RyansBooze

New Belgium Brewing Company Lips Of Faith – Pear Ginger Beer Spice/Herb/Vegetable at 7% ABV (C$9.12 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, best before 23-Apr-2016)

Pours slightly hazy medium gold with one finger of medium white head diminishing gradually to a dense cap, moderate lacing. (4/5) Nose is ginger, white pear, candi sugar. (6/10) Taste is moderately strong sweet, mild bitter, mild peppery spice. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly sticky and spicy finish. (3/5)

A bit mellower than e.g Crabbie’s, but with the subtle (but definite) added flavour of pear. And a higher ABV… Pleasant, but not even close to New Belgium’s best. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Moa Brewing Company  St. Joseph’s Abbey Tripel at 9.5% ABV (C$5.08 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 375 ml, best before 4-May-2015)

Pours hazy medium gold with one finger of rocky white head, good retention and lacing. (3/5) Nose is yeasty, dark fruit, caramel/toffee malt, banana and clove. (5/10) Taste is moderate sweet, very mild bitter. (5/10) Medium to full body, prickly carbonation, off-dry boozy finish. (3/5)

Meh. Slightly past its best before, OK, but I dunno how much better it would be fresh. This is the type of triple I don’t really prefer: malt-forward and fuller-bodied, instead of crisp and dry. The ABV is intrusively present as well, with the heat feeling like an unbalanced afterthought. Couldn’t be bothered to finish it. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Burnside Brewing Company Oatmeal Pale English Pale Ale at 5.6% ABV ($6.84 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 21-Nov-2014)

Pours hazy pale amber with three fingers of rocky and growing off-white head and moderate lacing. (4/5) Nose is oatmeal, citrus, floral, earthy, caramel malt. (7/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium bodied and slightly creamy, moderate carbonation, dry and lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

First time I’ve had an “oatmeal pale,” but it plays out pretty much the way you’d expect: the oatmeal adds body and smoothness to the base pale ale, but also seems to slightly dull the nose. Perhaps as a result, the hop character seems to split the difference between English and American styles – not quite as bright and fruity as APA’s, but definitely more aggressive than typical EPA’s. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Big Rock Brewery Hefehöpper Hefeweizen at 5.0% ABV ($4.88 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours hazy straw with a short, short-lived white head and no lacing. (3/5) Nose is initially banana, cloves, yeasty wheat, fades to grassy hops and pale malt. (5/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Light bodied, lively to moderate carbonation, brief lightly bitter finish. (3/5)

Well, it is what it is. And what it is, is unfiltered Grasshöpper. It starts off smelling almost like an actual hefeweizen, with some banana and cloves alongside bready yeast notes – but that fades, giving way to some weedy, grassy hops and pale crystal malt. Drink it quickly, I guess? Not bad, and certainly an improvement over a standard lager – or for that matter, a good many kristallweizens – but there are lots of more interesting beers out there at that price point. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Stone Brewing Company / Ecliptic Brewing / Wicked Weed Brewing Points Unknown IPA American Double / Imperial IPA at 9.5% ABV ($9.39 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 23-Apr-2015)

Pours clear pale amber with two fingers of off-white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is complex: Belgian yeast, juniper, pithy citrus, pine resin, tropical fruit and pale malt. (8/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium bodied, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter and growing boozy finish. (4/5)

What the serious hell is THAT? Smells sorta like a Belgian tripel that’s been cut half and half with a Stone IPA. With a splash of gin and tonic for flavour. Which are, like, three of my favourite things. That said, there’s no way this is worth the premium – but damn you, Stone, for being a big guy pretending to be a little guy! You know I’m just gonna keep paying for your oh-so-delicious products no matter what you charge! (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Black Market Brewing Co. Rye IPA American IPA at 7.5% ABV ($6.52 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, bottle date 23-Apr-2015)

