RyansBooze

Fernie Brewing Company Thunder Meadows IPA – American IPA at 6.7% ABV | 40 IBU (C$4.05 at Collective, 473 ml, best before 26-Mar-2021, acquired 18-Nov-2020, reviewed 19-Nov-2020)

Appearance: clear pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (5/5) Aroma: resiny pine, citrus, caramel, light earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Hopped with Simcoe, Ekuanot, and Idaho 7, and the malt bill includes wheat malt and flaked oats. The brewer’s tag line is “Piney. Citrusy. Classic.” and, yeah, that’s pretty much it. I don’t have much to add to that, except for the fact that I find the body a tad light despite the oats. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Burdock Brewing Vermont Blond – American Pale Ale at 4.5% ABV (C$5.17 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 23-Sep-2020, acquired 5-Nov-2020, reviewed 16-Nov-2020)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with one fat finger of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: lemon zest, grainy malt, grass, light sweaty tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: light body tending watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry crisp lightly bitter finish. (3/5)

Brewer notes say it’s dry-hopped with Citra, without specifying any other hops. There’s not a lot happening other than the zesty citrus, so I suppose it’s possible that it’s actually single-hopped. But whatever it’s hopped with, there isn’t a lot of it. And that’s the bottom line here: there’s nothing bad, but ultimately there’s not much of anything at all. I’ve had a lot of Session IPAs with much more robust flavour than this. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

S.Y.C. Brewing Co. µ (Mu) – Session IPA at 3.0% ABV (C$4.27 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 21-Oct-2020, acquired 5-Nov-2020, reviewed 16-Nov-2020)

Appearance: clear pale gold with two fingers of pillowy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, grass, pale crackery malt, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry crisp slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Brewer notes call this “A small IPA featuring a big experimental Australian hop varietal.” but doesn’t specify the varietal. I’m not unimpressed by this, but the appearance is the best part, with aroma, flavour, and palate being progressively less so. Nothing is actually bad, but the extremely lean malt bill is the limiting factor when it comes to supporting the hop character, and in particular the finish ends up slightly astringent. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Sawback Brewing Co. Barrel Aged Series No. 1 – American Wild Ale at 7% ABV | 70 IBU (C$16.75 at Collective, 650 ml, packaged on 1-Aug-2020, acquired 5-Nov-2020, reviewed 13-Nov-2020)

Appearance: clear amber brown with one fat finger of pillowy beige head, excellent retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: coffee grounds, barnyardy funk, floral, ash, oak. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter, moderate funk. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry finish. (3/5)

I wanted to like this, but, well, I didn’t. Not really. Coffee can be a risky adjunct in any case, and in this case the addition of Brett emphasizes the over-extracted, coffee grounds in the trash can character. Other flavours are a long way in the background and don’t really contribute much to the overall experience. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Siding 14 Brewing Co. Engine 17 Whistle Stop Fresh Hop – American Pale Ale at 6% ABV | 35 IBU (C$2.85 at Collective, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 5-Nov-2020, reviewed 13-Nov-2020)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one fat finger of pillowy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: grass, biscuity malt, lemon zest, herbal, light pine. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short finish. (4/5)

Brewer notes say this is hopped with Cascade and Centennial, but I’m finding the citrus and pine to be much less front and centre than I would have expected, certainly for the fresh hop / wet hop style. In fact, between the grass dominance and the biscuity malt, it seems almost Pilsner-ish. Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that, but it’s not what I look for in an APA. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Deschutes Brewery Chasin’ Freshies – American IPA at 6% ABV | 50 IBU (C$3.91 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 30-Sep-2020, acquired 5-Nov-2020, reviewed 12-Nov-2020)

Appearance: slightly hazy straw with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, melon, pine, lime zest, mint, grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Hopped with El Dorado and Zappa, making it (I think) only my second exposure to the latter. I’m definitely getting the mint in particular that I’m coming to associate with this hop. I also think that it’s contributing very well to an overall layered complexity I quite enjoy. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Whitetooth Brewing Company Blower Pow – American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 75 IBU (C$4.32 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 16-Oct-2020, acquired 5-Nov-2020, reviewed 11-Nov-2020)

Appearance: clear deep gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: resiny pine, citrus, honey, light tropical fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, sweetish lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Hopped with Chinook, Centennial, Galaxy, and Mosaic. Fairly straightforward West Coast IPA, clean and well-balanced. I particularly like the emphasis on resiny pines which leads the way over juicy citrus, sweet honey malt, and a hint of tropical fruit. I would prefer a little less emphasis on the sweetness, but the pine and citrus are sufficiently emphatic to dominate the aroma, and the bitterness compensates on the tongue. Real good stuff overall. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ecliptic Brewing Cosmos Coconut & Vanilla Hazy IPA (2020 Edition) – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.0% ABV (C$9.31 at Collective, 500 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 5-Nov-2020, reviewed 10-Nov-2020)

Appearance: slightly hazy medium gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: coconut, vanilla, oranges, tropical fruit, boozy malts. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium creamy body, moderate-soft carbonation, sweetish lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

A fairly milkshake-y IPA, and slightly too sweet for my preference. That’s offset to a large extent by the pronounced bitterness, which largely but not completely saves this. The slight booziness is also not unpleasant, nor is it out of place given the elevated ABV. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stronghold Brewing Co. IPA Toucans – American IPA at 6.3% ABV (C$4.00 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 5-Nov-2020, reviewed 9-Nov-2020)

Appearance: clear deep gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head and some end of the can solids, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, caramel, citrus, herbal, melon. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish lingering bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

A pretty basic AIPA without a whole lot to recommend it. The brewer describes it as a West Coast IPA, but I’m not getting much along those lines. Despite the emphatic hoppy bite, the hops are muddled and poorly defined, and actually barely beat out the caramel malt bill. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Offshoot Beer Co. Retreat – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.6% ABV | 50 IBU (C$6.57 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 16-Sep-2020, acquired 5-Nov-2020, reviewed 8-Nov-2020)

Appearance: opaque pale amber with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, citrus, caramel, melon, berries, coconut. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body tending slightly thick, moderate carbonation, warming lingering building bitter finish. (4/5)

Hopped with Mosaic, Cashmere, and El Dorado; malts are 2-Row and Flaked Oats – and that’s exactly what it smells and tastes like. The only thing that list doesn’t necessarily tell you is that it’s also got a boozy edge, but that’s hardly surprising given the beefy ABV, nor is it unwelcome. A bit too bombastic to be really refreshing, perhaps, but quite enjoyable regardless. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com