Calypso
Perth Brewery
- From:
- Perth Brewery
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- American IPA
Ranked #4,744 - ABV:
- 4.8%
- Score:
- 79
Ranked #37,028 - Avg:
- 3.25 | pDev: 14.46%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 7
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Mar 10, 2026
- Added:
- Dec 05, 2014
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 3
SCORE
79
Okay
79
Okay
Welcome to Calypso Island! Hang out here with us for a while. Our days are filled with bright sunny fruits and cool tropical breezes. Enjoy your stay…. You’re on island time now.
42 IBU
42 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by scott451 from Canada (ON)
3.58/5 rDev +10.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
3.58/5 rDev +10.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
From a 473ml can packaged on 28/07/25. Poured into a pint glass. A big two finger fluffy white head on a foggy amber. Good head retention. A solid layer sticks around. Sheets of foamy lacing.
Pine and citrus in the nose. A pretty well melded soft hop flavour. A moderately bitter hop finish.
A medium/light body with good carbonation. Overall a serviceable but unremarkable American IPA.
Mar 10, 2026Pine and citrus in the nose. A pretty well melded soft hop flavour. A moderately bitter hop finish.
A medium/light body with good carbonation. Overall a serviceable but unremarkable American IPA.
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.42/5 rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.42/5 rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Nov 16 2020 and served barely chilled.
Pours a slightly foggy pale yellow colour, producing nearly a finger of soapy, bubbly white head that fades away over the course of the next several minutes. It leaves behind a lovely band of sticky lace as it's reduced to a narrow collar and some filmy wisps on the surface; looks good, but it's not especially aromatic. I'm getting subtle notes of mango, cantaloupe and light citrus, with hints of grassy, floral hops and grainy malts.
It's a half-decent West coast session IPA, but not anything more than that. Grainy pale malts and grassy hops at the front end, along with a modest dose of tropical fruitiness: melon and white grapefruit come to mind in particular. Finishes with muddled mango and a floral, earthy, somewhat dirty bitterness that I'm not real big on - though the 'dirty' aspect did become less noticeable as I made my way through the glass. Light in body, with overly aggressive carbonation that feels very prickly and coarse, frothing up in the mouth a little with each sip; I nursed this glass for the better part of an hour and the carbonation was still quite biting even by the end of the session.
Final Grade: 3.42, a B-. Perth's Calypso IPA isn't anything to write home about. The mouthfeel is probably its most irritating feature, though the weak aroma and uninteresting flavour profile do not do it any favours, either. In a style that is as over-represented as this one, I don't see any compelling reasons to return to such a mediocre session IPA. Tick it if you're really curious, but I suspect you'll be left underwhelmed by the experience.
Feb 22, 2021Pours a slightly foggy pale yellow colour, producing nearly a finger of soapy, bubbly white head that fades away over the course of the next several minutes. It leaves behind a lovely band of sticky lace as it's reduced to a narrow collar and some filmy wisps on the surface; looks good, but it's not especially aromatic. I'm getting subtle notes of mango, cantaloupe and light citrus, with hints of grassy, floral hops and grainy malts.
It's a half-decent West coast session IPA, but not anything more than that. Grainy pale malts and grassy hops at the front end, along with a modest dose of tropical fruitiness: melon and white grapefruit come to mind in particular. Finishes with muddled mango and a floral, earthy, somewhat dirty bitterness that I'm not real big on - though the 'dirty' aspect did become less noticeable as I made my way through the glass. Light in body, with overly aggressive carbonation that feels very prickly and coarse, frothing up in the mouth a little with each sip; I nursed this glass for the better part of an hour and the carbonation was still quite biting even by the end of the session.
Final Grade: 3.42, a B-. Perth's Calypso IPA isn't anything to write home about. The mouthfeel is probably its most irritating feature, though the weak aroma and uninteresting flavour profile do not do it any favours, either. In a style that is as over-represented as this one, I don't see any compelling reasons to return to such a mediocre session IPA. Tick it if you're really curious, but I suspect you'll be left underwhelmed by the experience.
