6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Poured from the tap. Black with minimal beige head. Mild coffee aroma. Roasted malt taste, a little watery. Light body.
Tried
from Draft
on 09 Mar 2014
at 17:51
7.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Poured from the tap. Dark brown with minimal beige head. Fruity aroma with subtle red wine and malt. Same taste. Medium body.
Tried
from Draft
on 09 Mar 2014
at 16:40
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Poured from the tap. Medium dark brown with off white head. Aroma of mild roasted malt, nuts and hops. Taste is heavy hops with the other notes underneath. Good medium body, light creamy texture.
Tried
from Draft
on 09 Mar 2014
at 16:17
7.6/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Draught at the brewery
Dark mahogany color with small creamy head. Mild aroma of dark caramel and nuts. Dry mouthfeel, flavor of dark caramel, roasted nuts, light cereals, light chocolate. Fairly strong bitterness, there is some hop quality although it gets hidden in these beers; hint of coffee in the final.
Balanced, lean, not ashy, interesting.
Dark mahogany color with small creamy head. Mild aroma of dark caramel and nuts. Dry mouthfeel, flavor of dark caramel, roasted nuts, light cereals, light chocolate. Fairly strong bitterness, there is some hop quality although it gets hidden in these beers; hint of coffee in the final.
Balanced, lean, not ashy, interesting.
Tried
on 09 Mar 2014
at 00:03
8/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Nitro tap at the brewery
Dark amber to mahogany color with nitro head. Some aroma of malts and mash tun, light fresh and fruity hops. Obvious smooth mouthfeel; caramel flavor with delicate malt, cereals and biscuit accent, excellent; fairly strong but balanced bitterness with nutty final.
Not a proper ESB, but it’s a wonderful beer, if only there was no nitro...
Dark amber to mahogany color with nitro head. Some aroma of malts and mash tun, light fresh and fruity hops. Obvious smooth mouthfeel; caramel flavor with delicate malt, cereals and biscuit accent, excellent; fairly strong but balanced bitterness with nutty final.
Not a proper ESB, but it’s a wonderful beer, if only there was no nitro...
Tried
from Draft
on 09 Mar 2014
at 00:01
5.1/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
Draught at the brewery; 3.5% ABV
Murky dull blond color with almost no head. Mild citrusy aroma. Light, a bit bready, sourish, fruity, correctly bitter, dirty.
Not a real beer, but drinkable, and different from the usual Radler, no beer character though.
Murky dull blond color with almost no head. Mild citrusy aroma. Light, a bit bready, sourish, fruity, correctly bitter, dirty.
Not a real beer, but drinkable, and different from the usual Radler, no beer character though.
Tried
on 08 Mar 2014
at 23:58
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
2021-05-07, can from the brewery, 9.3% ABV, 6-4-7-3-14=34
Golden colour, slight haze. The aroma is very muted. It has a good body, it's moderately sweet, toasted rice, it lacks of barley depth of flavours; balanced bitterness, hints of stone fruit and jam, but overall modest hop quality. Nothing special, but it's easy drinking.
2014-03-07, draught at St. Augustine's, Vancouver, 9.2% ABV, 8-3-7-4-14=36
Muddy orange-blond color with persistent creamy head. The aroma is powerful, fruity; tropical fruits, litchi, papaya. Smooth mouthfeel, round; a bit too sweet, the rice probably contributes to the lack of character; but the hopping seems well done, with the correct bitterness and a very strong fruit component.
Some elements are good, but altogether they don't blend well. Cloying.
Tried
from Can
on 08 Mar 2014
at 23:53
6.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Draught at St. Augustine’s, Vancouver
Cloudy amber color with no head. The aroma is lightly fruity. Good body strength, a bit of malt flavor, sweet beer, with enough balancing bitterness, fruity, but not much character.
A typical example of American attempt at strong Belgian ales, I would say.
Cloudy amber color with no head. The aroma is lightly fruity. Good body strength, a bit of malt flavor, sweet beer, with enough balancing bitterness, fruity, but not much character.
A typical example of American attempt at strong Belgian ales, I would say.
Tried
from Can
on 08 Mar 2014
at 23:51
6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Draught at St. Augustine’s, Vancouver
Cloudy dark blond color with compact head. The aroma is lightly spicy and lightly lemony. Semi-dry mouthfeel, excessive carbonation; moderate spicy character, but also with underlying vegetable presence, rubber; medium-to-strong bitterness.
Not a bad beer, but also not visionary, and with minor flaws.
Cloudy dark blond color with compact head. The aroma is lightly spicy and lightly lemony. Semi-dry mouthfeel, excessive carbonation; moderate spicy character, but also with underlying vegetable presence, rubber; medium-to-strong bitterness.
Not a bad beer, but also not visionary, and with minor flaws.
Tried
on 08 Mar 2014
at 23:50
8.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
2024-09-07, batch J0830840, 8-4-8-4-16=40
I bought many cans of the 2023 batch, this is the last can, probably it's exactly 1 year old (if J=September). The batch was crisp, clean, with sharp hopping, a modern West Coast IIPA, not the White Double IPA one would fear to have in their hands, from the label; bold and fresh. At this age, it lost a bit of zing, but it's still great (and steps above their counterseason DIPA (the cloying Cobra Clutch).
2023-06-28, can, 8-4-8-4-16=40
This has been a good batch; as an experiment I stretched the many cans I got up till now, presumably 7-8 months old, and this beer is still crispy and rather bright in the hop department; it's also quite clean.
2022-01-04 can from The Gull, North Vancouver, 8-5-8-4-17=42
Hazy to cloudy luminous blond colour. Aroma of tropical fruits, zest, light pine. Lean mouthfeel, with very little residual sweetness, perfect malt base, it's delicate, crispy, not much wheat; bold hopping, first there are the hop qualities (tropical fruit, citrus peel), later it has some pith.
Fresh, excellent.
2020-10-22, can from The Gull, North Vancouver, 8-4-8-3-17=40
Bright blond colour, hazy to cloudy, small head. Mild aroma of pungent fruity hops (Nelson Sauvin like). It's fairly dry but with a robust body, pleasant malt base with a touch of spice, and the hopping is enough bright, leading into the strong ending bitterness, but remaining balanced overall, and more easily drinkable than the 9.2% could let you thing.
Very good.
2018-12-05, can, 8-4-7-4-15=38
Hazy blond colour. It has the creaminess of the wheat, with the resiny character of the hop, and a bit of alcohol and oily mouthfeel from the high gravity.
Pleasant. Still a solid choice even in the modern world.
2015-10-20, bottle from the brewery, 8-4-8-5-17=42
Strong hop aroma, fruity and pungent (it has Citra and Nelson Sauvin); the mouthfeel is very soft, and the final, although coming after the huge hop wave, is very mellow; the wheat/spicy touch is very mild, luckily; fresh hop fruitiness, a lot of tropical character, all along.
It confirms itself as an excellent IIPA.
2014-01-11, bottle from the brewery; 8-4-8-4-17=41
Cloudy deep blond color, with orange hue; medium sized compact head. Impressive aroma, good work with the hops; pungent (Nelson Sauvin? Mosaic?), tropical; deep, lasting, fresh. Lean body, easy to drink; malt and wheat, vegetables impression; strong citrusy character, tropical fruits, earthy hops; strong bitterness; it has a sharp spicy character too.
Aggressive, very good hop job.
Tried
from Can
on 08 Mar 2014
at 23:49