Pours clear to slightly hazy pale amber with two fingers of ivory head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, good lacing. (3/5) Nose is bright citrus and tropical fruit, pale malt, pine resin, mild rye. (8/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light sour. (7/10) Medium bodied, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Quite a pleasant rye IPA – very well-balanced, both in terms of the hop bittering and the pale malt, but also in the contribution of the sour rye. I’ve found that rye IPAs can sometimes be a bit aggressive in the rye notes – which isn’t necessarily a negative – but it’s interesting to have one that’s a bit more even-handed in its approach. I have to say, I’m liking this brewery – solid products, if not quite stellar. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

R & B Brewing Company (Howe Sound) Raven Cream Ale Cream Ale at 4.8% ABV (Gift – thanks Doug! – 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours clear medium amber with one finger of off-white head diminishing rapidly to a tenacious cap, patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is caramel, bready yeast, nutty, faint chocolate, smoke, and vinegar. (4/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter, light tart and smoke. (4/10) Light to medium bodied, lively to moderate carbonation, mildly bitter tart and smokey finish. (3/5)

What are the odds of me getting two broken BC beers, from two different brewers, and two different sources, in one day? When I say “broken”, I mean in terms of hitting the style, not necessarily in terms of drinkability. As drinkability goes, it’s not bad – a very lightly smokey sour, almost like a gose, or a mild sour brown. As a “cream ale”. it’s an utter disaster. Dunno how to rate this – I’d rather have it than a macro lager, but not by much. (9/20)

4.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Parallel 49 / Firehall Brewery Brews Brothers One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer Barrel Aged Smoked Scotch Ale Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy at 8.5% ABV ($2.63 at Andrew Hilton Wine & Spirits, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours clear medium amber with one finger of light tan head, good retention and excellent lacing. (4/5) Nose is smoke, citrus, caramel malt, lightly boozy dark fruit. (7/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild tart, light bitter. (7/10) Light to medium bodied, lively to moderate carbonation, mildly tart and lightly bitter longish finish. (4/5)

Well, I dunno what the heck this is, but it’s not much like a Wee Heavy. Smokey and sour, with just a hint of scotch ale maltiness in the middle. The longish finish is mildly tart and lightly bitter, with only a very mild warming from the fairly beefy ABV. The tartness might well be due to an infection, but if so it’s a serendipitous one, because it makes this stand out as a unique and interesting version of what I consider to be a dreadfully dull style. Worth trying with an open mind. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Parallel 49 / Persephone Brews Brothers Stormy Monday N2 Smoked Brown Ale Brown Ale at 4.5% ABV ($2.63 at Andrew Hilton Wine & Spirits, 341 ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours clear deep amber with three fingers of medium beige head, good retention and no lacing. (3/5) Nose is mild smoke, caramel malt, mild coffee, floral and grassy hops. (5/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter and smoke, faint sour. (5/10) Medium bodied tending to watery, moderate to low carbonation, moderate duration finish. (3/5)

The smoke is pretty mild and inoffensive, not bringing this into rauchbier territory, but possibly off-putting for someone unfamiliar with that style. The nitrogen charging is a non-factor as far as I can see – I’m not getting any extra nitrogen smoothness, and there’s certainly no cascade or dense head like with a widget. All things considered, a fairly boring brown ale. (10/20)

5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

De Dolle Brouwers Arabier Belgian Strong Pale Ale at 8% ABV (€3.95 at de Biertempel Brussels, 330 ml, best before Nov 15)

Pours cloudy pale gold with lots of particulate on full white head, good retention and lacing. (3/5) Nose is complex: citrus, banana, floral, candi sugar, light earth and brett barnyard funk. (8/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild funk. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly boozy and lingering brett bitter finish. (4/5)

The appearance on this one is probably bad as a result of rough handling – the seal got broken during transport today, and half the bottle had spilled, but I figured I might as well salvage the remainder. An interesting combination of floral notes, presumably from the nugget hops, and earthy and brett notes. (15/20)

My 174th from the 2010 Edition (164th from the 2013 edition), and 184th combining both editions.

7.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com