Mikkeller 10

Nearly 4 years after becoming interested in craft beers and the microbrewing industry, I have reached my 400th different beer. I have had many good beers in the last several years, and was hoping to make my 400th drink a memorable occasion.

Mikkeller is by far the most well know Danish craft brewer widely available at the moment. Best known for Beer Geek series of creative and unique beers. They also brew well known craft beer offerings such as Black Hole, 1000 IBU and a series of single hop IPA brews. This beer in particular, Mikkeller 10, is brewed with 10 different hop varieties. Warrior, Simcoe, Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, Amarillo, Nelson sauvin, Nugget, Tomahawk and East Kent Golding hops are all included in the brewing process. In addition to the delicious intrigue of 10 different hops, the label is awesome and my eye was drawn to it immediately.

Mikkeller 10 pours a beautiful deep amber brown body with a thick foamy head. The aroma wafts heavily off the head with huge hops up front and citrus and lightly roasted malts in the background. The aroma is very sweet and smells slightly earthy. The taste is huge a huge onslaught of sweet and overly bitter hops. Subtle tones of citrus, earth and mild malts are also detectable. Mikkeller 10 is a medium bodied, moderately malted and hugely hopped India Pale Ale. Minor fruits such as mango, banana and grapefruit are detectable from the addition of Nelson Sauvin and Cascade hops. The overall bitterness of this beer is huge and is the pinnacle of craft IPA's for hophead's. I think that as my 400th beer, this was a great choice. Sure, there are better beers out there, but as a Hop Head, this was the perfect offering for me.

Grade - A

Next Post - Baird Red Rose Amber Ale

Ise Kadoya Imperial Smoked Porter

Ise Kadoya Microbrewery is located in Ise, Japan. The company also makes soy sauce, miso, cider and other Japanese food products. They are best known for brewing this Imperial Smoked Porter, Triple Hop Ale and an Imperial IPA among many other flagship beers.

The Imperial Smoked Porter pours a purely opaque

black with a brown head thickly capped on top. Aromas of smoked malts, nuts, heavy molasses and sweetness are all apparent. The taste is overly sweet with a huge smoky character looming behind this sweetness. Molasses, roasted malts, nuts, caramel malts all become apparent as subtle flavors withing the smokiness. An minute earthy peat like character also becomes distinguishable in the taste. The head is seemingly everlasting and produces a ridiculous amount of beautiful lacing. The alcohol taste is less prevalent than I expected with the ABV of this beer being 7%. I consider the smoky flavor to cause this discrepancy in the taste by overpowering the mild alcohol burn. A hugely rich beer full of flavors which in my opinion end up clashing with each other and in the end draw away from the beer overall. I do not believe I consider this to be an Imperial style of beer as it is neither alcoholic enough of rich enough. None-the-less, I consider Ise Kadoya Imperial Smoked Porter to be an interesting beer but not as incredible as I was hoping for.

Grade - B

Next Post- My 400th Beer - Mikkeller 10

Unibroue Don du Dieu

Don de Dieu is a triple wheat ale according to Unibroue but I found it particularly hard to label this beer under a single style in particular. Unibroue is perhaps the best known Canadian or Quebec microbrewery widely available throughout Canada. Best known for their Belgian Style ales such as La Fin Du Monde, Maudite, Trois Pistoles, La Terrible and 17 just to name a few.

In a historical context, Don de Dieu was the ship sailed by

Samuel de Champlain from France to Quebec in 1608. In French, Don de Dieu means "gift of god". Samuel de Champlain explored the St. Lawrence River and is known today as the Father of New France.

Don de Dieu pours a golden orange body with a fizzy finger of off white head. The aroma is incredible with fragrant yeast, mild hops, malts, citrus and wheat identifiable. A subtle nuance of vanilla beans also become apparent in the aroma. The taste is sublime, with huge alcohol with complexly blended nutty malts, hops and floral yeast. The finish is quite dry with the alcohol burn and huge wheat taste. I find the head disappointing as it vanishes quickly and makes lacing non-existent. Overtime, the mild hoppiness diminishes and is replaced in part by a slight citrus flavor. At 9% ABV and in the 650 mL bottle, this is a huge beer that is probably best shared with another. Don de Dieu is a huge beer that is full of flavor and does not disappoint your tastebuds. It is truly a "Gift of God".

Grade: A-

Next review: IseKadoya Imperial Smoked Porter

Hitachino Nest Commerative Ale

A couple of months ago, I posted a review of a Belgian Strong Ale from a Japanese craft brewer called Hitachino. For many years, Japan has been known for tasteless adjunct lagers such as Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin. This trend continued until recent years when Japanese brewers such as Hitachino, Isekadoya and Baird became well known in the American craft beer movement. Hitachino beers are brewed at a the Kiuchi Brewery in Ibaraki which is steeped in history itself; I won't bore you with the story of that however.

