RyansBooze

Category 12 Brewing Variable Data – American IPA at 7.1% ABV | 25 IBU (C$3.46 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 21-Nov-2019, acquired 24-Jan-2020, reviewed 26-Jan-2020)

Appearance: opaque deep gold with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pineapple, stone fruit, citrus, caramel, mild dank pine resin. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, slight tart. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter lightly warming finish. (4/5)

This is presumably intended as a successor / alternative to Compressed Data, and as such is similar in a lot of ways. It’s no surprise that with nearly double the ABV it’s definitely a much bigger beer – but it’s not clearly better. An equally enjoyable variation on a theme, perhaps. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Boombox Brewing Company Synth Wave – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.5% ABV (C$3.91 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 10-Dec-2020, acquired 24-Jan-2020, reviewed 25-Jan-2020)

Appearance: opaque deep gold gold with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical fruit, oats, dank pine resin. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-full slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building and lingering bitter and warming finish. (4/5)

Citra, Mosaic and Motueka hops, and 8.5%? Sign me up! Looks and smells like juice during the pour (maybe a mango nectar-orange blend) and drinks almost as thick. There’s little hint of the beefy ABV on the front end, but the finish is a combination of lingering bitterness (albeit somewhat short of the emphatic level one might normally expect for such a large beer – maybe 50-ish IBU instead of 80-ish?) and alcohol warming reminiscent of a Screwdriver. An enthusiastic juice bomb with restrained sweetness, and good fun all around. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Born Colorado Brewing Hyperopia – American IPA at 7% ABV (C$10.00 at Collective, 946 ml, packaged on 24-Jan-2020, acquired 24-Jan-2020, reviewed 24-Jan-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, dank pine resin, caramel, light grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building and lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Well, it might not be the best IPA I’ve ever had (though it’s certainly a good one) but I’m pretty sure it’s the freshest: it was kegged off this morning, and this growler was the first fill from the keg (after the lines were cleared and a few taster samples poured). Nicely balanced citrus and pine on the nose, which stops just short of being “juicy” but is regardless quite pleasant. The bitterness tends high, but not in appropriately so, emphatically making the point that this is a West Coast variant and not an NEIPA despite the hazy appearance. All in all, a very nice pint. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Anchorage Brewing Company / Tired Hands Brewing Company Migrating Eyes (Batch #1) – Saison at 8% ABV (C$9.72 at Collective, 375 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 9-Jan-2020, reviewed 21-Jan-2020)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a short, short-lived loose white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: stone fruit, citrus, dry hay funk, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate tart, moderate-low sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, drying tart finish. (4/5)

Ugly as sin, but otherwise quite pleasant – not unlike the fish on the label, I guess. Stone fruit and citrus balance well on the nose, with a small but definite Brett funk coming to play. On the tongue, sweetness is restrained and the mouthfeel dry without becoming astringent, allowing the tartness to shine. Good stuff. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Belly Hop Brewing Dragonfly Hazy – American IPA at 6% ABV (C$3.91 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 9-Jan-2020, reviewed 20-Jan-2020)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with two fingers of fine ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: floral, caramel, stewed fruit, light pine, earth. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

The hell? They’ve got a Dragonfly APA and a Dragonfly IPA? And their “Hazy IPA” is far less hazy than their APA? And neither are listed on their web site? It’s clearly not just a rename, because the ABVs are different. Oh, here we go: their latest F***book photo of their chalkboard reads “Dragonfly Hazy IPA ⭐︎New Recipe!!”. But in fact, it looks like they didn’t even change the rest of the description, just erased “American Pale Ale” and replaced it with “PA”, and then later on replaced that with “Hazy IPA”. Yeesh… why do people have to make it so difficult to cleanly categorize things? They seem to be flailing a bit here, and this isn’t clearly an improvement over the previous incarnation I had. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Banded Peak Brewery Up Track IPA – American IPA at 5.8% ABV | 40 IBU (C$4.45 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Dec-2019, acquired 9-Jan-2020, reviewed 17-Jan-2020)

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

A well-balanced IPA that runs pretty much down the middle of the road for the style stylistically and structurally. Solidly made, with no one thing standing out in particular, other than the pleasantly juicy aroma. Just a pleasant, easy-drinking example of the style, whose restrained ABV means you can drink as many of them as you like. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Brut Force Champagne IPA – American IPA at 7% ABV (C$3.91 at Collective, 473 ml, best before 25-Apr-2020, acquired 9-Jan-2020, reviewed 17-Jan-2020)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with one fat finger of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus zest, crackery pale malt, orchard fruit, petrichor, pine, herbs. (7/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, low bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-high carbonation, off-dry crisp finish. (4/5)

Not as bone dry as I like a Brut to be, but decent enough. Initial apple juice gives way to more complex citrus, herbal, and mineral notes. The ABV presence is balanced, neither too emphatic nor too light. Middle of the pack for Phillips, and not really one of their strongest IPAs, but OK for a change. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Endeavour Brewing Company Sudden Draft – American IPA at 6.8% ABV | 63 IBU (C$4.09 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 9-Jan-2020, reviewed 16-Jan-2020)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one fat finger of rocky ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bready caramel, nuts, citrus, stone fruit, pine, grass. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering building bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

I waffled back and forth a couple of times classifying this: is it an AIPA or an EIPA? The dominance of caramel and nuts is very much in the English style, but the hop character and pronounced bitter tends much more American. Ultimately that’s where I end up: American, because I can’t conceive of an English being so bombastic in its overall profile. That bombast, especially on the tongue, is probably this thing’s saving grace, saving it from being boring, making it instead merely a throwback to the AIIPAs of the former decade. TL;DR: old-fashioned AIPA/AIIPA. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Cabin Brewing Company Super Duper Saturation – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8% ABV | 45 IBU (C$4.68 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 30-Dec-2019, acquired 9-Jan-2020, reviewed 15-Jan-2020)

Appearance: near-opaque straw with two fingers of rocky white head, good retention and moderate chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, oats, dank pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, moderate bitter warming finish. (4/5)

I complained a bit about the progenitor to this one, saying I’d’ve liked it more if it were either boozier and more emphatic, or less sweet. Well, I’m glad they went with the former, rather than the latter. And boy, did they ever go with more! More Citra, Simcoe, and Amarillo hoppy goodness, on a beefier malt background, with a no-messing-around ABV kick. This is pretty much exactly what I was wishing for when I had Super Saturation. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Dageraad Brewing Irresolution – Belgian Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$4.05 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 28-Nov-2019, acquired 9-Jan-2020, reviewed 15-Jan-2020)

Appearance: clear straw with two fingers of fine white head, good retention and well-defined creamy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: Belgian esters, citrus, coriander, tropical and orchard fruit, herbal, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly dank funky finish. (4/5)

This is the first time I’ve encountered this beer, but apparently it’s been a tradition with them of several years now, intended to use up their leftover hops at the end of the year. Cute idea, even if it would presumably give rise to some potentially odd combinations. And maybe I’m overly suggestible, but it does seem like I’m getting a wide and gradually changing variety of flavours in the aroma and taste as the pint progresses. A little muddled, perhaps, but no complaints here – but then again, I’m also the one who’ll clean out the holiday leftovers from the fridge without worrying too much about what’s side-by-side on the plate. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com