RyansBooze

Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project Our Finest Regards English Barleywine at 11% ABV (C$13.37 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 1-Nov-2015, acquired 18-Aug-2016, reviewed 26-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear brown with amber-brown highlights, one finger of creamy light tan head that retains well, light lacing. (4/5) Aroma: molasses, chocolate syrup, caramel, dark boozy fruit, light coffee. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium-full slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, lingering sweetish and warming finish. (4/5)

Nice. Opens up nicely as it warms, developing rich and complex flavours on a medium-full body, with a pronounced but not harsh alcohol warming. The sweetness is high but not cloying, and smoothly transitions into pleasant coffee-like tones, but remains a bit sticky on the finish. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Royal Unibrew Tempt No. 9 Cider at 4.9% ABV (C$2.54 at NLC Stavanger, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 4-Jun-2016, reviewed 26-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear straw with a very short-lived fizzy head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: syrupy sweet and artificial berry and lime. (3/10) Taste: high sweet, mild tart. (3/10) Light body, lively carbonation, cloyingly sweet finish. (2/5)

Bleagh. (7/20)

3.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Council Brewing Co. Béatitude Three Berry Tart Saison Saison at 4.5% ABV | <2 IBU (C$19.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 750 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 1-Jul-2016, reviewed 26-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear ruby red with a short, short-lived fizzy light pink head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: doughy yeast, tart berry, horseblankety funk, lemon, light oak. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high tart. (8/10) Medium-light body, lively carbonation, crisp lightly tart and funky finish. (4/5)

Better than the Raspberry version (the addition of blueberry and blackberry seems to make the aromas both more robust, and more complex) but just slightly inferior to the Mosaic. Again, though, I find myself disagreeing vehemently with their yeast choice. Perhaps it’s exacerbated by their no-boil methodology, but for me the bread dough character overshadows nearly everything else. Actually, in my opinion this thing shines in the finish, precisely because the pleasant tart and funk linger after the bread dough character dissipates. It really does have a lovely tart and funky flavour, and I’d love to see it done with a more neutral yeast, for example a French champagne/saison yeast. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

YellowBelly Brewery Labrador Lager Maibock (Helles Bock) at 6.5% ABV | 30 IBU (C$9.34 at NLC Howley Estates, 1 l, best before 29-Dec-2017, acquired 19-Nov-2016, reviewed 25-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear deep gold with a short, short-lived white head, poor retention and no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: lightly toasted malt, earthy and grassy, light spice. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light spice. (8/10) Medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, short duration bitter and lightly spicy finish. (4/5)

To be utterly blunt, I wasn’t expecting much – whenever a beer has “lager” in the name, I’m generally disappointed. This, however, is decent. (And no, not “decent for a lager”: just plain decent.) It’s a bit unfortunate that they decided to incorporate “lager” into the name, actually, because at 6.5% ABV, 6 or 7 SRM, and 30 IBU, this bears about as much resemblance to North American pale adjunct lagers as chalk does to cheese. The label calls it a Helles Bock, and I’m inclined to agree with that style designation. I’ve lumped it in with Maibock because BJCP does so, and though it’s a tad light for a Maibock, it’s not completely out-of-spec. It’s certainly a whole bunch deeper in flavour and colour than a standard Helles Lager, so classifying that way would be misleading. It has clean, lightly toasted malt leading the way, with earthy and grassy noble hops in the background, and a lightly spicy finish. Quite pleasant, actually, and good enough that I wouldn’t mind picking up another. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

YellowBelly Brewery Flatrock Freshie Ryan’s Farm Black Currant Saison Saison at 5.6% ABV | 20 IBU (C$13.51 at YellowBelly Brewery, 1 l, best before 15-Dec-2016, acquired 8-Oct-2016, reviewed 25-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear pinkish deep amber with a thin, sort-lived fizzy off-white head, poor retention and no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: muted, sweet and tart red berry, light rubber/band-aid. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild tart, light bitter. (5/10) Light body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry lightly tart finish. (3/5)

