing to distinguish it from any number of EPA’s. (14/20)

This will be my 6,227th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com