Maui Brewing Co. Lorenzini Double IPA
I’m off to Maui for a few weeks of the beach, sun and surf. In anticipation of my 16 days escaping the last drags of Canadian winter I picked up the newest Maui Brewing beer to cruise into Alberta. Big Swell IPA is held in high esteem as being a proper IPA with big tropical fruits and tangy citrus. The drunken uncle of Big Swell is the Lorenzini Double IPA named after the Ampullae of Lorenzini the electroreceptor cells in sharks that provide an extra sense to cartilaginous fish (ie. Sharks). Throwing all this mumbo jumbo aside this brew is brewed as a charitable collaboration with the Shark Research Program at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. Lorenzini DIPA is brewed to a moderate 7.6% ABV with the helping hands of Maui cane sugar, tangerine, blood orange and a hop bill that includes Azacca, El Dorado and Sorachi Ace.
The first pour is a dark ruby hued orange with a thick off white head that subsides eventually leaving a thin layer of bubbles. The aroma is citrus heavy with tons of fruit juice aromas including tangerine, orange and a tropical accent of pineapple. Nice hop profile on the aroma with light zesty and citrus aromas, spicy and mildly floral notes. A bit sweet up front with light crystal malts and caramel notes blending with the fruity components of the hops. Citrus abounds with heavy orange rind and zesty notes adding a zing to the flavour profile. The finish is mildly bitter with lingering notes of Sorachi Ace hops; lightly floral and an astringency throughout. A nice brew overall with a unique and heavy hop that adds both bitterness to the finish and a plethora of citrus and tropical fruit notes. The alcohol is a bit low for the style but adds a bit of weight to the proceedings. A very enjoyable brew.
Grade: 88/100
After hitting the shelves in the fall of 2014 Alberta has received a few seasonal and special release brews from the Escondido brewer. Enjoy By IPA is one of their most infamous brews as it is purposely built with a drink by date with the intention of showing the freshest possible flavour profile. The different iterations of Enjoy By going back to 2012 vary slightly. At 9.4% ABV I suppose 02-14-15 Enjoy By is going to be a extra well hopped fresh version of Ruination Imperial IPA. 
New Belgium as been on the market in Alberta for the most part of 2014 and we have been able to try several of the Colorado brewery’s Double IPA’s. The newest of these to hit the shelves is the Rampant Imperial IPA touting 8.5% ABV and 85 IBU’s thanks to the use of Calypso, Mosaic and Centennial hops. 
Situated in Las Vegas, Nevada the Tenaya Creek Brewing Company has slowly crept onto Alberta beer shelves over the past year with a selection of a few flagship beers to start. This past week we received a slew of seasonal brews from the Sin City brewer which included the Double IPA known as Monsoon. Monsoon is brewed with Cascade and whole flower Mt. Hood hops with a sturdy ABV of 8.5%. Despite having one of the worst labels I’ve personally seen I know not to judge a book by its cover. During my trip to Las Vegas to celebrate finishing University I remember sitting in the pub in the Monte Carlo enjoying a few of Tenaya Creek’s beers. For me Tenaya Creek beers are associated with the Vegas experience I had; one of fun and celebration. 
For those who have read this blog in the past year or so you may have noticed a plethura of beer reviews from East Vancouver’s Parallel 49. Since releasing beers into Alberta we have seen some of the most unique and inspired Canadian craft beer. Their latest unique creation is the Imperial IPA Snap, Crackle and Hop brewed with rice and Moteuka hops from New Zealand. Snap, Crackle, Hop is brewed to 9.3%ABV with a moderate 70 IBU’s. Before I even open up this bottle I must absolutely mention that Snap, Crackle, Hop must have the best bottle artwork I’ve seen.
Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery located in Barrie, Ontario has slowly started to release a few of the specialty releases into Alberta and Western Canada. The most recent of these is the Matador a 10% ABV Imperial IPA aged on Spanish Cedar brewed specially for Flying Monkeys’ 8th Anniversary. The bottle this beer and the brewing of it as follows:
Hop Juice is also dry hopped for two weeks with Centennial for extra hop power. The pour is a glorious bright orange in the body and has a thick and sticky frothy head that coats the entire glass after a few sips. The aroma is pronouncedly resinous including noted herbal and pine scents and fresh grapefruit zest notes. A rather full and floral nose with heavy tropical fruits and mild toasted caramalized malts atop the heaps of hop aromas. My first few sips were quite sweet and resin forward with enhanced bitterness and dry astringency after a few more sips. The bitterness and resinous smack is long lasting and adds a few tropical pineapple and grapefruity citrus flavours into the mix. The boozyness goes unnoticed with a prolonged bitterness stealing the show.Light floral notes and subtle toasted malts are subtley shoved aside in the heavy hop centric flavour profile. Overall, a nice Double IPA overall with a heavy staying power and big bold hops throughout. 
Granville Island Brewery in Vancouver, British Columbia has been a cornerstone of the Canadian craft brewing industry since its founding in 1984. Despite its purchase by SABMiller via Creemore Springs in 2009, the Granville brewery has been pumping out solid craft brews for close to 3 decades. Thanks to the recent purchase by the large conglomerate, Alberta has recently been able to sample many of the lesser known Granville brews made at their Granville Island brewpub. The Imperial IPA is the most recent addition to this big bottle lineup of full flavoured brews. 
The Alberta BeerSmith 