Beer O'Clock: Space Invaders

You got me, Amsterdam.

It's been a few years since I've reviewed one of your beers; nearly as long, since I've even drank one. I don't remember when I decided to stop drinking your products, or why. (That's not true: I do remember, but it's not worth mentioning. It's all in the past.)

I realized that I was only hurting myself by avoiding your great beer, but yet I still denied myself a can or two when I was in an LCBO.

Until this week, Amsterdam. You got me.

I'm a sucker for nostalgia: I love finding old photos, whether it be of my city, in its early years, or rediscovering old pastimes that I had long forgotten.

When I was in my teens, in the late 70s and early 80s, my sisters, friends, and I would spend our weekends at an Ottawa roller-skating rink, Skateway Roller Disco. We would spend hours, dancing in circles on our skates, long before inline skates was a thing. The strobe lights, disco ball, and coloured lights. The giant stack of speakers in the centre of the rink.

There's a high probability that I'm somewhere in this photo.

Man, I loved to skate, and I did it well: speed-skating, waltzes, spins. Girls would want to skate with me to the slow songs because I could help them spin on the floor, would help them improve their own skills.

I had the moves. (Too bad I didn't have the ability to attract them beyond the rink.)

When I needed to take a break, I would head over to the arcade area and plunk my quarters into one game and one game alone: Space Invaders.

That's where you got me, Amsterdam. That bright can with the pixelated enemy that I spent untold amounts of time and money, trying to eliminate with a joystick and a big red button. Row after row, wave after wave of these aliens, moving side-to-side across the screen, slowly descending toward my defenses.

Your label got me. I had to have that beer. I had to try it and share my thoughts. Which brings us here:

Space Invader IPA (6% ABV)
Amsterdam Brewery
Toronto ON

Appearance: a deep, golden amber, with loads of sediment that moves around, working its way to the bottom of the glass, just like the digital aliens march toward the structures that rest between my cannon and certain doom. A white, foamy head pours thick but settles to a creamy, firm cap.

Nose: mild citrus and even milder pine resin.

Palate: orange rind and bitter tea. The flavour starts mild and builds in intensity, toward a finish that gets bigger the more you drink. It accumulates, just like the waves of alien enemies that keep coming and coming, faster and faster.

Overall impression: this IPA plays out like that game from the 1970s, but from a 2018 perspective. That is to say, had Space Invader IPA hit the market when Space Invaders was popular, the beer would have been a sensation. Revolutionary.

Looking at Space Invaders today is like comparing it to Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It would be interesting, but not a game-changer. There are much better and more complex games out there, today.

Still, Amsterdam's beer is good. But when you compare it to the other IPAs of today—even to its own Boneshaker—what you get is an India Pale Ale that is easy-drinking but offers nothing that stands out as extraordinary.

Beer O'Clock rating: 3

I would drink this ale any time it was offered to me but I'm not sure I'd seek it out. Much like I would play Space Invaders if I found myself in front of the game, with time on my hands, but I wouldn't go searching for it in an arcade.

But you got me, Amsterdam. I'm back. I'll ignore you in the stores no more. With Space Invader, you have me nostalgic for your brews.

Cheers!