Category: Reviews

Alley Kat Brewing Co. Lemon Hefeweizen Hefeweizen at 4.9% ABV (C$4.95 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: cloudy straw with two fingers of dense, creamy white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: wheat, lemon, light clove/coriander, banana, slightly sweaty funk. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, light tart. (6/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, brief finish. (3/5)

Not bad at all – I was expecting a heavier hand with the lemon, perhaps more like a shandy or a radler, but the fact is it’s a hefeweizen with just a mild added touch of lemon. (Not unlike you might get from a lemon wedge on the glass.) Definitely a decent thirst quencher after a sweaty ride on my new bike, though. (Now imagine me in bicycle shorts. I dare you. Go on, do it!) (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Driftwood Brewery Naughty Hildegard Premium Bitter / ESB at 6.5% ABV (C$6.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, bottle date 28-Apr-2015)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with two fingers of loose off-white head diminishing fairly quickly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, pine, caramel malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering leafy hoppy black tea finish. (4/5)

Oh, Hildegard, you have been naughty, haven’t you, putting all those hops in the vicar’s bitter? Time for your spanking, you naughty nun, you! Let’s find out what those stockings are attached to, anyway… (ahem) Where was I? Oh, yes, beer! Not nun-spanking. Not at all. On to the beer! And what a beer! No hesitation in saying this is the best ESB I’ve ever had. I am loving this brewery – their witbier wasn’t anything special, but when it comes time to bring the hops, they bring ‘em in spades. Lots of complexity in the aroma, nicely balanced bitter and malt on the tongue, and a finish that honestly reminds me of nothing so much as unsweetened iced tea. Lovely. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Old Yale Brewing Co. Vanishing Monk Witbier at 5% ABV (C$6.75 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a short, short-lived white head, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: wheat, Belgian yeast, light coriander. (5/10) Taste: mild sweet, mild bitter, light tart. (5/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, brief finish. (3/5)

Not much to say about this one – a bland witbier without much to distinguish it. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Wild Rose Brewery Hef Nelson Hefeweizen at 5% ABV (C$6.66 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 18-Jun-2015)

Appearance: cloudy straw with one finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: wheat, banana, coriander, vinous. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, brief finish. (3/5)

A fairly bland hefeweizen that is distinguished only by the choice of Nelson Sauvin hops. Thirst quencher and not much more. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Lagunitas Brewing Company Equinox American Pale Ale at 8% ABV (C$5.78 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no best before or bottle date)

Appearance: clear deep gold with one finger of rocky white head, good retention and light lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grapefruit, pine, caramel malt, slightly dank. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter finish. (4/5)

OK, I give up. How is this NOT an IPA? When you’re sitting at 50 IBU and 8% ABV, why can’t you reasonably call yourself an IPA? Oh, hell, who cares? Nice beer. Drink it if you can. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Alameda Brewing Co. Rose City Red American Amber / Red Ale at 6.4% ABV (C$6.36 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 2-Jan-2014)

Appearance: slightly hazy amber-brown with one finger of creamy tan head, OK retention and moderate patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel malt, nutty, light earth, pine, and citrus. (5/10) Taste: mild to moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (5/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, building bitter and slightly boozy warming finish. (3/5)

Meh. Not really my favourite style at the best of times, and through nobody’s fault but my own (I’ve got to get better at checking bottle dates in the store!) this thing is about a year and a half old. Still a fair bit of hops in the flavour, though, giving a fairly bitter finish, but they’ve faded somewhat from the aroma. Might’ve been a bit nicer fresh, but I doubt I would’ve loved it even then. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Short Wave West Coast Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.2% ABV (C$2.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, best before 7-Nov-2015)

Appearance: clear pale gold with two fingers of white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pale malt, light citrus and pine. (6/10) Taste: mild to moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, short duration clean finish. (3/5)

Not an unpleasant APA, but it tends a bit to the watery – which puts it in some pretty awkward territory. I mean, APA is already a pretty questionable style: it’s got most of the IPA characteristics, but should be lighter in flavour, and arguably more sessionable. Well, at 5.2%, this thing is hardly light or sessionable (For most people. Yes, I can session 5.2, that’s neither here nor there.) yet it’s got a watery body and a mild flavour. Why would I not drink a full-on IPA, with a fuller body and fuller flavour, at the same ABV? Don’t get me wrong, this is a pleasant pint, but that’s all it is. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company Enjoy By 07.04.15 American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.4% ABV (C$14.75 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, best before 4-Jul-2015)

Appearance: clear pale gold with two fingers of white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mango, pine resin, grapefruit, pale and caramel malt. (10/10) Taste: moderate sweet and moderately strong bitter. (10/10) Palate: medium body and moderate carbonation, with an off-dry building bitter finish and a gentle warming. (5/5)

Kind of splits the difference between the last two of these (02.14.15 and 04.20.15) – hoppier and slightly less malty than the April, but not quite as bright as the February. Still one helluva beer and incredibly easy-drinking for such a high ABV. (19/20)

9.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Big Rock Brewery / Last Best Brewing and Distilling Collaboration #1 American IPA at 5.9% ABV (C$2.85 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 473 ml, packaging date 29-Jun-2015)

Appearance: cloudy pale amber with two fingers of rocky white head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, pine, pale/caramel malt, mild tropical fruit, some grassy. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, short duration moderately bitter finish. (4/5)

Well, I’d like to know what’s in this, but it doesn’t exist at any of the usual reference locations, and Big Rock’s web site is just doing their “we want the beer to speak for itself” plain white page approach. I’m guessing it’s hopped with something like Mosaic, at around 75 IBU, but in any case, it’s surprisingly good. And I don’t mean any disrespect to Big Rock by that – I’ve been drinking their products for a long time, and appreciate them for what they are. (And what they are, is a nearly macro-sized brewery that doesn’t really do “craft,” as much as “local.”) Much of their limited release experimental stuff has been less than overwhelming – I’ve done detailed reviews of more than a dozen, and only two have been better than 7/10, and they’ve been recent ones: Abandoned Abbey (8/10) and Coloborador (7.5/10). So, Big Rock’s recent trend of collaboration and experimentation seems to be gaining strength. Keep it up! (And it probably doesn’t hurt that I got this A/IPA extremely fresh – it’s only four days since it was canned.) (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel! Solstice d’été aux Framboises Berliner Weisse at 5.9% ABV (C$2.85 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: cloudy red with a short, short-lived pink head, no lacing. (4/5) Aroma: huge tart raspberry, suggestions of sour cherry, wheat. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, minimal bitter, strong tart. (9/10) Palate: light body, moderate to low carbonation, short duration intensely tart finish. (4/5)

Well, damn. I was NOT expecting this sensory assault. Right off the hop, cracking it open releases room-filling aromas of tart raspberry. And pouring it is a blood-red torrent, topped by a delicate and short-lived frothy pink head. But, the taste? Oh, my, the taste. Intensely sour, like little I’ve ever had before. If you appreciate sours at all, you need to try this. (18/20)

9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com