Category: Reviews

New Belgium Brewing Company Long Table Farmhouse Ale Saison at 6.2% ABV (C$3.62 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy straw with one finger of fluffy white head, excellent retention and soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: doughy yeast, stone fruit and citrus, wheat, white pepper and coriander. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild funky tart. (8/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, medium duration off-dry finish. (4/5)

Pleasant lightly funky saison, with a little peppery spice edge on a doughy yeasty base, and just a hint of vinous character from the Nelson Sauvin hops. Goes well with spicy food. Nothing too unusual, but pleasant and well done. Solid beer from a solid brewer. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Pfungstädter Brauerei Hildebrand Hell Helles Lager at 4.9% ABV (C$3.29 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear pale straw with one finger of fluffy white head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (2/5) Aroma: grainy pale malt, grassy, hard water minerals. (4/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (4/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, short duration crisp finish. (3/5)

It is what it is, I guess – a pale, somewhat sweet lager, with a crisp finish. Certainly nothing special, but it’s a refreshing thirst quencher. I can totally see drinking copious quantities in a biergarten somewhere, preferably with a large hunk of roasted pig and a pretzel. Dammit, now I want to go back to Germany… (9/20)

4.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

BrewDog Five AM Red Ale American Amber / Red Ale at 5% ABV (C$4.2 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one finger of rocky light tan head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: woody, citrus, caramel, tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Quite a hoppy red ale, with lots of IPA character. Tends a little to the heavy-handed, with a fairly emphatic malt presence not unlike some DIPA’s. Five different malts and six different hops make for a bit of a kitchen sink, but it’s reasonably smooth and easy drinking despite that. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

BrewDog Jack Hammer American IPA at 7.2% ABV (C$4.6 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with moderate particulate, one finger of rocky ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pithy grapefruit, dank, pine, caramel. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, strong bitter. (7/10) Medium oily body, moderate carbonation, lingering intensely bitter finish. (4/5)

Devastatingly dank and hoppy palate wrecker. Not exactly a surprise, given the presence of solid alpha acid particulate. There’s a little residual alcohol sweetness, but for the most part it’s like being smacked in the mouth with a brick of hops… or, given the dankness, maybe a brick of pot… (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brouwerij de Molen Vuur & Vlam American IPA at 6.2% ABV (C$4.8 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: resiny pine, black tea and bergamot, cedar, caramel. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (8/10) Medium somewhat oily body, moderate-low carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Would’ve been a lot clearer had I stopped pouring a second earlier! Lot of complex flavours here, and it’s possible to find just about anything. One sip smells like a cedar chest, the next like green melon, then it’s strawberries and Earl Grey tea. Tends a bit to the heavy side, making it a bit more of a sipper than a thirst quencher, and the lingering black tea finish stays around for quite a while. Tastes a little more bitter than the 42.6EBU would suggest. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Mikkeller Drink’in the Sun (2014) American Pale Wheat Ale at 2.8% ABV (C$4.30 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with one finger of loose off-white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: lemon zest, wheat, tropical fruit, pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, mild bitter. (7/10) Light watery body, lively carbonation, short duration finish. (3/5)

Smells quite good, with lots of lemon zest and some tropical fruit and malt backing it up. Taste doesn’t quite follow through, being somewhat light and watery. The finish drops dead fairly quickly as well, probably again as a result of the light and watery body. An interesting approach, but ultimately it seems that the low ABV and light body just can’t provide enough structure to support any lasting flavour. Sessionable, sure – but after a few of these you’d just end up with a full belly and not much else happening! (12/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Oskar Blues Brewery Pinner Throwback Ale Session IPA at 4.9% ABV (C$2.92 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear pale gold with two fingers of rocky off-white head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: resiny pine, citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, moderate duration bitter finish. (3/5)

Decent. Smells pretty good, but taste drops off rapidly. Which, I guess, makes is all the more sessionable. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie McAuslan St-Ambroise Framboise Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 5% ABV (C$3.62 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: murky brownish purple with one finger of light purple head, excellent retention and decent lacing. (3/5) Aroma: raspberry and red berries, grainy malt. (6/10) Taste: moderate-strong sweet, moderate tart, low bitter. (6/10) Medium-light body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry tart finish. (3/5)

Hey, it’s an Ambroise Framboise! Not all that interesting – tastes kinda like raspberry jam in a pale ale. The initial sweetness drops pretty rapidly, but unfortunately so do all the other flavours, leaving a kind of undifferentiated astringency. Overall, not bad, but not great. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Okanagan Spring 1516 Bavarian Lager Helles Lager at 5% ABV (C$3.62 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear pale straw with one fat finger of fluffy eggshell white head, excellent retention and decent lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grassy, biscuity, corn. (4/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (5/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, short duration finish. (2/5)

Somewhat surprisingly, not terrible. A bit on the sweet side, but reasonably smooth with a decently dry crisp finish. (9/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Epic Brewing Brainless on Cherries (Release #40) Belgian Strong Pale Ale at 10.1% ABV (C$19.00 at Sherbrooke Liquor, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear ruby-tinted amber with a short, short-lived pinkish head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: cherry syrup with a medicinal edge, vinous red berries, lightly woody. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, moderate tart. (5/10) Medium-light body, lively carbonation, cough syrup finish. (2/5)

Y’know, I’d be the first to admit that I’m a hopeless romantic kind of guy, prone to believing the best of people on little evidence. So, it’s probably not surprising that I went into this with expectations that were way too high – but to be honest, the prior offerings from this brewery had me thinking they could do no wrong. Bow, howdy, was I wrong. The double digit ABV is capable of getting you brainless, sure, but so’s Nyquil – and in fact, there’s a strong resemblance. The bottle says there’s nothing artificial added, and it’s not that I don’t believe that – but I sure don’t taste that. Having had some of the best Belgian krieks around, this is, while perhaps not terrible on its own merits, a pretty pale shadow of those beers. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com