RyansBooze

Odd Company Brewing Strazzacca Pale – American Pale Ale at 5.3% ABV (C$8.82 at Collective, 500 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 20-Feb-2021)

Appearance: hazy straw with two fingers of pillowy white head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: dank pine, mint, stone fruit, citrus, wheat. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium smooth body, moderate-low carbonation, medium duration slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

I assumed based upon the difficult-to-pronounce name, that this was hopped with Strata and Azacca (the extra “Z” notwithstanding). And yes, I sort of get both, but it’s really not all that emphatic or exciting. As well, there’s a hint of astringency in the finish that I don’t really appreciate. All in all, it’s OK, or maybe a little better, but that’s about it. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Cabin Brewing Company / Eighty-Eight Brewing Love Shack (Cabin) – American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$4.68 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 15-Feb-2021)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap & ring, minimal lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruit, dank resiny pine, citrus, oats, wheat. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium smooth body, moderate-low carbonation, medium duration finish. (4/5)

(LEFT) Bookkeeping note: I don’t think I have any particular favourite in these two breweries, and would have to go to my records to determine whether I actually have a historical preference for one or the other. However, in order to avoid any possibility of bias, I made my notes referring to the two simply as “LEFT” (in the ribbed IPA glass) and “RIGHT” (in the smooth one). I looked at the labels only after the fact, to determine which was which. Turns out, “LEFT” is Cabin’s version, and “RIGHT” is 88’s.

The collaboration claims to use the same recipe at both breweries, but I don’t know whether that includes hop ratios or choice of yeast. The commercial description I can find seem to indicate both versions are hopped with Galaxy, Vic Secret, Cryo Mosaic and Cryo Sabro hops. On their web site, I see that 88’s version also includes Mosaic Incognito and Sabro, but Cabin doesn’t have any brewing details so I’m not sure if theirs does as well. Both get less fruity and more dank as they warm, but RIGHT starts off just a hair danker. I’m hard-pressed to detect any other differences between the two (and that’s side-by-side – I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to just from memory or notes). Both have the clean malt base and slightly smooth body that I associate with oats, and I’m halfway convinced I can detect just a touch of wheaty tartness. Gun to my head, I like RIGHT just a little more, but the bottom line is, they’re both fun, NE-style hazy IPAs with a lot of fruit adjunct working well with the underlying hops. (Unfortunately, they’re also both guilty of the egregious sin of putting that stupid fucking song in my head.) (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Outcast Brewing 12 Ounces Is Just Right! – Triple IPA at 9.5% ABV (C$4.05 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 5-Jan-2021, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 13-Feb-2021)

Appearance: muddy hazy medium gold with one finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: stone & tropical fruit, citrus, caramel, hint of vanilla. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter warming finish. (4/5)

See, I’d rather have 12 ounces (or more!) of this than 12 Ounces Is Not Enough!, which I just found weirdly off-putting. I still don’t think a Triple IPA is really a thing, but whatever you classify this as, it ain’t half bad. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Outcast Brewing 12 Ounces Is Not Enough! – American IPA at 7% ABV (C$3.69 at Collective, 355 ml, packaged on 4-Jan-2021, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 13-Feb-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap and ring, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: herbal, resiny pine, citrus, caramel, stone fruit. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration bitter warming finish. (3/5)

I had great expectations here, but was deeply disappointed. I’m not sure if it’s oxidized, because I’m not really getting any of the wet cardboard notes I typically associate with that, but this is nothing like his typical IPAs. Sorry, Patrick, but 12 ounces of this actually is enough. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Town Square Brewing Market Series IPA #005 – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.50 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 11-Feb-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of loose pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, citrus, pale malt, melon. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building and lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

I understand this is a spinoff from Megawatt, with a similar hop bill but a bigger dry hop. So they say, anyway. Truth is, I suspect I’d have to try them side-by-side in order to discern any really significant differences. I might be noting a bit more fruit, specifically stone fruit, than I got with Megawatt, but other than that it really does seem like a very similar beer. Which is OK by me, since I liked that one just fine! (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Category 12 Brewing Frequency Imperial Hazy IPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.8% ABV | 40 IBU (C$5.22 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 23-Nov-2020, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 11-Feb-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, stone fruit, pale malt, resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly creamy body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter mildly warming finish. (4/5)

Hopped with Galaxy, Citra, and Mosaic? Hell yeah. Juicy goodness, restrained sweetness, and a hint of resiny pine. As usual, I wouldn’t mind a little more of the old sticky-icky, but this is pretty good even so. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company Citra Dreams – American IPA at 7.0% ABV (C$6.88 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 7-Dec-2020, acquired 10-Feb-2021, reviewed 10-Feb-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of loose white head diminishing gradually to a medium cap, minimal spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pithy grapefruit, stone fruit, bready malt, weedy grass, resiny pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body tending slightly watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (3/5)

Not bad, but a little light in the aroma and flavour, with an accompanying slightly thin (tending watery) body. It certainly doesn’t have the kind of enthusiastic aroma I’d like to see from a Citra DDH. It certainly drinks easy for the ABV, butI’d still like to see more body and bombast here. OK, but not great. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Peace River Brewing Tastes Pink IPA – American IPA at 6% ABV (C$4.68 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 15-Jan-2021, reviewed 5-Feb-2021)

Appearance: clear deep gold with two fingers of loose pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: caramel, grass, citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Not too sure what pink would taste like, but this tastes like an old-school AIPA to me… or am I being too literal? Malt-dominant over reasonably balanced bitterness, but ends just a little astringent. Other than that, there’s nothing too wrong with it, and it’s certainly pretty enough, but it’s just not very interesting. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com