Category: Reviews

Deschutes Brewery Armory XPA Experimental Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.9% ABV (US$3.99 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 650 ml, best before 14-Jul-2015)

Pours clear pale amber with two fingers of rocky light tan head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is citrus, grainy pale malt, tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering moderately bitter finish. (3/5)

I like this. Not quite a traditional APA, but not quite an IPA, either. Bright citrus and fruit play well with the emphatic bitter. Fun, but not great – the flavours aren’t as bright as promised by the nose, so though it’s bitter, it’s not as clean as I’d like. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Big Sky Brewing Company Moose Drool Brown Ale American Brown Ale at 5.6% ABV (US$1.79 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 355 ml, best before 21-Jul-2015)

Pours clear amber-brown with one finger of tight tan head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is roasty malt, caramel, molasses, nutty, light smoke. (7/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter. (7/10) Medium to light body, moderate carbonation, medium duration finish. (3/5)

Quite a drinkable brown. Light smoke is somewhat reminiscent of a rauchbier, without being intrusive. Malt dominant, of course, but there is a small hop bitterness keeping the sweetness under control. That, along with the light body tending to the watery, would probably make it easy to session. (14/20)

My 181st from the 2010 Edition (170th from the 2013 edition), and 191st combining both editions.

7/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Steamworks Brewing Company Steamworks Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.2% ABV (C$2.49 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 500 ml, no packaging date or best before)

Pours clear pale gold with one finger of rocky white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (3/5) Nose is light tropical fruit and pine, caramel/toffee malt, light citrus, honey. (6/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Medium to light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter finish. (3/5)

Surprisingly good for the price – I went into it with low expectations, and was pleasantly surprised. Body and flavours are on the light side, tending to the watery. Could definitely stand to be bolder, but not bad. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Pump House Brewery Limited Pump House Blueberry Ale Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 5.0% ABV (C$2.79 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 473 ml, packaged 20-Jan-2015)

Pours slightly hazy pale straw with one finger of white head, good retention and minimal lacing. (3/5) Nose is blueberries, sugar, wheat, faint grass/hay. (5/10) Taste is moderately strong sweet, mild bitter. (4/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lightly crisp finish. (3/5)

Fairly typical adjunct lager, with sweet and not entirely authentic-tasting blueberries. Think preservative-laden sealed-in-plastic blueberry scones – you might not necessarily want one every day, but as an occasional guilty pleasure they’re not the end of the world. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Omission Beer Company Omission Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.8% ABV (Bottle, Chili’s at McCarran Las Vegas)

Pours cloudy pale amber with one fingers of light tan head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, spotty lacing. (3/5) Nose is muted pine resin, citrus, caramel malt, floral. (6/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate to low carbonation, off-dry finish. (3/5)

Well, it’s not terrible – which is actually fairly high praise for a gluten-free. Flavours are a little dull, and it doesn’t warm all that well – there’s a little something that just isn’t working for me on the nose, that’s becoming more noticeable as it warms. Drinkable, though. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Victory Brewing Co. Golden Monkey Abbey Tripel at 6.7% ABV (US$2.99 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 355 ml, best before 17-Feb-2018)

Pours clear pale gold with a short white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, no lacing. (3/5) Nose is wheat, yeast, banana, honey, cloves. (7/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate to low carbonation, spicy and mildly warming finish. (3/5)

Fairly standard abbey-style tripel, pleasantly crisp and dry. Excellent integration of the ABV, which is apparent only as a mild warming. Good, not great. (14/20)

My 178th from the 2010 Edition (168th from the 2013 edition), and 188th combining both editions.

7/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Victory Brewing Co. HopDevil American IPA at 6.7% ABV (US$1.99 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 355 ml, best before 6-Aug-2015)

Pours clear pale to medium amber with a short light tan head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is caramel, mango, pine, herbal, slightly dank. (7/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate to low carbonation, lingering slightly sticky and bitter finish. (3/5)

A malt-forward A/IPA that is heavier on the mango/tropical notes than the piney. Sort of west coast-ish, but not overly so. Not bad, but nothing stellar. (14/20)

My 177th from the 2010 Edition (167th from the 2013 edition), and 187th combining both editions.

7/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Victory Brewing Co. Prima Pils Pilsener at 5.3% ABV (US$1.99 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 355 ml, best before 23-Jun-2016)

Pours clear straw with one finger of fluffy white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, no lacing. (3/5) Nose is grassy hops, grainy malt. (6/10) Taste is mild sweet, mild to moderate bitter. (7/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, crisp lightly bitter finish. (4/5)

As pilsners go, a decent example of the style, albeit somewhat more highly hopped than is typical. Which is of course the reason I consider it a decent example. Crisp, refreshing, and quite drinkable. (14/20)

My 175th from the 2010 Edition (165th from the 2013 edition), and 185th combining both editions.

7/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company Ruination 2.0 American Double / Imperial IPA  at 8.5% ABV (C$$11.49 at South Trail Co-Op, 650 ml, best before 28-Jul-2015am)

Pours clear pale amber with two fingers of rocky white head, good retention and spotty moderate lacing. (4/5) Nose is strongly hoppy pine resin, citrus, tropical fruit, caramel malt, slight dankness. (10/10) Taste is moderate sweet, intensely strong bitter. (10/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering and building intensely bitter, slightly sticky finish. (5/5)

The king is dead – long live the king! This is a worthy successor to the behemoth that was Ruination. Although it’s a shade heavier in ABV (8.5% from 8.2%) it feels a little cleaner, with a little more bright citrus hoppiness, and a little less generalized tropical fruitiness. I note that in addition to the usual starts-with-C suspects, nugget, and magnum, there’s Simcoe, and I think it’s coming through as support of the tropical fruit and pine, but I’m not getting any cattiness. The Azacca also helps with the tropical fruit, and though it’s no Nelson Sauvin, it’s an interesting hop all on its own. Taste is similar to the original, with just enough clean malt sweetness to support the massive bitterness, without being intrusive. This is DIPA the way DIPA should be done – just give me some nice lacing to look at while I drink it, and it’d be perfect. (19/20)

9.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Lagunitas Brewing Company Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale American Pale Wheat Ale at 7.5% ABV (C$3.50 at South Trail Co-Op, 355 ml, bottle date 16-Dec-2014)

Pours clear pale gold with one finger of rocky white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (4/5) Nose is floral, pine resin, wheat, citrus and stone fruit, pale malt. (9/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (8/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

That’s a seriously drinkable – and seriously dangerous – beer. A lovely decently crisp finish encourages the next sip, and the complete lack of any hint of the 7.5% ABV provides no warning whatsoever. Nicely complex aromas and smooth wheat ale flavour. However, the smoothness of the flavour can tend to come across as a slight dulling of what used to be a bright IPA, instead of an intentional hefeweizen/kristallweizen character. I also find the body a bit too light given the complex flavour, and I’d like to see better retention and lacing. Those are, however, minor quibbles about what is in fact a damn fine beer. (18/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com