RyansBooze

Twin Sails Brewing Orange Slices Citra Double IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.2% ABV | 52 IBU (C$5.58 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 22-Feb-2019, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 17-Apr-2019)

Appearance: opaque pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy chunky lacing. (5/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, clean malt, hint of resiny pine. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration lingering bitter mildly warming finish. (4/5)

That’s a hell of a beer. Big juicy citrus, to the point where you could be forgiven for being convinced there’s juice added (there isn’t). Big but not overwhelming bitter leads smoothly to a mildly warming high ABV finish. And I just noticed that the orange flesh in the artwork spells out the name – nice. (17/20)

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Analog Brewing United Bass Kollective Peach Pie Saison Saison at 5% ABV (C$4.41 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 13-Feb-2019, reviewed 17-Apr-2019)

Appearance: hazy straw with three fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and spotty soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: sour peach candy, pale malt, white pepper, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, short mild bitter lightly tart finish. (4/5)

I had no great expectations here, especially given the busy-to-the-point-of-incomprehensibility label, but it’s actually fairly decent. There’s a moderate but not overwhelming aroma of stone fruit, reminiscent of sour peach candy. Despite that, the fruit character communicates through on the tongue without carrying excessive sweetness. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Freehold Brewing Co. Lacy Saisy Saison Saison at 5.8% ABV (C$3.64 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 28-Sep-2018, acquired 13-Feb-2019, reviewed 17-Apr-2019)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fat fingers of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to nothing, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: orchard fruit, grainy malt, white pepper, mild dry hay funk. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter lightly funky finish. (4/5)

The can reverse asks the only question that really matters: “Would you have another?” And yes, I think I would. It’s slightly higher in ABV than I like to see in the style, and not particularly pretty (a bit more “muddy” than “hazy”) but at the end of the day, it ends up being decently refreshing, without too hefty a spice load. Works for me. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Dog Island Brewing The Foggy Dew American Pale Ale at 5% ABV | 30 IBU (C$4.41 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 17-Apr-2019)

Appearance: near-opaque muddy pale amber with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, pine, citrus, caramel. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter finish. (4/5)

Started off smelling really promising, despite the somewhat unclean muddy appearance. However, the aroma didn’t sustain for long, fading into slightly less fruit and more caramel. The taste also didn’t quite follow through with the initial promise of the aroma. All in all, not bad, but nothing overly special. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Snake Lake Brewing Company Miss Mermaid Session IPA at 4.5% ABV | 20 IBU (C$2.92 at Collective, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 15-Apr-2019)

Appearance: opaque straw with one fat finger of creamy white head, good retention and spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruits, citrus, pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, short mild bitter finish. (4/5)

Snake Lake is proving to be one of the most reliable breweries, new, local, or otherwise, that I can think of – they simply don’t do bad beer. I waffled a little on my scoring here: basically the conundrum was, do I score it as if it were an APA, or do I make accommodations for it being a Session? Ultimately I decided to score it as a straight APA, so you can think of it as being better than the score would imply, for a Session. It’s definitely got big flavour for such a low ABV, and any way you slice it, it’s definitely refreshing. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Twin Sails Brewing Day-Blink Simcoe Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5% ABV | 35 IBU (C$5.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 24-Feb-2019, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 15-Apr-2019)

Appearance: cloudy straw with two fat fingers of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruits, citrus, pale malt, hint of pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, short mild bitter finish. (4/5)

Another nice one from Twin Sails. A really good example of a single-hop implementation of Simcoe, giving big flavour despite the low ABV, yet no hint of cattiness. The bitterness is restrained on a soft, almost creamy body. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bridge Brewing Company Prime Time American Pale Ale at 5.0% ABV (C$2.38 at Collective, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 15-Apr-2019)

Appearance: clear pale straw with a short white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, crackery pale malt, grass. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (5/10) Palate: thin watery body, moderate carbonation, short bland finish. (3/5)

Well, that’s kinda crappy. I probably wouldn’t have bought it had I paid a little more attention to the label, but it’s about what you might expect for a low-carb, low-cal beer. To be perfectly blunt, despite the “no compromises” assertion on the label, they pretty much compromised on every aspect. Pale, bland alcohol delivery.  In fact, to be honest, I’d probably prefer a Michelob Ultra.(11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Ale Architect Brewing Ltd. Akitu Dry Hopped Brut Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.2% ABV (C$4.09 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 18-Mar-2019, acquired 12-Apr-2019, reviewed 14-Apr-2019)

Appearance: slightly hazy straw with two fingers (and growing) of fluffy white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, tropical fruit, crackery pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body tending slightly thin, lively carbonation, dry moderate bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

I got a bit excited when I saw the label indicated a hop blend of Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy – pretty much my three favourite hops – and while they’re not as emphatic on the nose as I’d like, they’re definitely there. But overall, while it’s not bad, it doesn’t quite live up to my expectations. As often happens with this style, the high degree of attenuation has resulted in a body that, though pleasingly dry, is also light to the point of tending watery, and the finish ends just a little astringent. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Texas Ale Project 100 Million Angels Singing American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.2% ABV | 100 IBU (C$5.00 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 20-Nov-2018, acquired 3-Mar-2019, reviewed 12-Apr-2019)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with one finger of rocky pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pine, citrus, caramel. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, lingering building bitter finish. (4/5)

The label says “Pine, resin, citrus” and that’s pretty much what it delivers: a solid, old school DIPA one-two punch of big malt and big hoppy bitter. Well-balanced and enjoyable, if not exactly subtle or crushable. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Quidi Vidi Brewing Company QVxNF Milky Way American IPA at 5.9% ABV (C$3.57 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 27-Feb-2019, acquired 18-Mar-2019, reviewed 12-Apr-2019)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky white head, good retention and moderate stringy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: overripe tropical fruit, lactose, faint citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, moderate bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

I was hoping this would be the star of the four pack, but in fact it’s a less than impressive offering. The aroma is dominated by overripe tropical fruit, and the finish is more bitter than appropriate, with an astringent edge. I wonder if this is oxidized, actually, but in any case it’s definitely not a good example of the style. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com