RyansBooze

Refined Fool Brewing Co. Bobhouse Banger Peanut Butter Porter – American Porter at 6% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 2-Oct-2025, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 17-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear deep cola red with a short fine beige head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: peanuts, cocoa, toasted malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, soft carbonation, lingering bitter slightly thin finish. (3/5)

Collective Advent #11. I sort of like the fact that the peanut butter is mild and doesn’t overwhelm, but on the other hand, I’d like for something to step up here. It’s a bit too mild overall, and definitely a bit too thin through the finish, for my preference. (14/20)

This will be my 6,300th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Irrational Brewing Company Ethereal 24 – Pilsner at 4.8% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 17-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear pale straw with two fingers of fluffy white head, moderate retention and spotty soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: mild, tropical fruit, melon, faint grassy malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, short duration slightly astringent finish. (3/5)

Collective Advent #10. “w/ simcoe & riwaka amplifire”. It’s a Pilsner. I was hoping for brighter aromas given the “modern” hop bill, but it’s actually pretty mild. And although it’s fairly crushable, it turns slightly astringent through the finish. Definitely nothing memorable. (14/20)

This will be my 6,299th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

2 Crows Brewing Return to Innocence – Blended Saison at 6.3% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 16-Dec-2025)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with a massively overblown loose pale ivory head, good retention and heavy chunky lacing. (3/5) Aroma: floral, berries, oak, light funk. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter, mild tart. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, slightly sticky finish. (3/5)

Collective Advent #9. Not bad, but not without its issues – not least of which is, it’s basically impossible to pour. Once you get past that little hurdle, the aroma is the star of the show, dominated by pleasant floral and fruit notes with a little wood and funk underneath. However, it’s a little too sweet on the tongue, and falls off slightly flaccid to a slightly edgy finish. I think this would have been better had it been a little more attenuated, but then again that probably wouldn’t have helped the edgy finish, so…? Bottom line, I wanted to like this more than I did. (14/20)

This will be my 6,298th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Small Gods Brewing Co. Uncommon Grounds – Bock at 6.2% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 16-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear deep gold with a short, short-lived off-white head, no lacing. (4/5) Aroma: overextracted coffee, caramel. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly sticky finish. (3/5)

Collective Advent #8. Nope, sorry. Not my first exposure to an attempt at doing a coffee beer that isn’t a stout, and it just doesn’t work – you always end up with something that smells and tastes like stale coffee grounds got spilled in your beer. Overextracted coffee utterly dominates this, with just mild caramel and no hop character whatsoever. If anything, this scoring is generous. (12/20)

This will be my 6,297th unique Untappd check-in.

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Fierce Beer Ltd. Maple Pancake – American Pale Ale at 6.5% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 440 ml, best before 2-Apr-2026, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 16-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: maple syrup, vanilla, cereal grains, light grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration slightly sticky finish. (4/5)

Collective Advent #7. Aroma starts off literally what it says on the label, utterly dominated by maple pancakes (highly seasonally-appropriate) but then drops off a little to reveal hints of grassy hops. And yes, it’s sweet-tending, but far less so than the aroma would lead one to expect. I fully acknowledge this is gimmicky as hell, and I’m sure purists would hate it. I, on the other hand, just spent ten days in Germany trying fairly unsuccessfully to find a beer that didn’t taste exactly like every other one, so I really don’t. I acknowledge that my scoring might be a touch enthusiastic here, but other than stylistic disagreements there are really no flaws to justify a lower score. (16/20)

This will be my 6,296th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Bent Stick Brewing Co. Eleven Fifty-Nine PM (Rum Barrel Aged) – American Double / Imperial Stout at 11.9% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 1-Jan-2025, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 15-Dec-2025)

Appearance: black with short fine beige head, good retention and moderate stringy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: rum, chocolate/coffee, vanilla, wood. (8/10) Taste: high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: full slightly slick body, moderate-soft carbonation, sweet lingering bitter warming finish. (4/5)

Collective Advent #6. Well, it’s about time: a solid performer, well-implemented, and seasonally-appropriate. (And yes, when I say “black”, I mean it’s jet black, impenetrable by my flashlight. Fairly rare.) No notes. (16/20)

This will be my 6,295th unique Untappd check-in.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Two Pillars Brewing Grandma’s Secret Recipe Sugar Cookie Tripel – Tripel at 7.2% ABV (C$11.38 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 1-Dec-2025, reviewed 15-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear deep gold with a fizzy short-lived head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: caramel, ginger, light Belgian esters. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweet mildly warming finish. (3/5)

Collective Advent #5. Really not an impressive interpretation. (13/20)

This will be my 6,294th unique Untappd check-in.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Privatbrauerei Eichbaum Steam Brew Imperial Stout – Imperial Stout at 7.5% ABV (0.89€ at Lidl Polch, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Jul-2025, best before 9-Jul-2026, acquired 8-Dec-2025, reviewed 10-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear deep cola red with one finger of loose beige head diminishing gradually to nothing, spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: anise, sweet caramel, light cocoa/coffee. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-full body, moderate-soft carbonation, lingering bitter finish finish. (3/5)

This may well be one of the saddest “Imperial Stout” offerings I’ve ever had, which is probably why the label notes focus on its appearance. On the other hand, it was 0.89€, so in all honesty, I wouldn’t mind buying it again. (12/20)

This will be my 6,288th unique Untappd check-in.

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Privatbrauerei Eichbaum Steam Brew Imperial IPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.8% ABV (0.89€ at Lidl Polch, 473 ml, packaged on 22-Sep-2025, best before 22-Sep-2026, acquired 8-Dec-2025, reviewed 10-Dec-2025)

Appearance: hazy pale amber with one fat finger of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, caramel, mild stone fruit, light grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish finish. (3/5)

Hopped with Yellow Sub (new to me?) and Mosaic. I mean, it’s a bit ham-fisted, and characteristic of the ongoing struggle German brewers have with high gravity and/or anything other than Noble hops, but it’s not terrible. (And, yeah, it’s barely “high gravity” or “Imperial”, but I guess it qualifies.) Ultimately, though, it’s worth every (Euro) cent of the 0.89€ purchase price. (14/20)

This will be my 6,287th unique Untappd check-in.

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Karlsberg Brauerei Urpils – Pilsner at 4.8% ABV | 35 IBU (0.99€ at Lidl Polch, 473 ml, packaged on 1-Aug-2025, acquired 8-Dec-2025, reviewed 9-Dec-2025)

Appearance: clear straw with one fat finger of fluffy white head, good retention and minimal lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grass, crackery malt, herbal, citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, short finish. (3/5)

Pretty typical German Pils, but with a little more of a bitter edge through the finish than is normal. It’s still very much a mass-market offering, mind you, but I don’t dislike it. (13/20)

This will be my 6,285th unique Untappd check-in.

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com