RyansBooze

Dogfish Head Brewery Raison D’Extra Belgian Strong Dark Ale at 18% ABV ($11.57 at Specs Main Houston, 355ml, bottle date 21-Nov-2014)

Pours murky medium brown with a short, short-lived light tan head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is boozy raisins and other dark fruit, hot alcohol. (8/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitterness, strong alcohol. (8/10) Full body, low carbonation, slick and boozy finish. (4/5)

A bit… “enthusiastic”. Might benefit from some cellaring to blend and mellow the flavours and the still-moderate harshness of the very high ABV. Sweet without being cloying, and with an interesting richness and depth of flavour. Not without its attractions, and very drinkable, but a bit of a velvet-covered hammer to the head. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Victory Brewing Company DirtWolf Imperial / Double IPA at 8.7% ABV ($2.37 at Specs Main Houston, 355ml, best before 10-Mar-2015)

Pours clear pale gold with a short, short-lived white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is pine, citrus, tropical fruit, mild caramel malt, floral notes. (8/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderate to strong bitterness. (8/10) Medium body tending to heavy, moderate to low carbonation, slightly creamy and oily with a lingering bitter finish. (4/5)

Nicely balanced yet hop forward DIPA, with just enough malt to support the hops – just the way I like my DIPA’s! Pleasantly fruity and juicy, with a very well-integrated ABV. Definitely a go-to DIPA. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Victory Brewing Company Vine to Victory Harvest Ale American Pale Ale at 6.5% ABV ($2.37 at Specs Main Houston, 355ml, best before 10-Mar-2015)

Pours clear pale amber with one finger of off white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is pine, citrus, black tea, floral notes, mild caramel malt. (8/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderate to strong bitterness. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, astringent bitter finish. (4/5)

A fairly aggressive APA, with a distinctly astringent bitter finish. Lots of flavour, though. If you drink them continuously, the astringent finish isn’t a problem! (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Deschutes Brewery Fresh Squeezed IPA American IPA at 6.4% ABV ($1.75 at Specs Main Houston, 355ml, best before 17-Apr-2015)

Pours clear medium amber with two fingers of light tan head, excellent retention, moderate chunky lacing lacing. (4/5) Nose is resiny pine, juicy citrus and tropical fruit, mild caramel malt. (8/10) Taste is mild to moderate sweet, moderate bitterness. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, balanced bitter finish. (4/5)

Nice go-to IPA – fresh and juicy, lots of citrus and tropical fruit, decent body and finish. Might not be the absolute best IPA out there, but pretty impossible to beat at the price. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Gueuzerie Tilquin Oude Quetsche Tilquin à l’Ancienne Lambic – Fruit at 6.4% ABV ($15.67 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 375ml, best before 6-Feb-2024)

Pours hazy (first glass) to cloudy (second glass) reddish pale to medium amber with a short loose foamy head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Nose is dusty barnyard funk, green apple and plums, lemon, woody and vinous notes. (9/10) Taste is mild to moderate sweet, strong tart, mild funk. (9/10) Light body, prickly to moderate carbonation, very dry tart funky finish. (4/5)

Wow. The first sip of this brought me back to childhood, eating damson plums (quetsche) we stole from the neighbour’s trees. Intense plums, piled on top of the beautiful tart and funky flavours of the base lambics. Every sip reveals new aspects and the lovely dry finish leaves you ready to take another fresh crack at it every time. That’s not to say this is hugely different that the Oude Gueze – it isn’t – but the plummy stone fruit aspect is an interesting variation on that theme (even if it does make for a pretty murky brew towards the end of the bottle!). (19/20)

My 128th from the 2013 Edition of 1001 Beers (new to that edition) and 142nd combining both editions.

