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.