Reviewed by Jeffo from Netherlands
2.09/5 rDev -35.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
2.09/5 rDev -35.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Got this from the LCBO this past summer
From a 473ml can into a snifter
IBU: 42
West Coast session IPA
APPEARANCE: Pours a two finger, medium looking, slightly foamy white head with very good retention. Clear gamboge orange in color with no real carbonation evident. Head slowly recedes to a half wisp. A decent wisp remains until the end leaving solid lacing on the glass as it emtpeis.
SMELL: Honeydew melon, caramel notes, with some mild hints of bready malts. Pretty lack-luster.
TASTE: Like the nose, there’s not much going on here either. Some honeydew melon and caramel sweetness up front, then some bready flavors at the swallow. Milder and rather pedestrian. Some caramel and grainy, bready malts linger, with hints of melon and lemon as well.
PALATE: Thinner body and medium levels of carbonation. Somewhat foamy on the palate, goes down okay and finishes a bit dry. Lighter, foamy and airy.
OVERALL: Blech. Not that good at all. It’s rather boring and mundane, even for a ‘session ale.’ Not much character and no real reason to drink this. There are better, more interesting examples of session IPAs out there. Pass on this one.
Oct 23, 2019From a 473ml can into a snifter
IBU: 42
West Coast session IPA
APPEARANCE: Pours a two finger, medium looking, slightly foamy white head with very good retention. Clear gamboge orange in color with no real carbonation evident. Head slowly recedes to a half wisp. A decent wisp remains until the end leaving solid lacing on the glass as it emtpeis.
SMELL: Honeydew melon, caramel notes, with some mild hints of bready malts. Pretty lack-luster.
TASTE: Like the nose, there’s not much going on here either. Some honeydew melon and caramel sweetness up front, then some bready flavors at the swallow. Milder and rather pedestrian. Some caramel and grainy, bready malts linger, with hints of melon and lemon as well.
PALATE: Thinner body and medium levels of carbonation. Somewhat foamy on the palate, goes down okay and finishes a bit dry. Lighter, foamy and airy.
OVERALL: Blech. Not that good at all. It’s rather boring and mundane, even for a ‘session ale.’ Not much character and no real reason to drink this. There are better, more interesting examples of session IPAs out there. Pass on this one.
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)
3.43/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.43/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Review from notes - LCBO purchase for around $3 CDN.
Appearance - rich golden colour some haze and a finger plus of white head. Small bits of lacing abound.
Smell - light, citrusy hops, leaning melon and lychee rather than grapefruit and lemon. Possibly some sort of berry in there.
Taste - slight bit of hops. Although its more leafy and mandarin orange tasting than anything else. Not a ton of depth.
Mouthfeel - medium to light bodied with appropriate carbonation.
Overall - forgettable APA that needs a more distinctive flavour. That being said there are a lot of worse beers out there.
Jul 06, 2019Appearance - rich golden colour some haze and a finger plus of white head. Small bits of lacing abound.
Smell - light, citrusy hops, leaning melon and lychee rather than grapefruit and lemon. Possibly some sort of berry in there.
Taste - slight bit of hops. Although its more leafy and mandarin orange tasting than anything else. Not a ton of depth.
Mouthfeel - medium to light bodied with appropriate carbonation.
Overall - forgettable APA that needs a more distinctive flavour. That being said there are a lot of worse beers out there.
Rated by Pmicdee from Canada (ON)
3.92/5 rDev +20.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.92/5 rDev +20.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
April 29 2024
Mar 19, 2019
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)
3.27/5 rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.27/5 rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Can: Poured a pale amber color ale with a medium size off-white foamy head with some retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of dry citrusy hops notes with some bitterness easily discernible. Taste is also dominated by light citrusy hops with some discernible bitterness and light caramelized malt notes. Body is about average with good carbonation. Not memorable and not a beer I will seek again.
