RyansBooze

Stone Brewing Company Smoked Porter (2015) American Porter at 5.9% ABV (C$7.22 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 12-Mar-2015)

Appearance: clear amber-brown, one fat finger of creamy light tan head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: smoke, roasty malt, mild chocolate and coffee. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, light smoke. (8/10) Medium-full creamy body, moderate carbonation, short duration slightly smoky finish. (4/5)

Good looking and nicely balanced, with the smoke being definitively present, yet not overwhelming. Pretty simple flavours, with just the basics on both the nose and tongue, but decently done. (16/20)

My 204th from the 2010 Edition of 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die (193rd from the 2013 edition), and 215th combining both editions.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Phillips Brewing Company Crooked Tooth Pumpkin Ale Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 5% ABV (C$7.49 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear medium amber, one fat finger of creamy light tan head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: vegetal pumpkin and spices, light sweet malt, faint grassy and earthy hops. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, light tart. (8/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, short duration finish. (4/5)

My brother recently pointed out to me that my reviews of pumpkin beers have a tendency to be apologetic in tone: that they boil down to “For a beer I don’t like, it’s not bad.” And there’s probably a lot of truth to that, but the fact is I kind of take what I can get when it comes to trying new stuff. Not only that, but Phillips (and to a lesser extent, Russell) tend to be brewers for whom my reviews tend to be apologetic – but that comes, not from disliking them, but thinking they have the potential of being so much better. (So this is pretty much a perfect match, right?) Anyway, this year I ended up with about six different pumpkin beers to try, but there was a bit of a method to my madness: I tried to do them in roughly the order I expected to enjoy them, saving the best for last. And dang, if it doesn’t seem like I nailed it. This is the penultimate (I have its big Crookeder brother left to go) and the scores thus far have gone 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, and 7.0. For this one, I’m going out on a limb a little on the scoring, but ultimately it’s a beer I would actually drink again – and for a pumpkin beer, that’s saying something! It’s not that it doesn’t taste or smell like pumpkin, because it does, but rather that the mildness feels both balanced and deliberate, like a half strength pumpkin pie, and it doesn’t lose sight of the fact that it’s also supposed to smell and taste like beer. This one really is worth trying on its own merits. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Russell Brewing Company Happy Jack Pumpkin Ale Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 5.5% ABV (C$5.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, bottle date 18-Sep-2015)

Appearance: clear deep amber, one fat finger of fluffy light tan head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: vegetal pumpkin and spices, nutty, caramel malt, faint woody. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, short duration finish with some lingering spice. (4/5)

As pumpkin beers go, a decent example of the style. In particular, there’s both a noticeable vegetal pumpkin flavour, and a pleasant spice character. I wouldn’t go looking for it again, but I’ve certainly had much worse. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Tree Brewing Co. Jumpin Jack India Pumpkin Ale Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 6.5% ABV (C$7.50 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear deep amber, one fat finger of rocky ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus, pine, pale and caramel malts, faint vegetal pumpkin and spices, nutty, grassy and earthy. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry building bitter finish. (4/5)

Much more of an IPA than a pumpkin beer – lots of citrus and piney hops, with only faint vegetal pumpkin and spices in the background. I probably like this more than a lot of pumpkin beers for that very reason, but if the point is a pumpkin beer, it’s kind of missing that boat. I’m going to split the difference there, and grade this as a fairly unremarkable IPA. (And seriously? Am I rating the same beer as everybody else on ratebeer? People are going on about the pumpkin and spices, but for me they’re way, way back in the cheap seats. And pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, and all that jazz generally don’t fade as fast as hops do, so I’m confused. Oh, well – normal state of being for me, I guess.) (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Fernie Brewing Company Pumpkin Head Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 5% ABV (C$6.79 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, best before 1-Mar-2016)

Appearance: clear brown, one finger of fine light tan head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: vegetal pumpkin, spices, caramel malt, nutty, grassy and earthy. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter, very mild tart. (7/10) Medium body tending to watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly spicy finish. (3/5)

Smells reasonably good – vegetal pumpkin leading, backed up by the standard pumpkin spices. It actually tastes a little better than it smells – less pumpkin-y, more brown ale. (It actually tastes not completely dissimilar to their Hot Saw Brown, to my mind.) And no, I don’t mean that the less a pumpkin beer tastes like a pumpkin beer, the better. I just mean I like the tastes a little more than the smell. Ultimately, though, it comes across as a little weak and watery (like so many brown ales do, in my experience) – could do with a little more flavour and a little more body to carry it. Pretty easy-drinking, though. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Waterloo Brewing Co. Roggenbier Smoked Beer at 5.3% ABV (C$3.46 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before)

