RyansBooze

Phillips Brewing Company Mega Hertz Premium Bitter / ESB at 6.8% ABV (C$7.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, best before 23-Jul-2018, acquired 9-Apr-2018, reviewed 9-Apr-2018)

Appearance: clear medium amber with two fingers of rocky light beige head, good retention and moderate clingy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dark fruit, caramel, pepper and cloves. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter lightly funky finish. (4/5)

An interesting take on the style, with Belgian esters and a dry lightly funky finish built on a restrained caramel malt base. Not the best example of the style I’ve ever had, but definitely solidly done. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma  Dos Equis Ambar Amber Lager/Vienna at 4.7% ABV | 25 IBU (US$3.00 at Port of Cozumel, 325 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 5-Apr-2018, reviewed 6-Apr-2018)

Appearance: clear amber with decent head retention. (3/5) Aroma: clean, caramel malt, toasted bread, grass. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, medium duration mild bitter finish. (3/5)

For what it is, not bad at all. A clean, easy-drinking, relatively light Amber. (11/20)

My 258th from the 2010 Edition of 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die, 248th from the 2013 edition, and 272nd combining both editions.

5.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Sixpoint Craft Ales Bengali American IPA at 6.6% ABV | 66 IBU (US$1.99 at Whole Foods Aventura, 355 ml, packaged on 11-Dec-2017, acquired 30-Mar-2018, reviewed 30-Mar-2018)

Appearance: clear pale amber with one finger of rocky white head, good retention and moderate clingy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: resiny pine, citrus, caramel, hint of green onion. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering and building bitter finish. (4/5)

I don’t mind saying, I deliberately reserved this as my final beer of the evening, because I had such high hopes for it. And yes, it’s definitely the best beer I had this evening. And yet, I must confess, I somehow expected more. Don’t get me wrong, this is world class. But, it seems to suffer somewhat when compared to my recall of some of its brethren. On the other hand, when I check my notes, I see that the three who beat it fairly handily are all DIPAs – Hi-Res, Resin, and Puff – so perhaps I betray my bias for big boozy beers. Mind you, this is just slightly past the magic ninety day mark for the style, so perhaps I’m being slightly unfair on that basis as well. Apparently I’m a bit of a jerk. Anyway, good beer. Would have another. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

JDub’s Brewing Company Up Top! India Pale Ale American IPA at 6.5% ABV | 55 IBU (US$1.99 at Whole Foods Aventura, 355 ml, packaged on 2-Jan-2018, acquired 30-Mar-2018, reviewed 30-Mar-2018)

Appearance: hazy deep gold with one finger of fluffy pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin skim and cap, patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, resiny pine, caramel, hints of tobacco and herbs. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter finish. (4/5)

A fairly traditional IPA, but pretty well done. I’ve called it a moderate bitter, but it tends slightly to the high side, although not so much as the aroma might suggest.  A solid enough performer in a crowded field. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Inlet Brewing Company Monk in the Trunk American Amber / Red Ale at 5.5% ABV (US$1.99 at Whole Foods Aventura, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 30-Mar-2018, reviewed 30-Mar-2018)

Appearance: clear medium amber with a short, short-lived loose ivory head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel malt and candi sugar, mild dark fruit, nuts. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter and spice. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly syrupy body, moderate carbonation, lingering sticky and moderate spicy finish. (3/5)

I was expecting to taste a bit more monk than I did. Not that I’ve tasted a whole lot of monks, y’know, but it was… see… oh, skip it. In its defense, it is more Belgian than Amber – but not by a whole lot. I was also a bit disappointed upon closer reading of the label to discover that this isn’t actually a local brew, but contracted out of North Carolina. I’ve nothing against contract brewing as such, but I specifically got this because I thought it was local. Ah well, live and refuse to learn, that’s what I always say! (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Biscayne Bay Brewing Company Miami Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.5% ABV | 66 IBU (US$1.99 at Whole Foods Aventura, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 30-Mar-2018, reviewed 30-Mar-2018)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a short, short-lived loose white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, light pine, pale crackery malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, mild bitter finish. (4/5)

I’m a little on the fence on this one. At the outset, the big tropical fruit notes in the aroma are inviting, and I’d hesitate to say it ever gets excessively sweet or cloying, but eventually it’s got a tendency to become a little… I dunno… perfumy? It’s not bad, but I don’t think I’d go looking for another. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Barrel of Monks Brewing The Wizard Witbier at 5.5% ABV (US$1.99 at Whole Foods Aventura, 355 ml, packaged on 26-Feb-2018, acquired 30-Mar-2018, reviewed 30-Mar-2018)

Appearance: opaque straw with a short, short-lived loose white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, orange peel, coriander. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, light tart & peppery spice. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, lightly spicy finish. (3/5)

Not unpleasant, but definitely on the mild side. The spice isn’t overwhelming, which is good, but everything tends mild, to the point of forgettable. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Omission Brewing Co. Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.8% ABV | 33 IBU (US$1.99 at Whole Foods Aventura, 355 ml, packaged on 15-Dec-2017, acquired 30-Mar-2018, reviewed 30-Mar-2018)

Appearance: clear deep gold with one finger of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: muted pine resin, citrus, caramel malt, floral. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, mild bitter slightly sticky finish. (3/5)

Serviceable enough as a gluten-free beer, I guess, but it suffers by comparison to the real thing. Slightly bland, slightly sticky, and slightly boring. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Western Newfoundland Brewing Co. Strout River Stout at 5.5% ABV | 30 IBU (C$10.36 at NLC Howley Estates, 946 ml, packaged on 1-Mar-2018, acquired 28-Mar-2018, reviewed 28-Mar-2018)

Appearance: utterly black with no relief, a short, short-lived beige head. (3/5) Aroma: dark roasty and ashy malt, coffee, dry cocoa. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body, moderate-low carbonation, lingering bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

I’m not quite sure what about this is not working for me – perhaps it’s a slight overemphasis on the dark malt, but it ends up being a bit burnt and slightly astringent. Not bad, but not one I really enjoyed a lot. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Sierra Nevada Experimental Hop Double IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 8% ABV | 65 IBU (US$1.40 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, packaged on 15-Jan-2018, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 28-Mar-2018)

Appearance: clear medium amber with one finger of creamy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: wood, bready malt, vanilla, citrus, dank pine resin. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering and building bitter mildly warming finish. (4/5)

“HBC 472 lends it a distinctive oaky, barrel-aged character. Jackson 104 brings heavy fruit-forward and citrus-like flavors to the beer, while Steiner 07270 rounds out the hop finish with deep, resinous notes of dank pine and grapefruit.” Y’know, usually these commercial descriptions are irrelevant, inaccurate, or flat-out misleading, but I have to say, all four of the Experimentals I got in a mixed dozen case have commercial descriptions that are dead-nuts on. In this case, I would’ve sworn that this was whiskey barrel-aged, right down to the oaky, woody vanilla character. There’s a little citrus and dank pine on the back end, but it’s pretty minor by comparison. Not to suggest this is unbalanced, not by any means, but it’s surprising what intensity of flavours are possible without actually involving barrels. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com