Category: Reviews

Phillips Brewing Company Phillips Ginger Beer Spiced Beer at 5.0% ABV

Pours a clear amber copper with a short-lived head diminishing rapidly to nothing and no lacing. Nose is overwhelmingly fresh ginger, with only the merest hint of caramel. Taste follows suit, with low sweetness, and a building spiciness. Medium body and flat carbonation.

Not all that interesting. I like a nice spicy ginger beer, and typically don’t like a lot of sweetness, but despite its ticking both those boxes, I’m not all that fussed over this one. The low-lived head and carbonation probably contribute to this impression, and it feels like it would benefit from a little more sweetness.

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

8 Wired Brewing Co. Tall Poppy American Amber/Red Ale at 7.0% ABV

Pours a deep ruby with a loose finger of off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and spotty lacing. Nose is caramel malt, floral and herbal hops, slight fruit. Taste follows suit, with caramel leading the way and a bitter finish. Medium body and moderate carbonation, slick and slightly syrupy, with a dry finish.

Fairly middle of the road IPA, with a little more sweetness than I prefer. The floral/herbal hop profile is also less my preference than the pine/citrus side of the hop spectrum. That said, it’s a decent enough example of a hoppy red ale.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Krombacher Brauerei Krombacher Dark Schwarzbier at 4.3% ABV

Pours a deep cola brown with two fingers of fluffy tan head, decent retention and well-defined moderate lacing. Nose is dark roasted malts, caramel and molasses, slightly smoky. Taste is light malt, hint of smoke, mild bitter finish. Mouth feel is watery, light body and moderate carbonation.

So… it’s a… slightly smokey… dark… lager… with a little bitter on the finish? It’s OK, I guess – better than an adjunct lager – but it’s not something I’d go looking for again.

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Wild Rose Brewery & Taproom WRaspberry Fruit Beer at 4.5% ABV

Pours a slightly hazy orange gold with a short white head diminishing quickly to a thin skim and spotty lacing. Nose is sweet raspberry and faint biscuit malt, with just a hint of funk as the bottle progresses. Taste follows suit, leading out sweet, with no hop presence. Mouth feel tends to the watery side, with low carbonation.

I only bought this because it was both a local brewery, and on the discount shelf. It’s a good thing I didn’t have high hopes, because they’d’ve been dashed. It’s not bad, as such, but it doesn’t have a lot of character. The fruit doesn’t taste artificial, and there’s even a little funk, but some hop presence would’ve been nice. Not bad, but not all that interesting.

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Big Rock Brewery Big Rock India Pale Ale English IPA at 5.5% ABV

Pours a clear amber with a short-lived off-white head and spotty lacing. Nose is dominated by biscuity malt, with only very faint hop aroma. Taste is sweet malt with only a hint of citrus. Mouth feel is medium bodied with low carbonation and a bitter finish.

Oh dear. This is about as much an IPA as Alexander Keith’s “IPA” – which is to say, not at all. Disappointing aroma, no hop profile to speak of, and a malt dominated flavour, with the bitter finish being the one high note. This is more like an English Bitter or Pale Ale than an IPA. I really can’t recommend this much above a macro adjunct lager.

4.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Evil Twin Brewing All Occasions IPA American Double/Imperial IPA at 8.0% ABV

Pours a cloudy orange with one finger of fluffy off-white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. Nose is somewhat muted, citrus and pine, with some sweet malt in the background. Taste starts with sweet caramel, citrus and pine following, with a long bitter finish. Mouth feel is medium to full, with light carbonation and slight warming.

A big beer with an emphatic hop presence attenuated only slightly by the malt. The bitter finish builds as the pint progresses, and lingers long after the glass is empty. Could either do with a little more subtlety in the hop profile, or dispense with the attempt to sugarcoat the hops with malt and go full palate-wrecker.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Epic Brewing Company Epic Armageddon IPA American IPA at 6.66% ABV

Pours a clear gold with two fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention, and moderate sticky lacing. Nose is pine and citrus hops, slight floral, some crystal malt. Taste is piney and bitter, with only a little balancing sweetness. Mouth feel is smooth and slightly slick, with a dry finish.

Not the massive smack in the gob I was expecting from the description in the bottle, but enthusiastic, regardless. The hops integrate nicely in the aroma and flavour, and the malt is just sufficient to support the hops without being excessively sweet. The “beastly” ABV is a cute touch, but it’s completely absent from both the aroma and flavour, and this beer could easily have carried off a higher ABV.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Bottle Rocket ISA Session IPA at 5.0% ABV

Pours a clear gold with one finger of fluffy white head diminishing to a thin skim and spotty lacing. Nose is sharp citrus and piney hops, light floral and earthy tones. Taste is light caramel malt turning bitter immediately. Mouth feel is light, with moderate carbonation and an off-dry bitter finish.

Yep, I can see classifying this as a session ale. The taste is far less aggressive than suggested by the nose, and the finish is light, clean, and off-dry. That’s not to suggest it’s completely without fault – the flavour is light nearly to the point of boring.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Shmaltz Brewing Company He’Brew Death Of A Contract Brewer Black IPA at 7.0% ABV

Pours a deep cola brown with two fingers of fluffy light tan head, good retention, and sticky moderate lacing. Nose is light, with resiny hops, faint fruit and bitter chocolate. Taste is light floral and grassy hops, and citrus, with a bitter finish. Mouth feel is medium to light, with low carbonation and a lingering bitter finish.

I… Dunno. To the extent there’s any dark or roasty aspect to this, it feels a little unbalanced. Both the nose and the flavour feel like they’re predominantly IPA, with the “black” tacked on after the fact. It’s a decent enough IPA, but I’m not convinced it’s a “black IPA” in anything but colour. That being said, I feel like I’m damning it with faint praise – it’s certainly a decent enough IPA all on its own. I just can’t shake the feeling that this is a bit of a bandwagon black IPA.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brouwerij Het Anker Gouden Carolus Tripel Abbey Tripel at 9.0% ABV

Pours a slightly hazy gold with two fingers of fluffy white head diminishing to a thin skim and light spotty lacing. Nose is Belgian yeast bubblegum, cloves and banana, with a little hop bitterness. Taste follows suit, starting sweet and moving to a bitter, peppery finish. Mouth feel is medium to light, with decent sustained carbonation and a bitter, warming finish.

Really, really nice Belgian. And for $2.50 a bottle? Unbeatable. Unbelievable! I’d have to say it’s an even better quality-for-price ratio than Leffe! If it weren’t for the fact that the best before was last week, I’d go back to the store and buy out everything they had on the shelf. Mind you, I’m convinced there’s nothing at all wrong with it now. Really, highly recommended.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com