Category: Reviews

Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery 12 Minutes to Destiny Hibiscus Pale Lager American Pale Lager at 4.1% ABV (C$1.88 at Bishop’s Cellar, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: cloudy light purple with a short pinkish head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: raspberry, floral, pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, light bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: light body, moderate-low carbonation, slightly sticky and lightly tart finish. (3/5)

Y’know what, you can call me a 12 year-old girl, but I sorta like this. I don’t know that I would’ve identified the floral as hibiscus – if anything, I might’ve said roses – but it ends up tasting a lot like a Big Turk bar. The little bit of tartness prevents the sweetness from becoming sickly, but I’m not sure I’d want more than one. Fine as a thirst quencher after a dry afternoon in class. Somewhat to my surprise, I think I like this better than Dieu du Ciel’s Rosée d’Hibiscus or Stone’s Hibiscusicity. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery Genius of Suburbia ISA Session IPA at 3.8% ABV (C$1.88 at Bishop’s Cellar, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: cloudy medium gold with a short eggshell head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit and bready caramel, light citrus and pepper, some herbal. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry medium bitter finish. (3/5)

I guess the biggest upside for this is that the flavour in no way hints to the very low ABV – it drinks pretty much like any number of full-on IPA’s I’ve had, though perhaps with a slightly lighter body. The down side is, it’s really not my preferred style of SIPA (or any IPA, for that matter), in that the malt is too emphatic. It might not be malt-forward as such, but the malt is definitely present and makes this sweeter than I’d like, particularly for a session beer. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie Dunham / Kissmeyer Beer Leo’s Early Breakfast IPA American IPA at 6.2% ABV (C$3.83 at Bishop’s Cellar, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: muddy opaque deep gold with a short ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: black tea, bergamot, tropical fruit, citrus, light caramel, earthy. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, medium duration bitter finish. (4/5)

The appearance is a bit misleading on this: during most of the pour, it was looking like a bright and clear deep gold / pale amber, but the last half-inch turned out to be chock full of particulate and what looks to be tea. I could’ve poured it a lot cleaner, but didn’t. (One might therefore argue it actually deserves a 4/5 instead a 3/5 for appearance, but that wouldn’t change the overall score.) Very nice other than that, with the name certainly giving you a hint of what’s to come: lots of black tea and tropical fruit (guava puree), playing well with the Nelson Sauvin hop (which I particularly like). The tea bitterness also works well with the hop bittering, making this taste more bitter than the 50IBU would suggest. It’s pretty rare for me to have beer with breakfast, but I could be convinced to have one of these! (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Evil Twin Brewing Lil’ B Imperial Porter at 11.5% ABV (C$3.83 at Bishop’s Cellar, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: opaque black with one finger of dense mocha head demising gradually to a thin skim, no lacing. (4/5) Aroma: boozy dark fruit, liquorice, coffee, burnt sugar. (7/10) Taste: moderately strong sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: full slightly oily body, low carbonation, warming bitter finish. (4/5)

A little hot initially, but it mellows nicely as the taste buds numb. OK, that may be a little unfair – it’s actually a pretty smooth imperial porter, but the ABV presence is certainly emphatic, verging on solvent. Decent complexity of flavours on the nose and the tongue. Definitely not subtle. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Microbrasserie Les Trois Mousquetaires Hors Série Berliner Weiss Berliner Weisse at 3% ABV (C$3.83 at Bishop’s Cellar, 341 ml, bottle date 18-Jun-2015)

Appearance: cloudy pale gold with a short, short-lived white head and no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: doughy yeast, citrus, lactic. (7/10) Taste: moderate sour, mild-moderate sweet, mild bitter. (7/10) Palate: light body, moderate-low carbonation, crisp tart finish. (4/5)

Decent example of the style – nice and tart, nearly lemonade-like. Almost a vinous, white grape character. Fun the way it is, but I’m going to have to find a source for woodruff syrup somewhere, to try this style the traditional way. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Farnham Ale & Lager India Pale Ale 64 American IPA at 6% ABV (C$3.45 at Bishop’s Cellar, 473 ml, packing date 22-Jul-2015)

Appearance: clear medium amber with a short, short-lived light tan head and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel, mild pine, grassy/floral. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (5/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, lingering moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

Pretty unremarkable, malt-dominant IPA – really more an English IPA than the American IPA the label claims. Maybe even an ESB, really. Not something I’d recommend. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Farnham Ale & Lager Summer Pale Ale 42 American Pale Ale at 4.5% ABV (C$3.45 at Bishop’s Cellar, 473 ml, packing date 27-Jul-2015)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with a short, short-lived white head and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: light citrus, grassy, pale grainy malt, tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, lingering moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

Pleasant but a little unbalanced – despite the relatively light aromas, it ends up a little aggressively bitter on the finish. OK, but I wouldn’t necessarily go looking for another one. And, hey, I discovered my hotel room has a balcony! (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Evil Twin Brewing Hipster Ale American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$3.45 at Bishop’s Cellar, 355 ml, packing date 9-Jul-2015)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with one finger of rocky ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: muted, grassy, herbal/floral, pale malt. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate-low carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

A little bit disappointing, in that I was expecting to like this more than I did. And no, I’m not turned off by the “hipster” label – I concluded quite some time ago that I’m a beer hipster and have made my peace with that. Don’t get me wrong: there’s absolutely nothing negative about this beer, but it’s just not as interesting as I was expecting or hoping for. Age wouldn’t appear to be a factor, either. I was expecting bright and punchy hops, but they just aren’t there. That’s the problem with having high hopes, I guess? (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Anchor Brewing Company Summer Wheat Wheat Ale at 4.5% ABV (C$2.66 at Bishop’s Cellar, 355 ml, no packing date or best before)

Appearance: clear deep gold with one finger of loose ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: floral/herbal, pale malt, light wheat, light citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively to moderate carbonation, crisp finish. (3/5)

Not a lot of hefe/wheat character in this. Definitely a thirst-quenching, hot weather summer-style beer. Fine for what it is, as long as you don’t go into it expecting to be challenged. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Evil Twin Brewing Molotov Lite American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.5% ABV (C$4.42 at Bishop’s Cellar, 473 ml, packing date 28-Apr-2015)

Appearance: cloudy medium gold with lots of particulate, one finger of fluffy off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: lemon zest, caramel malt, tropical fruit, pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, intense bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Molotov “Lite”, huh? Isn’t that sort of like Arnold promising to kill you last? At the end of the day, it’s still a bit like having your brains smashed in by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick. And what’s up with that particulate – another high IBU brew with pure alpha acids in suspension? (Not that that’s a bad thing.) Though, y’know, I think I like this just a little better than the full-on Molotov Cocktail – the balance might be just a shade better, allowing a little more fullness of flavour to come through. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com