Hitachino Nest Commerative Ale, now known as Nest

New Years Celebration Ale is an 8% ABV spiced ale. It cannot be placed into one of the conventional beer styles as it isn't exactly the most conventional of beers. The pour is a bright orange body with a finger of white head. Beautiful aroma of cocoa, vanilla, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and very little hops. The taste is in perfect harmony with the aroma. Sweet and spicy, yet smooth and drinkable. A harsh alcohol bite ensues, but does not draw away from the beer on the whole for me. A citrus subtlety also exists in the taste which works well with the high alcohol content and the spices. The head has nearly disappeared but regenerates well and leaves minimal lacing. As this is not exactly what would be considered a session beer, the beer was nearly warm by the time I finished it. At room temperature, the beer was delightful and could be considered a winter warmer. So far, Hitachino has failed to disappoint me and my beer needs. I look forward to enjoying more of their offerings in the future, but for today all I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed this beer.

Grade: A

Next Post - Unibroue Don de Dieu

Half Pints Little Scrapper IPA

Firstly, yes, I lied at the end of my last post. I promised Hitachino Nest Commerative Ale as my next review, but due to unforeseen "technical diffuculties" I have a flagship IPA from a small Canadian craft brewer with a very punny name. Half Pints Brewery is located in Winnepeg, Manitoba and has received minor notice or attention thus far. It wasn't until very recently that the brewing company expanded distribution beyond Manitoba. None-the-less, I feel that their products which I have sampled thus far to be quite spectacular. The brewery's flagship beer is the Little Scrapper IPA, but they also brew up seasonals such as the Weizen Heimer, Burly Wine, Pothole Porter and possibly the best Canadian Imperial IPA, the Humulus Ludicrous.

The Little Scrapper IPA is 6% ABV and 50 IBU's and pours a bright copper colour with a bountiful slightly off white head. Quite a bit of carbonation at first, but this subsides over time. Tons of huge bubbles appear in the head and the carbonation appears to die down. The aroma is full of hops, citrus, pine needles, fruits and a subtle malt finish. The taste matches well with the aroma with forceful hops overpowering the citrus and pine nuances. The malts are in perfect symphony with the strong hops. The alcohol is pretty much unnoticeable amidst the full flavoured hops. Little Scrapper is medium bodied and has a huge amount of lacing. This is certainly a very drinkable session IPA that I would like to drink more often. Fortunately for us hopheads, Little Scrapper's big brother Humulus Ludicrous is and even better offering. I find Little Scrapper to be pretty price comparative to other flagship IPA's such as Tree HopHead, Wild Rose IPA, Yukon IceFog or Lost Coast Indica. Overall, a pretty solid craft IPA.

Grade - A-

Next Review - Hitachino Nest Commerative Ale

St. Bernardus Tripel

St. Bernardus is a Belgian brewery located in Watou, Belgium. Long considered a Trappist Brewery, St. Bernardus creates truly amazing Belgian style ales and is renowned worldwide as such. The St. Bernardus Tripel is an Abbey Tripel at 8% ABV. Abbey Tripel's are typically strong, rich, yeasty and spicy. St. Bernardus should be no exception.

The pour is yellowish orange with a nice twofingers or so of creamy off white head. Aroma is yeast up front with lots of spicy notes. Orange and lemon rind with subtle hints of coriander, cinnamon and cloves. The first taste is beautiful yeast sublimely blended with the spicy notes. Sharp alcohol bite, but requiem comes quickly as the rich flavour takes over. In general, I can say that this is certainly one of the best beers in the world and deserves all the accolades and attention that it gets. Though not the best Abbey Tripel or Belgian Style beer out there (Rochefort 10 or Chimay Blue if I must tell you), it is very drinkable and delicious. I suggest that anyone who can obtain this beer should try it. Definately A+.

A+

Next post: Hitachino Nest Commerative Ale

Lagunitas Imperial Stout

Alas, I return to the beer blogging world. Today, our beer of interest is Lagunitas Imperial Stout. Lagunitas Brewing Co. in Petaluma, California is one of the craft brewers at the forefront of the North American craft beer revolution. Best known for their India Pale Ale and its bully of a big brother Hop Stoopid Imperial IPA, Lagunitas most definately makes some good beer. Their Imperial Stout is no different. At 8.2% ABV and 72ish IBU's, this beer is a heavy hitter ideal for sharing or for desert.

