Category: Reviews

Small Gods Brewing Co. Funkenflieger – Hopfenweisse at 6% ABV (C$6.25 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 12-Aug-2024, reviewed 16-Aug-2024)

Appearance: hazy straw with one fat finger of fine creamy white head, excellent retention and spotty soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, clove, wheat, banana. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild tart. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, medium duration mildly tart and spicy finish. (3/5)

Hopped with Tango and Mandarina Bavaria. The label calls it a “Bavarian IPA” but for me it’s a Hopfenweisse. I’m definitely getting the zesty citrus of the Mandarina on top of the more traditional Noble-style hopping I’d expect from Tango. Pleasant enough, but the lingering clove prevents it from being exactly refreshing in my book. (And what’s a “funkenflieger” supposed to be, anyway? It literally means “spark flyer”, so a poetic way to describe a firefly?) (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Russell Brewing Company Can You Peel The Love Tonight? – American Pale Ale at 4.8% ABV | 30 IBU (C$4.70 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 12-Aug-2024, reviewed 14-Aug-2024)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and well-defined droopy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: mild, citrus zest. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild tart. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, short duration off-dry tart finish. (3/5)

Hopped with Azacca Cryo, Citra, and Eclipse. They could have done a better job on the Droste Effect label art, but otherwise not a lot of real big complaints here. The citrus adjunct dominates what little aroma there is, and that continues through the taste into an oily citrus bitter finish. Overall, it’s a bit unbalanced, but a functional pint. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

New Belgium Brewing Company Lips of Faith Series Le Terroir (2014) – Sour / Wild Ale at 7.5% ABV (C$19.49 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 6-Nov-2014, reviewed 13-Aug-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with a short pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: stone fruit, wood, mild funk. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high tart, low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, short duration dry tart finish. (4/5)

And, at ten years old, that’s the last of the dusty old ones I had for that particular vintage. Essentially unchanged over another year of cellaring after the last one I did, and still good. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Eighty-Eight Brewing Personal Best – Session IPA at 3.5% ABV (C$4.81 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 16-Jul-2024, acquired 2-Aug-2024, reviewed 8-Aug-2024)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with one fat finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and  lacing. (4/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, tropical, cereal grains. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: light body, moderate-low carbonation, short clean finish. (4/5)

“Small Hazy IPA w/ Citra”. Dunno if it’s single-hopped, but it might be. Very nice, even without the “for a Session” qualifier. My only real complaint is that the aroma, pleasant though it is, is just a little mild. Still a decent offering. (15/20)

This will be my 5,909th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Atlas Brewing Corp. Loki’s Elixir – Quadruple IPA at 11.7% ABV | 34 IBU (C$6.95 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 2-Aug-2024, reviewed 7-Aug-2024)

Appearance: brown-tinged pale gold with a short, short-lived fine white head, no lacing. (2/5) Aroma: mild, tropical fruit, citrus, wet cardboard. (4/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (4/10) Palate: medium body, low carbonation, short mildly warming finish. (3/5)

This is oxidized (or otherwise damaged) and I was disinclined to rate it – and then I remembered they didn’t date their damn can, so it’s fair game. Sink pour train wreck. Shame, too, because it doesn’t seem like it’s all that aggressive for the ABV. Would like to try an undamaged one. (9/20)

This will be my 5,908th unique Untappd check-in.

4.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Canmore Brewing Company Sundance – Session IPA at 4.5% ABV | 50 IBU (C$4.81 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 2-Aug-2024, reviewed 7-Aug-2024)

Appearance: hazy particulate-laden deep gold with a short, short-lived loose white head, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, melon, vegetables/tea. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, short lightly tart finish. (4/5)

“Tropical Session IPA” I’m not sure what’s going on with the flavour profile here, but there’s an edge that I’m interpreting as vegetal or melon rind (or maybe black tea) that doesn’t feel completely intended or style-appropriate. It’s also a bit overwhelmed by the tropical fruit (pineapple and passionfruit) adjunct – but as I often note, I don’t mind a Radler, so that’s not really so much a negative, as an observation. All in all though, I’m not overly impressed. (13/20)

This will be my 5,907th unique Untappd check-in.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company Liquid Light – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.3% ABV (C$6.25 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 29-Jul-2024, acquired 2-Aug-2024, reviewed 6-Aug-2024)

Appearance: clear straw with a short, short-lived loose white head, minimal lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dank resiny pine, citrus, tropical fruit, field berries. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, short clean mildly warming finish. (4/5)

“Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic and Strata” Just dead average. For them. Which means world-class. Their first WCDIPA, but you wouldn’t know it. A lovely return to the pre-haze craze days of dank WC. (16/20)

This will be my 5,906th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Offshoot Beer Co. Papaya Playa – American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$6.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 5-Mar-2024, acquired 2-Aug-2024, reviewed 6-Aug-2024)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fingers of loose white head, good retention and spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: melon, tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, short lightly tart finish. (4/5)

The “with papaya and melon” pretty much overwhelms everything else. It’s not bad, but the melon in particular is almost rind- or vegetal-like, especially towards the end of the pint. Not overly memorable. (14/20)

This will be my 5,905th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Blindman Brewing New Zealand Double IPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.6% ABV | 65 IBU (C$5.26 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 8-Jul-2024, acquired 2-Aug-2024, reviewed 5-Aug-2024)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one fat finger of fluffy off-white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: dank citrus and pine, pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building bitter finish. (4/5)

Apparently brewed with three ANZ hops: Rakau, Nectaron, and Superdelic. Might be my third exposure to Superdelic, and I still think I approve, especially for this style. Nothing really wrong here, except it’s not quite as bright and juicy as I’d like. Decent enough, but a bit short of great. (15/20)

This will be my 5,904th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bellwoods Brewery / Eighty-Eight Brewing Co. Shark Pool – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8% ABV (C$8.75 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 2-Aug-2024, reviewed 5-Aug-2024)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one finger of fine pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains, resiny pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Cool – two of my favourite breweries in the country (one local, one not) did a collab! Gonna have to look for the one that they brewed here as well. They describe this one as a mix of Witchshark and Wave Pool, and say it “features Rakau and Citra hops, and uses a wide variety of hopping techniques”. (I haven’t had a Witchshark for about eight years now, and Wave Pool was six, so probably time to rectify that on both counts.) This is pretty great, juicy and hoppy, with no hint at all of the higher ABV. (16/20)

This will be my 5,903rd unique Untappd check-in.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com