RyansBooze

Shore Line Brewing Co. Breaker Brut IPA – American IPA at 6% ABV | 20 IBU (C$4.36 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 28-Apr-2021, acquired 6-Aug-2021, reviewed 9-Aug-2021)

Appearance: bright clear pale straw with two fingers of loose white head, good retention and moderate spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild, citrus zest, doughy yeast, rice, tropical fruit, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, low bitter. (7/10) Palate: light body, lively carbonation, dry short duration crisp finish. (4/5)

On the one hand, there’s not a whole lot going on there: the aroma is mild, and in a lot of ways it’s like a rice lager. On the other hand, it’s clean and crisp, with a light body and lively carbonation that makes you think it’s got about half the ABV it actually does. Not as dry and vinous as other examples of the Brut IPA style I’ve had, but a pleasant summertime patio beer, and a significant improvement over their hazy IPA I had a few months ago. (15/20)

7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Alley Kat Brewing Co. Dragon Series Ekuanot Dragon – American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.5% ABV | 75+ IBU (C$4.36 at Collective, 473 ml, best before 16-Dec-2021, acquired 6-Aug-2021, reviewed 8-Aug-2021)

Appearance: clear deep gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and moderate spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: green apple, citrus, pilsner malt, light pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry slightly sticky lingering building bitter finish. (3/5)

The only thing that particularly stands out is a green apple note, which I don’t particularly associate with Ekuanot hops, and don’t find particularly appropriate to the style. (Not necessarily bad, just not what I would choose.)  Overall, not a lot to say about this – middle of the range for the series, middle of the range for the style. (14/20)

7/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Burley Oak Brewing Company Citralaxy – American IPA at 7.5% ABV (C$11.00 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 25-Mar-2021, acquired 6-Aug-2021, reviewed 8-Aug-2021)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head, excellent retention and heavy soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, pale malt, dank resiny pine. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Creamy medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short duration medium bitter finish. (4/5)

“India Pale Ale with that lupulin powder”. Yes. I assume, given the name, that there’s Citra and Galaxy in here, but I can’t find any brewer’s notes. In any case, that’s certainly the flavour profile I’m getting. Nice weight in both the body and the ABV, supporting the emphatic hop profile. All in all, very nicely done. (16/20)

8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Propeller Brewery Galaxy IPA – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.63 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 15-Jul-2021, reviewed 7-Aug-2021)

Appearance: slightly muddy hazy deep gold with two fat fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma:  tropical fruit, citrus, pale malt, stone fruit, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short duration medium bitter finish. (4/5)

I had assumed, given the name, that this was a single-hop, but the brewer web site suggests otherwise, and indicates there’s Citra and Mosaic in there as well. I’m a little bit disappointed by that, but it’s largely got the character I’d expect from Galaxy, with juicy, albeit slightly bruised, tropical fruit (pineapple) leading the way over citrus and a light stone fruit and floral. The malt is clean and unobtrusive, not overly affecting the hop expression. One of the better efforts I’ve had by this brewer in the better part of a decade, with only their London Style Porter rating higher in my experience. (15/20)

7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Lost Coast Brewery Hazy IPA – American IPA at 6.7% ABV | 38 IBU (C$3.32 at Liquorville Legacy, 355 ml, packaged on 22-Jun-2021, acquired 4-Aug-2021, reviewed 7-Aug-2021)

Appearance: hazy straw with one fat finger of pillowy white head, good retention and well-defined droopy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical fruit, pale malt and cereal grains, herbal. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Smooth medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short duration medium bitter finish. (4/5)

The label specifies Mosaic and Citra, with oats in the malt bill, and the aroma and flavour are pretty much exactly what you’d expect from that. Juicy citrus and tropical fruit lead the way over a clean malt with cereal grains, and just a hint of herbal in the back end. The body is smooth and medium weight, with appropriate carbonation and a short medium bitter finish that makes it easy to drink and more-ish. No complaints here. (16/20)

8/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Outcast Brewing Zilla – American IPA at 6.5% ABV (C$4.95 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 30-Jun-2021, acquired 15-Jul-2021, reviewed 27-Jul-2021)

Appearance: slightly hazy particulate-laden pale gold with one fat finger of fine white head, good retention and well-defined droopy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: juicy tropical fruit, citrus, resiny pine, pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, high bitter. (8/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering building bitter finish. (4/5)

I understand this is not so much a collaboration, as a recipe share from Rebellion. It so happens I actually had the original, at the brewery in Regina, just over three years ago. This isn’t as pretty as the original, but I think it’s got a slightly more emphatic resiny bitterness, which I enjoy. In my opinion, that gives it a slight edge over the original, but I’m also a bit of a fan of Mr. Schnarr, so that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. (15/20)

7.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

AleSmith Brewing Company Cloud Stream – American IPA at 6.9% ABV | 7 IBU (C$5.26 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 4-May-2021, acquired 15-Jul-2021, reviewed 26-Jul-2021)

Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fingers of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, minimal lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, pale malt, citrus, stone fruit. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, low bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short duration finish. (3/5)

Another middle-of-the-road, sort-of-hazy, East-Coast-West-Coast, how-many-more-hyphenated-descriptions-can-you-use kind of beer. Kind of forgettable, one and done. (13/20)

6.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Vancouver Island Brewing Tidal Series: Farmhouse DIPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.7% ABV | 80 IBU (C$4.27 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 25-May-2021, acquired 15-Jul-2021, reviewed 26-Jul-2021)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, caramel, melon, resiny pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter mildly spicy warming boozy finish. (3/5)

Somewhat boozy and malty, and I’m not getting a whole lot of the promised NZ hops. It’s a bit of a throwback, with lots of malt and mixed fruits in roughly equal measure, and a truly old school bitterness that I’ve sort of started to miss. (No photo – camera burped. Side note: I’ve taken literally hundreds of thousands of photos professionally, tens of thousands for fun, and thousands of beer, in various states of inebriation – and I’m not just talking about the beer photos. I’ve never before lost one. This may literally be a one-in-a-million event. I considered going back to take another one, but the beer was half gone and the label was already off the can, so I figured, “Fuck it, what’s the worst that can happen? I don’t get paid for this one?” News flash: I don’t get paid for any of them.) (14/20)

7/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

AleSmith Brewing Company Hazy .394 – American IPA at 6% ABV | 13 IBU (C$5.26 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 21-Apr-2021, acquired 15-Jul-2021, reviewed 26-Jul-2021)

Appearance: hazy medium gold with two fingers of dense pale ivory head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, doughy caramel, citrus, pine. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, low bitter. (7/10) Medium slightly creamy body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (3/5)

Slightly old-fashioned, in the sense that the caramel malt is definitely vying for dominance with a mixed bag of fruit, with a little pine coming up the rear. Not to be overly critical, but ultimately there’s not a lot to particularly distinguish this among a fairly crowded field. (14/20)

7/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze

Freehold Brewing Co. Lawn Darts – American IPA at 5.9% ABV | 50 IBU (C$4.18 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 7-Jul-2021, acquired 15-Jul-2021, reviewed 25-Jul-2021)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, pine, pale biscuity malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (3/5)

If you were looking for a metaphor of how the 70’s and 80’s were the best decades, you need look no further than lawn darts. No, not this beer, the toy – banning lawn darts was the beginning of the downward slide. The beer is also throwback to an earlier age, done as a fairly traditional hoppy IPA, albeit perhaps more 90’s or 00’s style than the era of its namesake, but still. Decent, refreshing. (14/20)

7/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze