RyansBooze

Omnipollo Hypnopompa American Double / Imperial Stout at 11% ABV (C$11.00 at Zyn, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours solid black with no head, no lacing. (3/5) Nose is burned sugar, vanilla, dark roasty malts, coffee and dark chocolate. (8/10) Taste is strong sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Full body, zero carbonation, off dry and strongly boozy finish. (4/5)

Wow. I mean, I know I left the Reinheitsgebot in the dust some time ago, but this beast is some whole ’nuther level stuff. Yes, it’s made with marshmallows. Yes, it smells and tastes like a marshmallow. To be more precise, it tastes like a marshmallow after you’ve tried to toast it, but didn’t pay attention how close it was to the camp fire – beer may or may not have been a factor – and it caught on fire. Not one to waste a perfectly good blackened marshmallow, you blew it out and ate it. Those marshmallows. Ridiculously sweet, flat as a board, kick like a mule. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Mikkeller / Prairie Artisan Ales American Style American IPA at 7.5% ABV (US$13.99 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 750 ml, best before 9-Apr-2017)

Pours cloudy medium gold with three fingers (and growing) of rocky light tan head, heavy lacing. (4/5) Nose is pithy citrus, brett funk, tropical fruit, pale grainy malt. (8/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderately strong bitter, strong tart. (8/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, dry funky finish. (4/5)

That’s a fairly unique A/IPA – definitely dominated by the brett, but still retaining a strong hop character. I’ve had Belgian IPA’s before, and this shares a lot of the characteristics of that style, but the brett is definitely the joker in the deck. In fact, the first thing I thought of when I cracked it, was that it smelled like a lambic or a gueuze. Bit of a beast, but lots of fun. The only other beer I can think of that took the “brett inoculated IPA” route is Stone Enjoy After – but that’s gonna be my Boxing Day present to myself this year, so I’ll have to get back to y’all with a comparison on that. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Lager American Amber / Red Lager at 7.5% ABV (US$1.79 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 355 ml, bottle date 1-Apr-2015)

Pours clear medium gold with one finger of medium dense white head, good retention and moderate patchy lacing. (4/5) Nose is caramel malt, grassy and floral, hint of citrus. (6/10) Taste is mild to moderate sweet, very mild bitter. (6/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, short duration slightly bitter finish. (3/5)

Definitely a prohibition-era lager: much more robust and less crisp than today’s typical light lagers, yet still easy-drinking and refreshing. Some of the hop flavours (especially the citrus) build and become more apparent as the glass progresses, making me like this a bit more than I first thought. Not great, perhaps, but worth trying, especially on a hot day. (13/20)

My 185th from the 2010 Edition (173rd from the 2013 edition), and 195th combining both editions.

6.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Firestone Walker Brewing Company Union Jack IPA American IPA at 7.5% ABV (US$1.79 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 355 ml, bottle date 1-Apr-2015)

Pours clear deep gold with a short, short-lived white head, patchy lacing. (4/5) Nose is bright pine resin, citrus, pale malt, light tropical fruit. (8/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium to light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry warming finish. (4/5)

“Lions, bears, and beers”? Oh my! An enjoyable A/IPA with a bit of E/IPA malt character. For me, the first sip was the best – after that, the maltiness becomes just a tiny more pronounced than I’d prefer. This would be a great beer with a BBQ or camp fire, though. As long as I didn’t have to drive afterwards – because not that this one is hot, by any means, but at 7.5%ABV, it’ll get the job done quicker than many. (16/20)

My 184th from the 2010 Edition (retired from the 2013 edition), and 194th combining both editions.

