RyansBooze

New Level Brewing Haze Lord Quarantine Edition – American IPA at 5% ABV (C$4.95 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2020, reviewed 9-May-2020)

Appearance: slightly dirty opaque pale gold with one fat finger of loose pale ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical fruit, caramel, light pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry short duration moderate bitter finish. (4/5)

A distinct improvement over the original Haze Lord, with brighter and juicier hops, and a slightly heavier body more appropriate to the style. The triple dry hopping and pineapple puree definitely work well with the style. I said the original one could be much better with a few tweaks, and lo and behold, these are pretty much exactly the tweaks I had in mind. Very nice. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Common Crown Brewing Co. Brighter Days Citra Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5.0% ABV | 40 IBU (C$4.35 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 7-May-2020, reviewed 9-May-2020)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, bready malt, grass, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium bitter mildly spicy finish. (3/5)

Fairly straightforward Pale, with moderate Citra character and an almost Pilsener-ish grassy/earthy note on the back end. Personally I’d like a brighter, juicer citrus character, especially for a “Citra Pale Ale”, and think it falls short of the “bold grapefruit aroma” the label promise, but it’s not bad. I’m interpreting the label art as grimly funny, with the “brighter days” ahead attributable to thermonuclear warfare – that is, the light at the end of the tunnel is the oncoming train – but of course I’m hoping that’s not the case, since then it’s just grim and not really all that funny…(14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Alley Kat Brewing Co. Fish Bone – American IPA at 6.1% ABV | 60 IBU (C$3.25 at Collective, 355 ml, best before 14-Aug-2020, acquired 7-May-2020, reviewed 8-May-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap and ring, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pine, caramel, citrus, light tropical fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

I don’t mind the bitterness, but think it’s a bit much for something claiming to be an NEIPA. I think I found it to be juicier and more citrusy when I had it on tap a year or two ago. Good one, even if it’s not very much in spec for its alleged style. (Come on – it’s 60 IBU!) (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Fernie Brewing Company Finish Line Hazy Pale Ale with Lime – American Pale Ale at 4% ABV (C$2.95 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 10-Mar-2020, acquired 7-May-2020, reviewed 8-May-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale straw with two fat fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate stringy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: lime juice, wheat, light tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter lightly tart finish. (3/5)

Brewer notes claim Citra and Vic Secret hops, but there’s not really a lot of that going on here above the lime juice. That’s not to say the lime is aggressive, just that the hopping is pretty weak. Pleasant, but not a lot going on. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Born Colorado Brewing Little Lion Hazy Session Ale – Session IPA at 5% ABV | 15 IBU (C$3.65 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 21-Apr-2020, acquired 7-May-2020, reviewed 7-May-2020)

Appearance: hazy straw with two fat fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate stringy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, crackery pale malt, light pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry mild bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Nice one – light without being watery, and very drinkable. And probably the closest I’ll ever come to a 60-kilometre (!) mountain (!!) run. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Buffalo 9 Brewing The Ridge By Midday – American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 60 IBU (C$4.32 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-May-2020, reviewed 6-May-2020)

Appearance: hazy straw with two fat fingers of rocky white head, good retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, melon, caramel, citrus, light pine. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration building finish. (4/5)

Ummm… with minimal haze and a beefy bitterness, and no juiciness to speak of – what, exactly, makes this an NEIPA? This is apparently the first offering from these guys, and while I have to admit it’s a damn sight better than the first one I had by the other military-themed brewery in Calgary (how is that even a thing now?), it’s still not exactly one for the win column. I’m being as generous I can possibly can here to the new guys, but the fact is you could drop a full point from pretty much all four categories, easily, given how far outside of the style spec everything lands. Drinkable but forgettable. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Russell Brewing Company Peach & Apricot Hefeweizen – Hefeweizen at 6% ABV | 20 IBU (C$4.00 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 27-Mar-2020, acquired 1-May-2020, reviewed 6-May-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of rocky ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone fruit, cloves, wheat, banana, tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, low bitter, light spice. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, tart mild bitter lightly astringent finish. (4/5)

Lots of authentic stone fruit flavour here, all the way through to the light astringency in the finish, which is reminiscent of sucking the flesh from the pit in a peach. Definitely more about the fruit adjunct than the base Hefe, but that tartness works well with the underlying wheat. The sweetness is also restrained, keeping this refreshing and not cloying at all. I’m getting a hint of hoppiness from the Citra, particularly in the form of tropical fruit notes, and think I’d’ve enjoyed it more with a bit more emphasis there. All in all, though, I like it. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ribstone Creek Brewery High View Hefeweizen – Hefeweizen at 5.6% ABV (C$3.19 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-May-2020, reviewed 5-May-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy off-white head diminishing rapidly to a persistent cap and spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: banana, cloves, wheat, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, low bitter, light spice & tart. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter lightly tart & spicy finish. (3/5)

The high point here is probably the wheaty tartness, but all in all it’s a pretty middle-of-the-road example of the style. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Common Crown Brewing Co. Hef Off! – Hefeweizen at 5% ABV | 12 IBU (C$3.91 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-May-2020, reviewed 5-May-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of dense off-white head diminishing gradually to a thick persistent cap and spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: cloves, banana, wheat, earthy weeds. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, low bitter, light spice. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter lightly spicy finish. (3/5)

Meh. It’s not bad, but it’s not the “loud & crazy” the label promises. It’s a bit earthy and weedy on the nose, and a bit too sweet on the tongue. It’s not terrible, but it’s a good example of why this isn’t usually one of my favourite styles. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Tofino Brewing Co. Ethereal – American IPA at 6.7% ABV (C$4.45 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-May-2020, reviewed 5-May-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and ring, spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, floral, caramel, citrus, pine, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry medium bitter finish. (4/5)

Call me pedantic, but with a name like Ethereal, I was expecting something a little less malty and earthy. It’s not malt-dominant, by any means, but it’s also not the fluffy ode to hops (Cashmere & Eureka) I was sort of hoping for. Sort of similar to their Dimension Ascension, except lighter in aroma and flavour, so I guess there’s that justification for the name – except that this one is the higher ABV of the two. On the other hand, it disappeared pretty quickly, so sure, why not? (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com