Back to Vancouver, and back to Vancouver beer. In this city, where good beer is exceedingly abundant, Phillips has gone from being considered craft beer to simply a tolerable brew. I’ll always have a soft spot for their Longboat Chocolate Porter, but most of their other stuff is unremarkable in the bad way.
Until now! Now they have a beer that’s unremarkable in the good way.
The Can: Busy, colourful, and promising a “supercharged” and “hopsplosive” experience. I do wish they could get the whole name on one side of the label, though. Definitely no trace of the word “balls” anywhere.
The Colour: Pretty light for my tastes, but most definitely within the range of beer-coloured things, so I’m in. It has the definite appearance of “I’m going to drink a shit-tonne of these” even if, in my current life, there’s approximately zero chance of that happening.
The Flavour: Serves the role of a “session ale” well. Hoppy but not overly so. Malty enough but still pretty light and easy to drink. Fancypants brewmasters might refer to it as “bright” or “crisp”.
The Verdict: It probably renders me a functional alcoholic to call a beer versatile, but there you have it. Bottle Rocket works well as a low-stakes drink after a day of work, or as the fourth pint you order at some bar on Broadway. Looking forward to having a few with my illustrious colleague when he visits.
The Fraudsters' Almanac 