RyansBooze

Banded Peak Brewery Lupine Lupulin Kveik Imperial IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.6% ABV | 90 IBU (C$6.26 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 21-May-2019, acquired 14-Jun-2019, reviewed 21-Jun-2019)

Appearance: hazy straw with one fat finger of rocky off-white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bright juicy citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt, dank pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, dry bitter warming and slightly astringent finish. (4/5)

I think this my second-ever Kveik DIPA. No idea why more folks aren’t using this yeast, since that implies that not everybody likes dry, tart, huge ABV beers that drink much lighter than they are – but they SHOULD. In a lot of ways this is very much like the other example I can think of: citrus dominant, with clean pale malt and light dank pine. I like it a lot – another good one from Banded Peak. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ravens Brewing Co. Bellwether IPA American IPA at 7% ABV | 70 IBU (C$3.78 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 14-Jun-2019, reviewed 21-Jun-2019)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fat fingers of rocky off-white head, good retention and soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: caramel, resiny pine, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering building bitter finish. (4/5)

Definitely an old-fashioned IPA, verging on DIPA in strength and bitterness, but with an emphatic caramel backbone. I note, for instance, that it follows the 10:1 ratio for IBU:ABV that I was observing more and more frequently amongst so many big IPAs before the hazy craze struck. Decent, but a bit malt-heavy for my preferred interpretation of the style. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Cigar City Brewing Jai Alai (2019) American IPA at 7.5% ABV | 65 IBU (C$4.55 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 19-Apr-2019, acquired 14-Jun-2019, reviewed 20-Jun-2019)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fat fingers of rocky off-white head, excellent retention and heavy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: resiny pine, citrus, caramel. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering building bitter finish. (4/5)

It’s been a long time since I last had this – over five years, in fact – so fair to say I was expecting my impression to have evolved. And it has, but nowhere near as much as I thought it might. I want to say it’s just very slightly less bitter than the last time I had it, but other than that, it’s pretty much what I recall. It’s definitely a traditional approach, but it’s so very well done that it’s hard to find fault with that. And I’m sure not gonna complain about having it available locally – maybe it’ll pave the way for a few more of theirs? (17/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Collective Arts Brewing Hazy State DDH IPA Session IPA at 4.1% ABV (C$4.23 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 24-Apr-2019, acquired 14-Jun-2019, reviewed 19-Jun-2019)

Appearance: hazy straw with one fat finger of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: juicy tropical fruit & citrus, pale crackery malt, hint of pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-soft carbonation, short slightly tart finish. (4/5)

The label calls this a “DDH IPA”, and I guess the aroma and flavour profile are close to just that – but it’s definitely lacking the robustness of a typical A/IPA, so I’m calling it a Session. For a Session, it’s very well done, with character that belies the low ABV.  Definitely one you could enjoy drinking all day on the patio. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Deschutes Brewery Lil’ Squeezy Juicy Ale American Pale Ale at 5% ABV | IBU 40 (C$3.06 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 23-May-2019, acquired 14-Jun-2019, reviewed 18-Jun-2019)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one finger of loose off-white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim and ring, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter finish. (4/5)

I was puzzling over why this one was coming across so light, verging on watery, when it hit me: the can says it’s “crafted to remove gluten”. Clearly they’ve filtered (or otherwise processed) a bunch of flavour out of this. Honestly: if you’re not actually celiac and you use the word “gluten”, you need a punch in the head. Desperately. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

 IPA at 7% ABV (C$5.45 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 15-Apr-2019, acquired 14-Jun-2019, reviewed 17-Jun-2019)

Appearance: clear deep amber with one fat finger of rocky ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: sweet caramel, bergamot, black tea, citrus, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, moderate bitter lingering slightly astringent finish. (4/5)

I was cautiously optimistic here: I like Earl Grey tea, and English-style IPAs might not be my absolute favourite, but I still enjoy them. And, this sort of works. The bergamot is obvious, but not overwhelming, and the added notes of black tea and citrus definitely make this reminiscent of a nice cup of tea. Not quite as crushable and thirst-quenching as the new American styles, but definitely one worth sipping. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Establishment Brewing Company Sky Rocket II American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.19 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 12-Jun-2019, acquired 14-Jun-2019, reviewed 17-Jun-2019)

Appearance: opaque pale gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate stringy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy tropical fruit, citrus, resiny pine, stone fruit, pale malt, hint of lactose. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, moderate bitter lingering finish. (4/5)

Even better than their Afternoon Delight APA, whom I presume was intended to be the lighter version of this one. (Or maybe this one’s the beefier version of that one? I don’t know which one’s the chicken and which the egg here.) For that one, I indicated a hint of green onion in the aroma, but that’s almost completely absent here – there’s the faintest vegetal note in this one, but I don’t think I would have noticed it had I not reviewed my notes for its brother. In-spec bitterness for the style is moderate at most, with hints of tartness and a very faint lactose-like sweetness (oats?) that isn’t present in the APA, but doesn’t go astray with this higher ABV IPA. Damn good stuff. (17/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company Scorpion Bowl American IPA at 7.5% ABV | 76 IBU (C$6.21 at Collective, 568 ml, packaged on 17-Apr-2019, best before 16-Apr-2020, acquired 14-Jun-2019, reviewed 16-Jun-2019)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fingers of fine off-white head, excellent retention and chunky lacing. (5/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, bready caramel, citrus, floral, light pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body tending slightly thin, moderate carbonation dropping off somewhat, medium duration slightly watery finish. (3/5)

Decent enough, I suppose, but nothing too exciting or unique – we’ve certainly come a long way since the Stone name carried much in the way of cachet. The aroma and flavour are OK, but I’m particularly unimpressed by the way in which the body and carbonation fall off just slightly watery. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Analog Brewing Boomshakalaka American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$10.25 at Collective, 946 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 14-Jun-2019, reviewed 14-Jun-2019)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of fine pale ivory head, good retention and chunky lacing. (5/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruit, bready caramel, light citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation dropping off rapidly, medium duration slightly watery finish. (3/5)

This starts off pretty promising, but then it just seems to lose steam. For example, the carbonation. I mean, yeah, it’s a growler, but it was filled only a couple of hours ago, and I got a very nice hiss upon cracking it. Not only that, it was actually pretty lively at the outset, but then it just kinda faded, ending up sort of watery in the finish. Similarly, the bright fruit aromas are promising, but end up coming across as slightly cloying. There’s very little citrus here, and no pine at all, and I think it would benefit from both. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a long way from unpleasant – but I don’t feel any great urge to go looking for it again, either. (13/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Belching Beaver Brewery Peach Be With You American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$4.32 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 10-May-2019, acquired 14-Jun-2019, reviewed 14-Jun-2019)

Appearance: slightly hazy straw with one fat finger of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: sweet stone fruit, crackery pale malt, light citrus, hint of perfume floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (4/5)

Despite the aroma of sweet stone fruit (OK, fine, Fuzzy Peaches candy) the sweetness is completely restrained and remains civilized throughout. Similarly, although I’ve described a perfume floral note, it never gets cloying. Not the kind of beer you might think of as crushable, except it kinda is. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com