Category: Reviews

Rogue Ales 7 Hop IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.77% ABV (C$7.21 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear deep gold with one finger of ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pine, caramel malt, tropical fruit, light citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Little disappointing. Aw, who’m I kidding: it’s Rogue, it’s not like I’m surprised or anything. The kitchen sink of hops is a bit muddled and doesn’t come through cleanly over the caramel malt. OK, not great. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ninkasi Brewing Company Maiden the Shade Summer Style India Pale Ale American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$7.16 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy off-white head, excellent retention and good lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus (mostly pithy grapefruit), tropical fruit (mango), pine, mild grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering mildly bitter finish. (4/5)

Quite nice – a bright and pleasant A/IPA with decent citrus and tropical fruits. Hop forward, with just enough malt to support. Brighter would be nice, sure, but I’m greedy that way. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Warka (Zywiec Group/Heineken) Warka Strong Imperial Pils/Strong Pale Lager at 6.5% ABV (C$3.49 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 500 ml, best before 16-Feb-2016)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and good lacing. (4/5) Aroma: biscuity malt, toffee. (5/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, moderately low bitter. (5/10) Palate: full slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, moderately bitter and syrupy finish. (2/5)

Meh. Not my preferred style, but not bad. The profile is completely malt, with no hop character at all, but it’s not unpleasant. (12/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie Les 2 Frères Hickson IPA American IPA at 6.2% ABV (C$4.15 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with two fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, floral, caramel. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, moderately bitter finish. (4/5)

Quite nice. Lots of interesting hop aromas – all the starts-with-C usual suspects are there, and it shows. The malt is nicely balanced, providing decent backup for the hops, without making the brew malt-forward. There’s a lingering but not overwhelming bitter finish, but I’m a little surprised by the 53 IBU the label claims – I’d’ve guessed it was more. Another Quebec brewery that bears watching. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie Les 2 Frères Charles Henri Blanche Witbier at 5.1% ABV (C$4.15 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: lemon, grassy, light yeast. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium light body, moderate carbonation, crisp and lightly tart finish. (4/5)

A pleasantly citrusy and tart witbier. A little one-dimensional, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if you enjoy that dimension – and I like tart citrus, so… (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company RuinTen (2015) American Double / Imperial IPA at 10.8% ABV (C$10.39 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 21-Jun-2015)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (5/5) Aroma: pine resin, pithy grapefruit, caramel malt, dank. (8/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, intense bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium to full body, moderate carbonation, lingering warming finish. (4/5)

Big, bombastic, and verging on brutal. Personally, though, I think there’s a slight tendency towards too much malt in support of the huge bitterness – if you ask me, the “substantial malt backbone” is a little too much so. But even so, this is one smooth (yet skanky) beast. I bought two, thinking I might try aging one, but after experiencing the malt presence that’s already there? Naw. Gonna drink the other one soon, when I feel like getting my booze on. (No, not breakfast tomorrow… probably.) (17/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Privatbrauerei Erdinger Weißbräu Werner Brombach GmbH Erdinger Kristall Kristallweizen at 5.3% ABV (C$5.20 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, best before 1-Mar-2016)

Appearance: crystal clear pale straw with a fat finger of rocky white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: muted, light wheat, banana, bubblegum. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry crisp finish. (3/5)

About what I expected for such an aggressively polished beer: the filtration seems to have stripped out some flavour, resulting in flavours and aromas being somewhat muted. Still pleasant, but it could stand to be more emphatic. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Nøgne Ø / Kissmeyer Naked Kiss Imperial Porter at 11.5% ABV (C$8.01 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500 ml, bottle date 23-Sep-2014)

Appearance: clear brown with a short, short-lived finger of tan head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild roasty malts, dark fruit, light sour red berries. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, moderately strong sour. (8/10) Palate: medium to light body, low carbonation, sour finish. (4/5)

Wow – that’s bizarre. There’s not much on the nose other than the roasty malts, but the taste is quite sour. Loads of unexpected black currant sharpness make this quite interesting. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brash Brewing Company Smoglifter Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout Milk / Sweet Stout at 10% ABV (C$9.64 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 20-Oct-2014)

Appearance: nearly solid black with one finger of dense mocha head, excellent retention and decent lacing. (4/5) Aroma: chocolate, mild coffee, roasty malts, some dark fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: full body tending a little to the watery, low carbonation, warming finish. (4/5)

I’m not sure it’s “making love to your mouth like a horny sorority girl”, but it’ll do. The body seems viscous at the outset, but turns slightly watery midway. The bitterness does pretty well at balancing the sweetness, but it lingers a little too much, making for a little bit of an edge to the finish. Still pretty good, though! (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company Farking Wheaton W00tstout (2015) Imperial Stout at 13% ABV (C$19.34 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 20-Jun-2015)

Appearance: deep brown with two fingers of dense mocha head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: chocolate, bourbon, nutty, faint coffee. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (9/10) Palate: full body, low carbonation, silky warming finish. (5/5)

“Drink fresh or age at cellar temp”. Well, I ask you: why does life have to be a series of either/or choices? Why can’t we have both? Why can’t I have my cake and eat it too?

Which is why I bought not one, but TWO of these: so I could both drink fresh AND age at cellar temp. Because sometimes, that’s just how I roll, y’all. And come on – Drew Curtis, Wil Wheaton, and Greg Koch? Three of my favourite dudes ever? Damn straight I’m in! Twice!

And this thing is, already, at a month old, a smooth criminal of a beast. Lots of complexity from the cocoa, pecans, and bourbon barrel ageing, yet nearly zero ABV presence. I’m already drooling at how this will be when it’s mellowed for a year or two. (18/20)

9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com