Category: Reviews

Parallel 49 Brewing Company Corn Hops American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.2% ABV (C$6.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of rocky white head, good retention and chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bright citrus, pine, tropical fruit, corn syrup and biscuity malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, strong bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, building bitter and boozy finish. (4/5)

Interesting. Distinctly DIPA in character, with lots of bright and bitter hops leading the way, followed by a distinct cornflake sweetness that nonetheless doesn’t make you think “cheap adjuncts”. Quite sweet, to the point where the really quite emphatic bitterness doesn’t become apparent until you’re well into it. Dangerous, too – the bottle’s almost gone before the hefty ABV makes itself apparent in the form of a boozy heat in the finish. I have to say, I’m starting to warm up to this brewery. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Iron Fist Brewing Company Uprising Belgian IPA at 12% ABV (C$14.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 750 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear pale amber with three fingers of rocky light tan head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: floral/herbal, tropical fruit, Belgian yeast, caramel/toffee malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, strong bitter. (7/10) Palate: full and sticky body, moderate carbonation, emphatically boozy finish. (4/5)

A beast that certainly does not believe in hiding its light under a bushel. Big and bombastic in every facet: big sweet, big bitter, big head, big caramel colour, big body, big booze. They call it a “Tripel/IPA”, and it certainly has aspects of both styles, but I don’t think you’d be far wrong thinking of it as a “triple IPA” in everything that really matters. (Hops and booze. What? Is there anything else?) Lacking in subtlety – but so am I, so I like this a whole bunch. Kinda reminds me of Arrogant Bastard, actually… (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Molson Coors Canada Rickard’s White Witbier at 5.4% ABV (C$3.64 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before)

Appearance: cloudy pale gold with one finger of dense white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: wheat, pale malt, faint orange peel and spices. (4/10) Taste: mild to moderate sweet, mild bitter, slight tart. (4/10) Palate: light to medium body, soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (3/5)

I usually don’t have the orange slice in witbiers, but this one kind of needs it. Not really getting any banana, either, and the cloves or coriander are buried pretty deeply. “Inoffensive” is about the best one can say for it. (9/20)

4.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Molson Coors Canada Rickard’s Red Amber Lager/Vienna at 5.2% ABV (C$3.64 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before)

Appearance: clear red-tinted pale to medium amber with one finger of light tan head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, good lacing. (4/5) Aroma: light caramel malt, slightly nutty. (4/10) Taste: mild to moderate sweet, mild bitter. (4/10) Palate: light to medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (3/5)

Probably the best thing Molson Coors makes – which, y’unnerstand, isn’t a particularly high bar, but it does mean it pretty much by definition could be worse. Pretty standard domestic amber/vienna/Irish red, so a notch or two better than a macro lager, but hardly interesting. Decent enough thirst quencher with lunch, though. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Wychwood (Marstons plc) Hobgoblin Gold Golden Ale at 4.5% ABV (C$3.99 at NLC Stavanger, 500 ml, best before 17-Apr-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one finger of rocky white head, good retention and  lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grassy hops, grapefruit, pale malt, faint wheat and honey. (6/10) Taste: mild to moderate sweet, mild to moderate bitter. (5/10) Palate: light body, lively to moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Starts off with a nicely hoppy aroma – too bad it doesn’t translate through onto the tongue. Tastes somewhat more like a pale euro lager than a hoppy ale. The aromas fade fairly quickly, too. I’m also deeply disappointed that the Nelson Sauvin hops don’t seem to be coming through – I’m getting none of those vinous grapey notes I associate with that hop. For all that, a pleasant and refreshing beer, especially after a hard day working in the yard. (12/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brewery Ommegang Game of Thrones Three Eyed Raven Saison at 7.2% ABV (C$12.96 at NLC Gander, 750 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear brown with one finger of tan head, good retention and  spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: wheat, banana, coriander, mild dark roasty malts. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

Whaaa? “Saison”? I don’t think so, Skippy. “Dunkel,” sure. “Hefe,” possibly. “Saison”? Nope, nuh-uh, no way, no how. (BJCP says “high fruitiness”, “low to medium-high spicy or floral hop”, “peppery rather than clove-like”. Swing and several misses. This thing is wheat, banana, coriander – in other words, a hefe.) So, again, the age-old question: grade it according to the nominal style (fail) or what it really is (decent)? Split the difference, I guess. (12/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Muskoka Brewery Summerweiss Hefeweizen at 5.0% ABV (C$3.99 at NLC Gander, 473 ml, best before 19-Sep-2015)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a short white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: banana, clove, bready yeast. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild to moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: light body, lively to moderate carbonation, medium duration finish. (3/5)

Meh. A decent – if uninspiring – interpretation of a fairly uninspiring style. No real negatives, but it’s just not exciting. Got bored and dumped the second half. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Central City Brewing Red Racer ISA Session IPA at 4.0% ABV (C$3.98 at NLC Gander, 473 ml, packaging date 13-Mar-2015)

Appearance: clear deep gold with one finger of white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, pithy grapefruit, tropical fruit, grassy, pale malt. (6/10) Taste: mild sweet, mild to moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: light body, moderate carbonation, off dry mildly bitter short finish. (3/5)

Slightly disappointing: initially the aroma is pleasantly (though mildly) hoppy, with a little clean pale malt in the background. It fades surprisingly quickly, though, and the hoppiness never really translates through into the flavours. It’s not bad for a hot afternoon refresher, though. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus Fruit Lambic at 5% ABV (€6.00 at Cantillon, 750 ml, bottle date 29-Apr-2015 best before 29-Apr-2025)

Appearance: clear ruby red with a short frothy pink head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, no lacing. (4/5) Aroma: raspberries, vinegar, funk, stone fruit, leather, tobacco, woody. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong tart. (9/10) Palate: light to medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, dry intensely tart finish. (5/5)

So good. Intense raspberry that in no way feels artificial, blending perfectly with a loverly tart lambic base, with overarching complicating notes of horseblankety funk, leather, wood, and, let’s face it, just about anything else you can think of. This is a new bottle that I just recently obtained at the brewery, so the fruit is still very much dominant at the forefront. I‘ve had a 2014 vintage in my cellar for just about a year now, that I’m going to continue to cellar for a while longer – maybe another year or two – before seeing what happens as the fruit fades and the lambic is allowed to gain ground. (18/20)

9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ninkasi Brewing Company / Devil’s Backbone The Devil Went Down to Oregon Imperial Dark Rye Beer Rye Beer at 7.2% ABV (C$9.25 at Zyn, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear deep amber with one finger loose tan head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, moderate patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: caramel/toffee, spicy rye, dark boozy fruit. (7/10) Taste: mild sweet, moderate bitter, mild sour. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter and spicy finish. (4/5)

I find myself liking rye beers more and more, and this doesn’t make me change my mind. The dark spice of the rye complements the hop bitterness and dark boozy raisin notes nicely, making for a full-flavoured and robust beer. That said, the taste is not quite as robust as is promised by the aroma. It’s not light or refreshing by any means, but it is an interesting experience for a connoisseur of the style. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com