Category: Reviews

Wold Top Brewery Shepherd’s Watch Ale Old Ale at 6% ABV (C$5.28 at NLC Stavanger, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before, reviewed 6-Apr-2016)

Appearance: nearly opaque deep brown with amber-brown highlights, one finger of fluffy tan head diminishing rapidly to nothing, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: molasses, dark fruit, toffee. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body tending somewhat to watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderately bitter finish. (3/5)

Not unpleasant. Somewhat surprising bitterness in the finish keeps the sweetness under control, without getting astringent. Drinkable example of the style. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

St. James’s Gate (Diageo) Guinness The 1759 English Strong Ale at 9% ABV (C$31.57 at Specs Main Houston, 750 ml, bottle date 10-Sep-2014, reviewed 5-Apr-2016)

Appearance: clear deep amber to amber-brown with one finger of light beige head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: toffee and butterscotch, light smoke, slightly nutty. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate carbonation, sweetish and slightly boozy finish. (3/5)

So I figured I’d keep going with my “pretentious beer by mainstream brewer” theme, and get this over with. Yeah… really not much to recommend this. Like an unremarkable Wee Heavy, more than anything. Really, really not worth the price of admission. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Molson Coors Canada John H.R. Molson & Bros 1908 American Pale Ale at 6.8% ABV (C$6.11 at NLC Stavanger, 625 ml, bottle date 10-Jan-2016, reviewed 5-Apr-2016)

Appearance: clear pale to medium amber with one fat finger of fluffy off-white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grainy caramel, biscuity malt, light citrus. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (5/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish finish. (3/5)

Look, I went into this… well… I’d be lying if I said “optimistically”. “Less deeply cynical than my experience has indicated I should’ve,” perhaps? I mean, come on, they’ve been brewing for over a century, you’d figure that somebody at some point might’ve accidentally brewed something that didn’t suck. Y’know, blind hogs, truffles, and all that. Sure, it’s a decent-looking beer. And, OK, it’s marginally better than their normal swill. But that’s about as far as it goes. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Collective Arts Brewing Rhyme & Reason American Pale Ale at 5.7% ABV (C$2.58 at NLC Stavanger, 355 ml, bottle date 28-Jan-2016, reviewed 5-Apr-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: resiny pine, catty, citrus, pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Can I just say, their decision to integrate their labels with the Blippar app is just fucking genius? Crack a beer, scan the label, and rock out (in this bottle’s case, to a choral rendition of Toto’s “Africa”) – what’s not to like? Oh, and the beer’s quite decent, too. Resiny pine leads, with a mild and inoffensive catty edge, and just the right pale malt supporting. The bitterness in the finish is fairly lingering and aggressive, and I can see it being a deal breaker for some – but not me. Yeah, it’s got some rough edges, but ultimately it’s a solid APA. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Lake of Bays Brewing Company 10 Point India Pale Ale American IPA at 6% ABV (C$3.34 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, bottle date 25-Jan-2016, reviewed 4-Apr-2016)

Appearance: clear pale to medium amber with one fat finger of fluffy ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: resiny pine, pithy grapefruit, pale malt, tropical fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Much better than their Crosswind Pale Ale. Actually a halfway decent example of an American IPA, with piney and citrusy hops leading the way over just enough pale malt to balance. Ends with a lingering resiny bitter finish. A little rough around the edges, perhaps, but a solid performer. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Lake of Bays Brewing Company Crosswind Pale Ale Blond Ale at 5% ABV (C$3.34 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, bottle date 2-Mar-2016, reviewed 3-Apr-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one fat finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pale malt, grassy, yeasty. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short duration mildly bitter finish. (3/5)

As an “American Pale Ale”, this is a fairly dismal failure. As a Blond Ale, it’s… well… less of a failure – but still a bit of a failure. Limited hop character coming through only as a weedy grassiness, so it ends up tasting not much different than a pale lager, especially as it warms. Really quite a pretty beer, but other than that it’s nothing special. The best I can suggest if you have some of these is, drink them quickly and cold. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck Kasteel Hoppy Belgian Pale Ale at 6.5% ABV (C$10.80 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 750 ml, best before 3-Aug-2016, reviewed 3-Apr-2016)

Appearance: clear medium gold with one fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: apple and pear, pale malt, bready yeast, grassy, citrus rind. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, mild tart. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, prickly to moderate sustained carbonation, and an off-dry mildly bitter and lightly tart finish. (3/5)

A bit like a sweetish tripel. Not really all that hoppy, and what hops there are come through as an almost vegetal or grassy spiciness in the finish. A straightforward golden blond, reasonably pleasant, with nothing to really recommend or reject it. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

New Belgium Brewing Company Lips of Faith Cocoa Molé Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 9% ABV (C$12.75 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, best before 29-Jan-2017, reviewed 1-Apr-2016)

Appearance: clear brown with one finger of loose light beige head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: roasty malts, chocolate, red berries, chilli pepper, caramel, cinnamon? (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, mild spice. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building spicy finish. (3/5)

Not radically dissimilar to e.g. Prairie Artisan’s Christmas Bomb!, in that it has a decently integrated chilli spice, but the thinner body and lighter chocolate flavours don’t seem to work quite as well. Certainly I’m not getting the impression of Mexican hot chocolate or mole (molé? my research indicates no) sauce the way I did with Christmas Bomb! The upside here is that although the spice builds, it never becomes overwhelming. Pleasant, but not overly memorable. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Prairie Artisan Ales Christmas Bomb! American Double / Imperial Stout at 11% ABV (Trade – thanks Bayman4048!, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before, reviewed 31-Mar-2016)

Appearance: nearly opaque black with brown highlights, one finger of fine creamy beige head, excellent retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: chilli pepper, dark chocolate, red berries, light ginger and Christmas spices. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, mild spice. (7/10) Palate: full creamy body, moderate carbonation, and an off-dry lightly boozy and building spicy finish. (4/5)

The chilli spice was somewhat unexpected, but surprisingly well-balanced and integrated. I’ve been at best less than impressed with pretty much every other chilli spiced beer I’ve tried, but this actually pulls it off. I suspect this works because of the addition of chocolate into the mix, which puts me in mind of a mole sauce. Add to that the nearly invisible double digit ABV, and you’ve got a seriously explosive mix. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Wells & Young’s Brewery Bombardier Glorious English Premium Bitter / ESB at 5.2% ABV (C$3.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, best before 18-Aug-2016, reviewed 23-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear deep amber with one finger of fine light beige ivory head, excellent retention and good lacing. (5/5) Aroma: caramel and toffee, nonspecific fruity esters, earthy. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body tending to watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

“Glorious”? I think not. “Acceptable,” perhaps. I’m trying to avoid my tendency to want everything to taste like an IPA or a sour, but really, this is pretty plain. The other thing about this is, it’s really very reminiscent of their Sticky Toffee Pudding. In fact, when I reviewed the Sticky Toffee Pudding, I said it was like mixing “one unremarkable ESB and one bag of Werther’s Originals.” Well, I think this is that unremarkable ESB. It’s not terrible, and I could see drinking a large amount of it in some small dark pub, but it’s not exactly going to thrill you. (13/20)

My 223rd from the 2010 Edition (212th from the 2013 edition), and 234th combining both editions.

6.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com