8/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Blue Moon Brewing Company Farmhouse Red Saison/Flanders-Style Ale Saison / Farmhouse Ale at 5.8% ABV (US$1.79 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 355 ml, best before 20-Apr-2015)

Pours clear medium amber with a short, short-lived light tan head, no lacing. (3/5) Nose is yeasty wheat, coriander, grassy/floral, slight pepper. (5/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter, very mild tart. (5/10) Medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, brief duration finish. (3/5)

Maybe we need to take up a collection and buy Blue Moon a dictionary? I’m getting essentially no saison character whatsoever, and only the weakest of tartness as the nominal “flanders-style” aspect. Coriander is more witbier than saison, and the yeasty tones just smell like bog standard Blue Moon. It’s not terrible, but it’s not what it says on the label, either. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Sierra Nevada Harvest Fresh Hop IPA – Southern Hemisphere (2015) American IPA at 6.7% ABV (US$4.99 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 650 ml, bottle date 27-Apr-2015)

Pours clear pale amber with three fingers of pillowy light tan head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Nose is citrus, pine, floral, caramel malt. (7/10) Taste is mild to moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter, mild peppery spice. (8/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter and slightly spicy finish. (4/5)

Now that is a heckuva sessionable IPA – a decently dry finish and a well-integrated moderately strong ABV make this a beer you can quite enjoy having a couple of, while the flavours are sufficiently bright and complex to keep you interested. Both the body and the sweetness are perfectly suited to support the hop-forward character without detracting from it, making the beer a decent showcase for NZ hops. (I keep wanting to think there’s a little vinous character in there, but I can’t really pin it down. Something a little more adventurous would have been nice.) Recommended. (16/20)

My 183rd from the 2010 Edition (172nd from the 2013 edition), and 193rd combining both editions.

8/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Deschutes Brewery Armory XPA Experimental Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.9% ABV (US$3.99 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 650 ml, best before 14-Jul-2015)

Pours clear pale amber with two fingers of rocky light tan head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is citrus, grainy pale malt, tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering moderately bitter finish. (3/5)

I like this. Not quite a traditional APA, but not quite an IPA, either. Bright citrus and fruit play well with the emphatic bitter. Fun, but not great – the flavours aren’t as bright as promised by the nose, so though it’s bitter, it’s not as clean as I’d like. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Big Sky Brewing Company Moose Drool Brown Ale American Brown Ale at 5.6% ABV (US$1.79 at Total Wines & More Henderson NV, 355 ml, best before 21-Jul-2015)

Pours clear amber-brown with one finger of tight tan head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is roasty malt, caramel, molasses, nutty, light smoke. (7/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter. (7/10) Medium to light body, moderate carbonation, medium duration finish. (3/5)

Quite a drinkable brown. Light smoke is somewhat reminiscent of a rauchbier, without being intrusive. Malt dominant, of course, but there is a small hop bitterness keeping the sweetness under control. That, along with the light body tending to the watery, would probably make it easy to session. (14/20)

My 181st from the 2010 Edition (170th from the 2013 edition), and 191st combining both editions.

7/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Steamworks Brewing Company Steamworks Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 5.2% ABV (C$2.49 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 500 ml, no packaging date or best before)

Pours clear pale gold with one finger of rocky white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate lacing. (3/5) Nose is light tropical fruit and pine, caramel/toffee malt, light citrus, honey. (6/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Medium to light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mild bitter finish. (3/5)

Surprisingly good for the price – I went into it with low expectations, and was pleasantly surprised. Body and flavours are on the light side, tending to the watery. Could definitely stand to be bolder, but not bad. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Pump House Brewery Limited Pump House Blueberry Ale Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 5.0% ABV (C$2.79 at South Trail Calgary Co-Op, 473 ml, packaged 20-Jan-2015)

Pours slightly hazy pale straw with one finger of white head, good retention and minimal lacing. (3/5) Nose is blueberries, sugar, wheat, faint grass/hay. (5/10) Taste is moderately strong sweet, mild bitter. (4/10) Light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lightly crisp finish. (3/5)

Fairly typical adjunct lager, with sweet and not entirely authentic-tasting blueberries. Think preservative-laden sealed-in-plastic blueberry scones – you might not necessarily want one every day, but as an occasional guilty pleasure they’re not the end of the world. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com