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.