Appearance: clear amber-brown, one finger of loose light tan head diminishing gradually to a medium cap, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: smoke, caramel, dark fruit, wood and earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Medium-light body, lively to moderate carbonation, lingering smoky bitter finish. (3/5)

Actually, surprisingly easy drinking. The applewood smoke is quite restrained, and there are interesting notes of caramel and fruit. I wasn’t expecting much, but this is actually OK. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Clown Shoes Beer The Peace Money Can’t Buy Abt / Quadrupel at 11.5% ABV (C$13.62 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 18-Dec-2014)

Appearance: clear amber-brown, one finger of light tan head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bourbon, dark fruit, stone fruit, vinous, vinegar, cloves. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, mild bitter, mild tart. (7/10) Medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, drying lightly tart finish. (3/5)

Not entirely sure what I was expecting here, but this wasn’t it. Though, perhaps in retrospect, it should have been: the fact that it’s a quadrupel indicates the dark fruit and sweetness are to be expected, and the label tells you it’s bourbon barrel-aged. I guess the combination of the lighter-than-expected body and the livelier-than-expected carbonation make this feel like a much lighter beer, while the intense bourbon edge is more in keeping with the high ABV, so it’s a bit of a study in contradictions. Not an unqualified success – it still feels hot to me at nearly a year old, and the flavours still tend a bit to the harsh – but interesting. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Tree Brewing Co. Captivator Doppelbock at 8% ABV (C$6.99 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear amber, short light tan head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: molasses, dark fruit, caramel/toffee, mild nutty, light chocolate. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, mild bitter, mild tart. (7/10) Medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, drying lightly astringent warming finish. (3/5)

A cool enough October day to justify something a little darker – there was, after all, frost on the windshield for hockey practice at six this morning! Not a bad version of the style, although both the head and the body are somewhat less than indicated in the guidelines. Pretty similar to Celebrator, actually, if slightly lighter – so I’m guessing the name similarity isn’t accidental… However, it manages to pull off a higher ABV despite the lighter flavour, so kudos for that. It doesn’t really improve by warming, though, so unless warm watery molasses is your thing, don’t take too much time with this one. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Central City Brewers + Distillers Red Racer Spiced Pumpkin Ale Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 5% ABV (C$6.11 at NLC Stavanger, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Appearance: clear medium amber, short light tan head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pumpkin, spices, maple sweet. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, mild bitter, mild peppery spice. (5/10) Medium body tending a little to the watery, lively to moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly spicy finish. (3/5)

Generally, pumpkin beers are to beer as Pumpkin Spice Latté is to coffee – which is to say, if it’s your particular secret shame, perhaps you enjoy it more than is seemly, but otherwise you quite rightly treat it as the abortion it is. Given that this is in fact my attitude, one might wonder at the fact that this is the first of no fewer than six pumpkin beers currently residing in my cellar. Rest assured, however, that there is a very simple explanation: you see, I’m an idiot. With that bookkeeping out of the way, I can report that this is a fairly “pumpkin-y” example of the style (that is, the flavours include not just spices, but actual pumpkin), not too sweet, and moderately good-looking though lacking any kind of head or lacing – and further to the down side, it could stand to be spicier, with more body. Ultimately pretty boring, though not actually offensive. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

YellowBelly Brewery Deep South American IPA at 6% ABV (C$9.34 at NLC Kelsey Drive, 1 l, best before 27-Nov-2015)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, resiny pine, pale malt, light catty. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Overall a very nice A/IPA: lots of bright fruit and resiny flavour on the nose, and a nice balance of bitter and supporting malt on the tongue. The finish is slightly less clean than I would like, with a bit of cattiness coming out as the bitterness lingers. All things considered, though, this is a relatively minor sin, and not atypical for a Mosaic bittered brew. I’m not familiar with the other (Pacific Gem) hops, but wasn’t surprised in reading up on them that they’re considered similar to the standard starts-with-C culprits. There’s actually almost a vinous quality as well, that made me wonder if there was any Nelson Sauvin, but that seems not to be the case. I would definitely recommend it, except the brewery no longer has it on tap and I rather suspect I now own one of the very few bottles left in existence… and I ain’t sharing. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com