RyansBooze

Real Ale Brewing Co. Devil’s Backbone Tripel at 8.1% ABV (US$2.20 at Specs Main Branch, 355 ml, bottle date 15-Oct-2016, best before 9-May-2016, reviewed 26-Jan-2016)

Appearance: hazy translucent pale gold with a short, short-lived white head, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: orange peel, coriander, candi sugar, bubble gum, yeasty. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly spicy finish. (4/5)

Pleasant Belg-ish tripel. Sweet, but not overly so, with some complexity and a nice yeasty base. I wouldn’t say no to another of these. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Real Ale Brewing Co. Full Moon Rye IPA American IPA at 6.2% ABV (US$1.99 at Specs Main Branch, 355 ml, bottle date 19-Sep-2015, best before 17-Feb-2016, reviewed 26-Jan-2016)

Appearance: hazy translucent pale amber with one finger of creamy light tan head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone and tropical fruit, earthy rye, bready malt, light citrus and floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body , moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter and mildly spicy finish. (3/5)

Nice – there’s a definite rye presence that’s very well integrated with the IPA bitterness, such that neither really dominates. Certainly it’s not as heavy-handed or spicy as some rye ales I’ve had. I’m not saying there’s necessarily anything wrong with a spicy rye beer, but this different, more subtle approach makes for an interesting change. Nothing earth-shattering but a nicely quaffable rye. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Green Flash Brewing Co. Hop Odyssey: Segal Ranch Session IPA Session IPA at 4.5% ABV (US$2.52 at Specs Main Branch, 355 ml, best before 28-Mar-2016, reviewed 25-Jan-2016)

Appearance: lightly hazy medium gold with one finger of creamy ivory head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pine, citrus, floral, pale malt, light tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body tending a little to the watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Big flavour for a low ABV ale! Not sure how sessionable this is, given the moderately high bitter, mind you… It’s not a complete success – the high-ish bitterness doesn’t work overly well with the slightly watery body, for example – but it’s not bad. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Prairie Artisan Ales Standard Saison Saison at 5.6% ABV (US$2.37 at Specs Main Branch, 355 ml, bottle date 29-Jul-2016, reviewed 25-Jan-2016)

Appearance: cloudy straw with two fingers of rocky ivory head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Aroma: coriander, lemony citrus, crackery malt, white pepper, dry musty hay. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, light funky tart. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, lightly funky finish. (4/5)

Decent complexity, some lightly sour lemon and mild barnyard funk intermingled with various spices and crackery (or maybe doughy) malt. If you enjoy the style, this is worth trying. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

New Belgium Brewing Company Citradelic Tangerine IPA American IPA at 6% ABV (US$1.58 at Specs Main Branch, 355 ml, best before 5-Jun-2016, reviewed 25-Jan-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one fat finger of medium dense off-white head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Aroma: citrus, pale malt, tropical fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, crisp and clean finish. (4/5)

Nice. For me, IPAs and added citrus, whether it’s grapefruit, tangerine, or kumquat, just work so well together. For that matter, I’m a sucker for a half strength radler, but this is if anything the best of both worlds: lots of citrus flavour from the hops and the juice, yet a respectably moderate ABV. Light and easy drinking, lots of fun. I like this a lot. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Victory Brewing Company Hop Ranch Imperial IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 9% ABV (US$3.46 at Specs Main Branch, 355 ml, best before 7-May-2016, reviewed 25-Jan-2016)

Appearance: clear pale gold with one finger of eggshell head, minimal retention, moderate clingy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, floral, citrus, pale malt, pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly warming finish. (3/5)

The hops don’t seem to be as pungent as I would’ve expected – certainly there’s not a lot of the pungent sharp citrus the label promises. That might also be a function of the high-ish ABV, which otherwise really only manifests as a gentle warming. It’s more or less hop-forward, though, and at least it’s not one of those heavily caramel malt DIPAs. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Sierra Nevada 2016 Beer Camp Tropical IPA American IPA at 6.7% ABV (US$1.23 at Specs Main Branch, 355 ml, bottle date 16-Dec-2015, reviewed 25-Jan-2016)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with a short, short-lived off-white head, moderate clingy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, pale malt, pine, onion. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry slightly sweet finish. (3/5)

Not as tropical as I was hoping, actually, and the little bit of onion seems to grow as it warms. I don’t dislike it, but it’s not the beer I was hoping it would be. Decent, but don’t break your neck looking for it. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Independence Brewing Co. Stash IPA American IPA at 7% ABV (US$2.73 at Specs Main Branch, 355 ml, bottle date 7-Jan-2016, reviewed 24-Jan-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a short ivory head, good retention and well-defined lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, pale malt, dank, onion. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

I was sort of expecting brighter hops for something so fresh. The aromas also don’t really seem to communicate the true bitterness of this thing – it doesn’t smell anywhere near as massively bitter as it ends up being on the tongue. The dankness (“stash”, geddit?) starts to come through a bit more as it warms, but so does the onion, so that’s a little bit of a double-edged sword. Ultimately, though, it’s an impressively easy drinking beast for 7% and 100IBU. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Abita Brewing Company Grapefruit Harvest IPA American IPA at 6% ABV (US$2.09 at Specs Main Branch, 355 ml, best before 10-May-2016, reviewed 24-Jan-2016)

Appearance: cloud medium gold with a short, short-lived off-white head, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grapefruit, bready malt, stone and tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild tart. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry lightly tart finish. (3/5)

I might be a touch generous with my rating here, but I’m a sucker for a grapefruit IPA. That said, I’d like this more if there were more of it. I can see the argument for subtlety, but I don’t tend to be a subtle kind of guy. More is always better, right? Good fun, if not great. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Harpoon Brewery Harpoon IPA English IPA at 5.9% ABV (US$2.26 at Specs Main Branch, 355 ml, best before 15-Jan-2016, reviewed 24-Jan-2016)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with one finger of ivory head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: floral, bready malt, grassy, pine, hint of citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry finish. (3/5)

Definitely a more English-style IPA, with the hops, any least on the tongue, being less well-defined and sharp than the typical American versions. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not in ESB territory or anything, and there’s a little bit of stone and tropical fruit coming out as it warms, but it’s definitely a milder implementation. Not unpleasant by any means, and I don’t think being a week after the best-by date hurt this too much. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com