The beer style Imperial Stout is such named as it is a high alcohol brew that was originally brewed for the Imperial court of Catharine the Great of Russia. In general, Imperial Stouts are between 8 and 10% ABV, are full bodied and bitter. The Lagunitas Imperial Stout pours are dark oily black with a bit of tan head. Aroma has rich notes of coffee, chocolate, roasted malts, molasses and slight hops. Bitter first taste with huge mouthfeel and thick oily body. The hops are not as subtle as in the aroma while the malts are deep roasted in flavour. After a while, the mouthfeel becomes overly sticky and chocolate and coffee notes become more prevalent. While this is certainly not the most amazing beer or most incredible Imperial Stout I have ever had (which is an entirely different blog entry all together), it is a good beer. The only downfall is that with the huge 22ounce bomber and the high alcohol content, intoxication comes quicker than expected for one beer.

Grade: A-

Next post: St. Bernardus Tripel

Rogue Ales Mocha Porter

Rogue is most definitely one of the most acclaimed and truly talented craft breweries in America. The Mocha Porter is no exception and is definitely and an amazing and well crafted beer. Rogue Ales was founded in 1988 and is located in Ashland, Oregon. In addition to craft brewing, Rogue distills a huge variety of liquors and spirits.

Rogue Mocha Porter is a dark, rich porter full of flavor. Mocha, espresso, chocolate, rich roasted malts, toffee and caramel flavors are bountiful. The mocha is more prevalent in the flavor than in the aroma and the dark body and tan head is extremely appealing. The mocha flavor is absolutely delicious and slightly bitter which gives it a enhanced flavor. I really enjoyed this beer, and will definitely try it again.

He'brew Jewbelation- Year of the Date

He'brew has one of the greatest names of all American craft brewers. Their beer though not amazing, is well crafted and definitely tasty. The Jewbelation- Year of the Date is no exception. On the bottle, the caption "Half Doppelbock & Half Belgian Dubbel" was interesting enough to make me buy this beer. But was the beer rewarding enough for how much I paid ($5.89- beer is excruciatingly overpriced in Canada). I would have to say that is was a well crafted beer, but not quite worth the money. None-the-less, it was a satisfying beer drinking experience.

At 7.8% alcohol by volume, this so called half doppelbock, half dubbel is a fairly big beer, and certainly not a session beer. A beautiful dark brown body with a thin beige head. Aroma is malts, coriander, cinnamon, and yeast. Rich taste with a hint of date sweetness. A fairly enjoyable libation experience.

Japanese Craft Beer: Hitachino Nest XH

In recent years, Japanese craft brewers have been making huge strides into the beer connoisseur market with interesting ales. For the most part, Japan and beer are known for such rice adjunct beers like Sapporo, Asahi and Kirin. Recently a raft brewer has paralled Sake brewing to beer, this being Hitachino. Hitachino is most well known for their Nest Ales, in particular the Espresso Stout which has received much acclaim in the craft beer community. Other craft breweries such as Ise Kadoya have begun to distribute their products to North America as well.

Hitachino is brewed at Kuichi Brewery in Ibaraki, Japan. Since only a few Hitachino beers are currently distributed in my area, I figured I would pick up the cheapest one to try. This happened to be the Hitachino Nest XH (Extra High) Ale, which

is apparently matured to 8% ABV in sake casks is a Belgian Strong Ale.

I was slightly apprehensive due to the unknown flavors which would be imparted on the beer by the sake casks and the alteration of the unique yeast taste character which I love in Belgian Style beers. However, I found that in the end, Hitachino Nest XH is a unique brew but maintains the depth and character common in a Belgian Strong Ale.

The pour is a dark brown color nearing on a shade of black with a thin off white head. Complex aroma involving strong yeasty esters, rich toffee malts, slight hops and a grassy mould like aroma. First taste is extremely smooth and sweet with yeasts and malts at the forefront. Subtle and complex hints of grass, earth and spice. A lovely Belgian Strong Ale, but I was unable to place the Sake cask maturation flavors at all. None-the-less, the Nest XH is a very drinkable and enjoyable 8% ABV beer.

Charlevoix La Vache Folle

I recently bought a four pack of Charlevoix La Vache Folle beers. Included in the package were two ESB's, one Imperial Milk Stout and one Amarillo Double IPA. Microbrasserie Charlevoix is a craft brewer located in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec which opened in 1998. Their flagship beers are the Dominus Vobiscum Belgian Style Ales as well as the "Mad Cow" La Vache Folle beers.

The most incredible beer was the Imperial Milk Stout which was a truly wonderful experience. A big beer with amazing coffee, chocolate, roasted malts and cream. A unique mixture of the roasted malts with creamy flavors.

The ESB was the only beer in the pack which could be considered a session beer. Hugely drinkable and very crisp, clean and has a delicious malty hops taste complex. Beautiful pour with bountiful white head.

The last of the beers I tried was the Amarillo Double IPA, which was an unusual Imperial IPA. The first taste is extremely sweet with forward hop bitterness. Floral hops, grass, lemon, lime, grapefruit with mild malts throughout are also detected. A very drinkable Imperial IPA.