9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Gueuzerie Tilquin Oude Gueze Tilquin à l’Ancienne Gueuze at 6.4% ABV ($10.44 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 375ml, best before 6-Feb-2024)

Pours slightly hazy (first glass) to cloudy (second glass) pale gold with one finger of loose foamy head diminishing gradually to a dense half finger cap, spotty lacing. (4/5) Nose is dusty barnyard funk, green apple, lemon, woody and vinous notes. (9/10) Taste is mild to moderate sweet, strong tart, mild funk. (9/10) Light body, prickly to moderate carbonation, very dry tart funky finish. (4/5)

OK, I figured I’d do this one a precursor to the Quetsche, and kinda forgot that I had reviewed it before. But it’s so good, there’s not much harm in me reviewing it again! Not much negative to say here: great depth of flavour, well-behaved funk, and immense tartness cut only slightly by the mild sweetness. I’m fairly convinced I can smell and taste the Cantillon lambic component in this. Much as I love tartness, though, I think it’s just the tiniest bit unbalanced, with a bit too much emphasis on the tart overwhelming the more subtle aspects. (18/20)

9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brouwerij Oud Beersel Kriek Lambic Style – Fruit at 4% ABV ($18.60 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 375ml, best before 13-Aug-2017)

Pours murky pinkish purple with one finger of loose light purple head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, spotty lacing. (3/5) Nose is sour cherries, light funk, some vinous notes. (8/10) Taste is low to moderate sweet, moderate tart. (8/10) Medium body, moderate to low carbonation, off-dry tart finish. (4/5)

Well, let’s get this out of the way right away: it’s probably not worth the price tag. That being said, it’s a very good, very authentic kriek, if maybe very slightly sweeter than some non-export Belgian krieks I’ve had, like Mort Subite. Pretty similar to the Boon Kriek (and I suspect for good reason since it was apparently originally made by Boon). The cherry taste is neither cloying nor medicinal, making this a very pleasant drink. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Moylan’s Brewery Northern California IPA American IPA at 6.5% ABV ($9.79 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours hazy deep gold with a fat finger of medium tan head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, decent lacing. (3/5) Nose is caramel and toffee malt, mango and tropical fruit, some pine resin. (7/10) Taste is moderate sweet, moderately strong bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate to low carbonation, lingering building bitter finish. (4/5)

I dunno about Moylan’s. I keep trying to find fresher ones because I’m convinced that the hops taste faded, but I don’t seem to be having much success. This is yet another one that seems like it should be brighter than it is, but it’s got a toffee flavour I associate with staleness, and a malt-forward character. It’s not bad as it is, but I keep thinking it should be better. I think I might have to give up on them unless I can find it on tap somewhere or unless they, ohhh… I dunno… PUT A DAMN DATE ON THE BOTTLE. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie Thiriez Etoile Du Nord Saison at 5.5% ABV ($8.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 750ml, best before 12/2015)

Pours hazy pale gold with two fingers of dense white head, excellent retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is pale crackery malt, mild herbal, citrus and green banana, mild funk. (7/10) Taste is very low sweet, moderate bitter, mild funk. (8/10) Light to medium body, moderate carbonation, moderate bitter and funky dry finish. (4/5)

Quite a nice saison. Light funk, low sweetness, nicely balanced bitterness. Nice complexity of fruit and funk on the tongue, if slightly less pronounced in the nose. Good fun. (16/20)

My 135th from the 2010 Edition of 1001 Beers, 127th from the 2013 Edition) and 141st combining both editions.

8/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Grupa Žywiec Žywiec Jasne Pelne / Beer Euro Pale Lager at 5.5% ABV ($3.19 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 500ml, no bottle date or best before)

Pours clear pale straw with one fat finger of loose white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, no heavy lacing. (2/5) Nose is light pale malt, mild grass, light buttery diacetyl caramel. (4/10) Taste is medium sweet, mild bitter. (4/10) Light to watery body, moderate carbonation, mild bitter finish. (2/5)

Fairly standard macro-style lager. Not a lot to say about this – not too memorable one way or the other. (10/20)

My 134th from the 2010 Edition of 1001 Beers (retired from the 2013 Edition) and 140th combining both editions.

4.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com