RyansBooze

Common Roots Brewing Company Original Concept New England India Pale Ale – American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$8.80 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 29-Jul-2021, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 10-Oct-2021)

Appearance: hazy near-opaque straw with one fat finger of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dank resiny pine, grass, melon, citrus, floral. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: smooth medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)

Double dry-hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado. Excellent complex juicy dank aroma. Nice one. (16/20)

This will be my 5,082nd unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

High River Brewing Co. Cruis’n High River West Coast IPA – American IPA at 7.0% ABV | 90 IBU (C$3.91 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 10-Oct-2021)

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

Old-school WCIPA, but a bit too malt-dominant for my preference. There’s resiny pine, sure, and citrus, but they’re behind the caramel malt. Very pretty, though, and structurally decent. (15/20)

This will be my 5,081st unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Fremont Brewing Head Full of Dynomite Hazy IPA – American IPA at 6.8% ABV (C$5.98 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 16-Aug-2021, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 8-Oct-2021)

Appearance: hazy near-opaque medium gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical & stone fruit, citrus, cereal grains, hint of pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body tending slightly thin, moderate carbonation, mild bitter finish. (3/5)

Brewer notes for HFOD v.31 indicate 2-Row Pale, Rolled Oats, Flaked Wheat, and Vienna malts; Strata, Simcoe, El Dorado, Citra Cryo, Talus, and Ekuanot hops; and an IBU of “ACT” (“a crap ton”). Quite pleasant juicy aroma and flavour, but the body, which starts off medium and slightly creamy, drops off a little thin as the pint progresses. Good, but it could have been better. (15/20)

This will be my 5,080th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Omnipollo Stars Azacca Citra Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV (C$5.95 at Collective, 330 ml, best before 2-Feb-2022, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 8-Oct-2021)

Appearance: hazy straw with one finger of fluffy white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim and ring, moderate droopy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, caramel, tropical fruit, green & cooked vegetables. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, short duration finish. (3/5)

Shocker, brewer notes say this is hopped with Azacca and Citra. Initially, the aroma reflected this, with a bright zesty citrus dominating. However, that faded relatively quickly, with caramel becoming more emphatic, and a vegetal note growing towards the end of the glass. Still fairly easy-drinking, but not one of Omnipollo’s better efforts. (14/20)

This will be my 5,079th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Endeavour Brewing Company End of Trail – American Pale Ale at 5.0% ABV | 47 IBU (C$3.91 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 7-Oct-2021)

Appearance: clear deep gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: grass, caramel, citrus, earth. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, moderate duration bitter finish. (4/5)

Not my first encounter with the first Canadian proprietary hop, Sasquatch, and I remain, shall we say, less than impressed? As I’ve noted before, to me this hop is more Noble in character, than it is bright and fruity American-style. The name and back story (they hiked a trail that just ended for no reason, “not every hike is a great one”) is perhaps a bit on the nose, since it perhaps embodies a similar lesson here: not every hop is a great one. Perfectly serviceable, pretty and well-made, but ultimately the hop selection just isn’t that interesting. (14/20)

This will be my 5,078th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Eighty-Eight Brewing Danger Zone – American IPA at 7.5% ABV | 68 IBU (C$4.72 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 29-Sep-2021, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 6-Oct-2021)

Appearance: clear pale gold with three fingers of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: resiny pine, citrus, tropical fruit, caramel, herbal/pepper. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, building bitter slightly boozy finish. (4/5)

The labels says “Centennial + Azacca Hop Hash w/ Pacific Jade”, and the brewer web site gives a little more detail with the “malt bill consisting of Pilsner, Munich, and Caramel Steam.” Despite the “hop hash” approach being new, in the sense of really ramping up the lupulin extraction, this is largely an old-school WC DIPA, with emphatic hop presence built on a clean caramel base. To the extent it’s any different than the older generation of WC DIPAs, it’s in the bitterness being somewhat restrained for the hop presence. (16/20)

This will be my 5,077th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Île Sauvage Brewing Azacca Dry-Hopped Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5.8% ABV (C$4.90 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 5-Oct-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a massive unruly loose pale amber head, good retention and heavy soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus zest, herbal & wild funk, bready yeast, stone fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, light funky tart. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, dry mild bitter slightly astringent finish. (4/5)

Definite indications of Wild / Kveik brewing here, starting with the unruly head rendering this nearly unpourable, and carrying through into the aroma and slightly astringent finish. Not being told this was a kveik, I initially thought there was some sort of Brett-like infection going on. Then I dug a little, and re-evaluated. Still, the overall structure feels a bit haphazard, rather than having a clear focus – bottom line, if it’s going to be a Wild or a Kviek, then roll with that, instead of calling it an Azacca dry-hopped Pale. I mean, yes, fine, it’s not wrong, but maybe use “wild” or “kveik” on the label to give the drinker a heads up? Not bad overall, but lacking focus. (14/20)

This will be my 5,076th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

S.Y.C. Brewing Co. Check-In – Session IPA at 4.5% ABV (C$4.09 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 8-Sep-2021, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 4-Oct-2021)

Appearance: hazy straw with one fat finger of fluffy white head, good retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bright zesty citrus, stone fruit, pale malt. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry mild bitter finish. (4/5)

Dry-hopped with Galaxy and Citra. I usually find S.Y.C. to be excellent (or better) but one area in particular where I’ve found them lacking is with their Sessions, which have been sub-par in my experience. (I found Mu to be too lean, verging on astringent, and I just didn’t like the wild hop flavours of Afternoon Hoot.) This time, though, they nail it, with a bright, refreshing Session that needs no apologies or qualifiers despite its training wheels ABV. (16/20)

This will be my 5,075th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Fremont Brewing Lush IPA – American IPA at 7.0% ABV | 80 IBU (C$4.81 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Aug-2021, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 3-Oct-2021)

Appearance: clear pale gold with three fingers of fluffy off-white head, good retention and heavy soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: melon, tropical fruit, toasted biscuity malt, citrus, floral, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly sticky moderate bitter finish. (4/5)

Brewer notes say this is hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and Citra Cryo. Rather than the bright and juicy citrus notes I hope to see with those hops, though, I’m getting melon leading the way, with a toasted biscuit note not far behind. Not unpleasant, certainly, but not where I’d like the balance to be. (15/20)

This will be my 5,074th unique Untappd check-in.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Blindman Brewing Wet & Dry Hop – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.8% ABV (C$4.81 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 23-Sep-2021, acquired 1-Oct-2021, reviewed 1-Oct-2021)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: zesty citrus, resiny pine, cereal grains, leafy greens. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly sticky lingering bitter warming finish. (4/5)

Well, the label’s useless: it rambles about hopping, but doesn’t specify the hop varietals, and give the IBU as “???”. Minor annoyances aside, this is nice: citrus and pine leading over top of clean slightly sweet cereal grains, with hints of leafy greens on the back end. The finish is slightly sweet and sticky, with a solid bitter and mild warming. The ABV isn’t entirely absent, but the warming is mild and pleasant. This is another one in what appears to me to be a return to more traditional (i.e. non-NE, non-hazy) types of beers, which for me is particularly appropriate for DIPAs. Nice effort from a solid brewery. (16/20)

This will be my 5,073rd unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com