An undefined berry sweetness and tart leads the way over a slight burned rubber or band-aid aroma, with no Saison character to speak of whatsoever. Warming didn’t improve the bouquet or flavour. Definitely a disappointment from YB. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company The Tom Green Beer! Milk / Sweet Stout at 5% ABV | 27 IBU (C$5.12 at NLC Howley Estates, 600 ml, bottle date 22-Sep-2016, acquired 23-Nov-2016, reviewed 24-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear brown with two fingers of rocky beige head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: lactose, toasty malt, coffee and chocolate, light earth. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, sweetish mildly bitter finish. (3/5)

My reaction to this beer is not unlike my reaction to its namesake: “meh”. This isn’t interesting at all – it’s got a little sweet lactose character, and some mild coffee and chocolate, but the body tends thin for the style, and everything falls flat fairly quickly. OK, but uninspired. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company Golden Vox by k-os Rye Beer at 6% ABV | 46 IBU (C$5.12 at NLC Howley Estates, 600 ml, bottle date 28-Sep-2016, acquired 23-Nov-2016, reviewed 24-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one finger of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grainy malt, grassy, light rye. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, light peppery spice. (6/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, sweetish mildly bitter and lightly spicy finish. (3/5)

Pretty boring, actually. Nothing’s offensive, but nothing stands out. There’s not a lot of rye grain character, though it does start to become a little apparent in the lightly spicy finish. Only the slightest hint of the supposed whiskey ageing becomes apparent at the very end, as the beer warms – I’m not sure I would’ve caught it had I not read the brewer’s notes. Definitely comes across more as a lagered ale, than a rye beer (to its detriment). (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company Ginger Wolf (Wild Oats Series No. 67) Hopfenweisse at 6.5% ABV | 22 IBU (C$6.23 at NLC Howley Estates, 600 ml, bottle date 17-Aug-2016, acquired 23-Nov-2016, reviewed 24-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold with two fat fingers (and growing) of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: ginger, citrus, melon, tropical fruit, wheat malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, light peppery spice. (7/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, sweetish bitter and building spicy finish. (4/5)

Quite good, but I’m not entirely convinced it’s as good as their Wag the Wolf Hopfenweisse. The ginger adds an interesting element, and isn’t as aggressive as the ginger presence in e.g. a ginger beer. However, it certainly lingers in the nose and builds on the tongue, eventually dominating over almost everything else. Unlike the Wag the Wolf, there’s no beautiful room-filling hop aromas immediately upon decapping, though they are present underneath the ginger. An interesting variation, but in this case I think I prefer the original. (15/20)

7.5/510 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company One Ping Only (Wild Oats Series No. 56) Baltic Porter at 8.5% ABV | 34 IBU (C$6.23 at NLC Howley Estates, 600 ml, bottle date 8-Sep-2016, acquired 23-Nov-2016, reviewed 23-Nov-2016)

Appearance: clear ruby brown with two fingers of creamy light beige head, good retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: molasses, deep roasty chocolate, dark boozy fruit, coffee.  (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, medium bitter. (7/10) Medium-full slick body, soft carbonation, off-dry bitter finish. (4/5)

I usually find Baltic Porters a bit too sweet, but this one is nicely balanced. The sweetness is emphatic, but not overwhelming, and is balanced by a smooth body and moderate bitterness. In this case, one ping is enough. (15/20)

7.5/510 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company Return of the Mumme (Wild Oats Series No. 55) Mumme at 5.8% ABV | 35 IBU (C$6.23 at NLC Howley Estates, 600 ml, bottle date 12-Sep-2016, acquired 23-Nov-2016, reviewed 23-Nov-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy medium to deep amber with two fingers of pillowy light beige head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: complex botanicals, spicy, woody, black tea, clover, caraway seed, ginger, pine resin. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, medium bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry bitter and slightly spicy finish. (3/5)

So that’s a Mumme, huh? First one for me, which makes it difficult to rate – and odd, which makes it even more difficult to rate. I should point out, though, that “odd” doesn’t necessarily mean “bad”. This is just… odd. It opens up with a combination of nearly medicinal botanicals like dandelion and clover, but then notes of black tea and caraway seed develop, before a lightly spicy, gingery finish with hints of resiny pine. It actually feels a little more bitter than the 35 IBU would suggest, probably due to herbal contributions over and above the straight alpha acids imparted by the hops. I guess it’s sort of like a Gruit, if I had to pick a comparison, but a Christmas blend one. Not unpleasant, and it sort of grew on me as it progressed – but, still: odd. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com