RyansBooze

Ale Architect Brewing Ltd. Colour Burst 2 – American IPA at 6.3% ABV (C$4.72 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 7-Aug-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 25-Sep-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and ring, moderate spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, tropical fruit, citrus, pale malt, coconut. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-soft body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter finish. (4/5)

The label says this is hopped with Sabro, Mosaic, and El Dorado, and promises “a cocktail of intense tropical fruit flavour”. Well, there’s tropical flavour, sure – but I wouldn’t call it intense. I actually had high hopes for this, given that I rated the original Colour Burst as a world-class 8.5/10, but it doesn’t live up to those hopes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s OK, but it isn’t a patch on the first one. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Boombox Brewing Company Subsonic – Session IPA at 4% ABV (C$3.10 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 7-Sep-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 25-Sep-2020)

Appearance: hazy opaque straw with one finger of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and ring, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt, hint of coconut. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body tending slightly watery, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (3/5)

Impressively robust aroma for such a low ABV beer, but unfortunately the flavour and body just can’t keep up. The brewer notes say it’s hopped with Citra and Sabro, and I’m definitely getting the expected citrus, tropical fruit, and hint of coconut that would imply. The can calls this an India Pale Ale but the brewer web site calls it a Hazy Session Ale, which is probably far more accurate when it comes to establishing expectations, so I’m classing it as such. (14/20)

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Ale Architect Brewing Ltd. Partea Earl Grey IPA – American IPA at 6.4% ABV (C$4.36 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 2-Aug-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 24-Sep-2020)

Appearance: clear medium gold with one fat finger of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and ring, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel, black tea, berry, herbal. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

The label notes say this is hopped with Idaho 7 and Amarillo, with an addition of Earl Grey. I have to say, though, there’s not much Earl Grey / bergamot / lemon that I can detect. There’s not even a lot of additional black tea bitterness in the finish. My fourth or so by these guys, and I have to ask myself why they monkey around with oddball flavours like this (or rose hips and calendula – need I say more?) when their straight-up IPA was a full-on world-class out-of-the-park home run? This isn’t bad, but it’s a bit muddled, with no clear direction. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

S.Y.C. Brewing Co. Hot Summer Nights – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.59 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 26-Aug-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 23-Sep-2020)

Appearance: opaque medium gold with two fingers of loose off-white head, good retention and minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, stone fruit, citrus, pale malt, resiny pine, light farmhouse funk. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

The label notes say this is fermented with kveik, and hopped with Citra, Simcoe, and Amarillo. I guess I’m sort of getting all of those, but there’s not a lot of juicy intensity. That pretty much sums up this beer for me, I think: a lot of close but no cigar moments. Not precisely a swing and a miss, but at or near the bottom of my experience with this brewer. Ultimately it’s OK, but definitely not next-level. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Great Lakes Brewery Burst! – American Pale Ale at 4.5% ABV | 20 IBU (C$4.00 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 19-Aug-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 23-Sep-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of loose off-white head, good retention and moderate spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy tropical fruit, citrus, stone fruit, pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry short finish. (4/5)

A very nice example of the NE style, with juicy fruit dominating on a clean pale malt background, balanced bitterness on the tongue, and a clean finish that invites the next sip. It’s a particularly impressive flavour profile for such a low ABV beer, that never becomes thin or watery – though that might be because I drank it pretty quickly! In my experience, these guys don’t know how to make a bad beer, and this is a particularly nice one. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ravens Brewing Co. Spaced Out Strata Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5.4% ABV | 30 IBU (C$4.36 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 27-Aug-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 22-Sep-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy off-white head, good retention and moderate spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, pale malt, light resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Nice one, and probably the best I’ve had by them to date – though that’s only about half a dozen candidates, so we’re not really talking about a deep field here. I can’t find any confirmation that this is a single-hop, but the aroma profile is certainly consistent with what I’ve detected previously with Strata, which is definitely up there in terms of my favourite hops. This is a nicely balanced combination of tropical fruit, citrus, and light pine. I’d like to see more dank pine here, but as it is, it’s quite pleasant and flavourful for a light(er) Pale. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ravens Brewing Co. Voyagers – American IPA at 6.75% ABV | 65 IBU (C$4.50 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 22-Aug-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 21-Sep-2020)

Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: dank sweaty pine, grassy weeds, caramel, citrus, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

I would’ve expected a Nova Scotia brewer to use the more Francophone “Voyageurs” name, but perhaps that’s a little too New Brunswick? It’s sort of West Coast-ish, I suppose, but in a malty, sweaty kind of way. It’s not bad, but it’s not great, either. (14/20)

Edit: Yes, I know, I was getting my corvids confused. These guys are a BC brewery, while 2 Crows is NS – hard to get further distant while staying in the same country. Consider me suitably chastened.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Russell Brewing Company Y2Haze Raspberry IPA – American IPA at 5.5% ABV | 40 IBU (C$3.92 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 12-Aug-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 21-Sep-2020)

Appearance: hazy/dirty medium gold with two fingers of fluffy off-white head, excellent retention and moderate spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: raspberry, cereal grains. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium bitter lightly tart finish. (4/5)

Brewer notes give the malts as Flaked Oats, Flaked Wheat, and Malted Wheat; hops are Bravo, Ella, and Simcoe. Unfortunately, all I’m really getting is the raspberry adjunct, at least on the nose. There’s a little hop bitterness on the tongue, but not a lot of the citrus I’d expect from Bravo, tropical fruit I’d expect from Ella, or pine I’d expect from Simcoe. It’s not bad, as such, and the raspberry at least doesn’t feel fake, but there’s not a lot else going on here. (13/20)

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Cabin Brewing Company Pink Popper – American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 38 IBU (C$5.04 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 2-Sep-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 20-Sep-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of fine off-white head, good retention and moderate spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, green chiles, earthy vegetal. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry bitter lingering spicy finish. (4/5)

I’m kind of relieved it’s not actually pink – not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that, but for me it often feels a bit of a bridge too far regarding adjuncts when you end up with pink beer. I’m also relieved that they got the chile balance right on this one: despite the aroma being fairly emphatic (though to my gringo nose it’s as much green jalapeño, as Aji Amarillo / yellow Peruvian) the spice level is actually quite restrained, and it takes the full pint before it really takes hold. Any more would overwhelm the tropical fruit and base ale, and any less would be firmly in “what’s the point?” territory. It’s not their best, by any means, but it’s a solid effort and an interesting change from the typical. (15/20)

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Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. Powerhouse Pale Ale – English Pale Ale at 4.7% ABV | 22 IBU (C$3.10 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 18-Jun-2020, acquired 17-Sep-2020, reviewed 20-Sep-2020)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate droopy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: floral, caramel, grassy weeds. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry mild bitter finish. (3/5)

I haven’t had many English Pales for a while now, mostly because I tend to find them malty and, frankly, more than a little boring. This one, on the other hand, is malty, but not boring. And, not gonna lie, the label is badass. Better than I recall it being the last time I had it, a bomber in Fernie more than five years ago. Maybe this one is really exemplifying how the can might be a better package than the bottle? (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com