Grand River Brewing Galt Knife Old Style Lager

A few weeks ago, I did a video review for a beer given to me from an old friend. This beer, Galt Knife Old Style Lager, was from Grand River Brewing in Cambridge, Ontario (http://www.grandriverbrewing.com/). Grand River Brewing, unheard of by me, operates out of a historic factory once home to the Galt Knife Company. The beer itself was quite good, especially for a Premium Lager which is one of my least favorite beer styles.

The pour is bright amber copper body with about a finger of clingy white head. A complex aroma involving sweet toffee malts co-mingled with lots of floral grain and sweet hops. Being only 4.4% alcohol did not reflect the full body and crisp drinkability of the Galt Knife Old Style. Sweet malts are predominant but then replaced by grassy hops with hints of fruit. Slightly bitter aftertaste is unexpected, but fully welcome. For me, this is a great session lager for many occasions.

Central City Brewing Red Racer IPA

Central City Brewing (http://www.centralcitybrewing.com/) is one of the craft breweries from the Vancouver area that is finally getting some distribution in Alberta. Central City Brewing Company, based in Surrey brews 7 flagship beers under the title of Red Racer. Interestingly enough, Central City uses standard 355 mL cans as opposed to glass bottles. The use of cans or bottles for storing beer has become a large debate recently, however, I find no real difference between the two. However, several brands use clear bottles instead of brown or green. The increased light entering the bottle results in a skunky beer.

Central City Red Racer IPA is a classic West Coast style IPA with huge resinous hops with sweet lemon and grapefruit floral notes. At 6.5% ABV, this is not a great session beer, but has great drink ability. Clear amber body with a finger of thick off white head and mild carbonation. The aroma is sweet grapefruit and malts intermingled with bountiful hops. The flavor is predominated by the floral hops with subtle tones of grapefruit, orange and pine needles. Overall, a wonderful IPA with huge potential to become massively popular within the Canadian craft beer community. I would place the IBU's for this beer around 50, a perfect value for a hophead's session IPA. When compared to the widely popular craft IPA's in the US such as Dogfish Head 60 minute, Lagunitas IPA, Sierra Nevada or Lost Coast Indica IPA, Central City's brew holds strong.

Alley Kat Brewing's Sherbrooke Beers

Sherbrooke Liquor in Edmonton, Alberta has for several years now been contracting out so called "special brews" to Alley Kat Brewing Company, also of Edmonton, Alberta. Recently, I made a trip to the local beer store for obvious reasons. They happened to have a new shipment of several of these "special beers". I picked up the Bad Hare Day (Very Hoppy Double IPA), KGB Russian Imperial Stout, Chocolate Cherry Ostiarius and probably most interestingly, or maybe most disturbingly, Van Helsing's All Natural Mouthwash, a garlic beer.

The gem of the collection was by far the KGB Russian Imperial Stout at 10% ABV. The pour is an intense dark brown nearly verging on black, with a thin tan head clinging to the body. A rich nose consisting of dark chocolate, roasted malts, slight alcohol aroma, and musty coffee undertones. Just a hint of hops creates a truly unique medley of aromas. The taste, is just as rich as the nose...with the coffee, chocolate and the dark roasted malts being predominant. There is a slight aftertaste of bitter malts and alcohol, but overall, KGB is a wonderful brew. On top of the beer itself, the amazing label and its quote "We have ways of making you drink, comrade" make this brew a wonderful libation experience.

The Bad Hare Day Double India Pale was good, but by no means amazing. The pour consists of two fingers of off white head sitting atop a coppery amber body. A nose of floral hops, citrus, fruit, slight spice, and moderate malts. Flavor is a strong hop with a sweet malt finish. Subtle tones of grapefruit and apricot. Minimal alcohol flavor or aftertaste and not nearly the advertised "very hoppy double IPA". I would place Bad Hare Day around 60 to 70 IBU's, falling short of my expectations.

Perhaps the most disappointing beer of the set was the Chocolate Cherry Ostiarius, a stout brewed with chocolate and cherry flavors. Not only did this brew fail to satiate me at all, but failed to impress me in the least. The chocolate flavor was weak in both the nose and flavor, and the cherry flavor was not present at all. The stout itself was very average lacking both flavour and body. A thin mouthfeel and little flavor make this a very dissapointing brew indeed. Never-the-less, this beer was better that what Van Helsing had in store for me.

Van Helsing's All Natural Mouthwash is perhaps the weirdest and most unusual beer I have ever tasted. The beer itself is very un-impressive with a sweet corn malt aroma overpowered by the flavor of raw garlic. In fact, an entire clove of garlic is contained in the bottle, allowing the beer, which is substandard among itself to marinate in the strongest of garlic flavors. This is most certainly an interesting beer, but not one that I truly enjoyed.