Oct 25, 2018
Reviewed by polloenfuego from Canada (NB)
2.29/5 rDev -29.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25
2.29/5 rDev -29.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25
Is pickle-juice a good quality in a beer? No? Yeah, didn't think so.
These guys just don't seem to care. All their beer tastes vaguely the same, and that isn't a good thing. We aren't talking Alchemist here. We are talking about a beer that tastes a little worse than many homebrews I have had.
To say I'm disappointed is too much, I was almost expecting this. That they took my money for this is just shame on me.
Mar 23, 2018These guys just don't seem to care. All their beer tastes vaguely the same, and that isn't a good thing. We aren't talking Alchemist here. We are talking about a beer that tastes a little worse than many homebrews I have had.
To say I'm disappointed is too much, I was almost expecting this. That they took my money for this is just shame on me.
Rated by Bugs318 from Canada (QC)
2.82/5 rDev -13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
2.82/5 rDev -13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
Though moderated, there is enough diacetyl on nose and tongue to be a little off-putting
Jun 15, 2015
Reviewed by biegaman from Canada (ON)
3.55/5 rDev +9.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.55/5 rDev +9.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Calypso definitely displays some island sunshine; clear, radiant and golden in colour, with just a thin sheet of white cloud overhead, this thing is basically nice weather in a glass. And the bubbles are definitely working on 'island time'; they drift casually and carefree, unconcerned with lacing.
It seems that Perth Brewing Co. is still figuring things out - every sample of Calypso I've had has tasted a little different. Cans have ranged from tart and yeasty (enough to assume the intent was a Belgian IPA) to more substantially malt-forward (enough to instill the thought of lagering). The one consistency throughout, however, has been an appreciable hoppiness.
Indeed, Calypso is a very tropical sounding name and, just as it looks, it also smells like it's from somewhere sunny and hot; the aroma is more than generous with notes of cantaloupe, grapefruit, and mango. This thing might as well have been brewed in Jamaica it's so full of happy, bright flavours. (There's no 'ganja'-like earthiness if that's what you're thinking...)
Despite all the hops, however, this one doesn't have the muscle to compete with the likes of American pale ales. Then again, at a 5% alcohol that may not have been the intention. Truth be told, I've no clue what the idea was here - not even Google knows what exactly this was meant to be. Whatever it is, it has a clean, bready maltiness and underlying qualities of candied citrus.
Calypso is a beer with definite rhythm and harmony... but at the time of this review Perth Brewing is still in its infancy, starting to crawl as it were, so it's no surprise this one isn't quite ready for dancing. But a very assuring sign of things to come, this is likely my favourite of theirs to date.
Dec 05, 2014It seems that Perth Brewing Co. is still figuring things out - every sample of Calypso I've had has tasted a little different. Cans have ranged from tart and yeasty (enough to assume the intent was a Belgian IPA) to more substantially malt-forward (enough to instill the thought of lagering). The one consistency throughout, however, has been an appreciable hoppiness.
Indeed, Calypso is a very tropical sounding name and, just as it looks, it also smells like it's from somewhere sunny and hot; the aroma is more than generous with notes of cantaloupe, grapefruit, and mango. This thing might as well have been brewed in Jamaica it's so full of happy, bright flavours. (There's no 'ganja'-like earthiness if that's what you're thinking...)
Despite all the hops, however, this one doesn't have the muscle to compete with the likes of American pale ales. Then again, at a 5% alcohol that may not have been the intention. Truth be told, I've no clue what the idea was here - not even Google knows what exactly this was meant to be. Whatever it is, it has a clean, bready maltiness and underlying qualities of candied citrus.
Calypso is a beer with definite rhythm and harmony... but at the time of this review Perth Brewing is still in its infancy, starting to crawl as it were, so it's no surprise this one isn't quite ready for dancing. But a very assuring sign of things to come, this is likely my favourite of theirs to date.
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