Tag Archives: edmonton

Beer, Canadian, IPA, Would Drink Again

Murasaki Dragon by Alley Kat Brewing Co.

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Dear @alleykatbeer, please never stop making this beer. #yegbeer #drinkagain (via Untappd)

I posted that in all seriousness. I want to support Alley Kat more than I do, but to date the only beer I’ve wanted to pursue was the extremely limited run of Fresh Hop Full Moon Pale Ale. If my appreciation for hops wasn’t apparent to you before,  it should be now.

One of my favorite beers from the last few years is Sorachi Ace from Brooklyn Brewery. That beer introduced me to the hop that Alley Kat used in Murasaki Dragon. The biggest difference between these two beers would probably be aggression. Brooklyn brewed a Saison, while Alley Kat produced a double IPA (or DIPA) with somewhere north of 75 IBU. This beer has what most of Alley Kat’s lineup is missing in my opinion, which is some teeth.

This means that in Murasaki Dragon you’ll get all the good stuff you’re looking to find in an IPA. It smells piney and lemony. The colour is gorgeous. And while the hops are obvious when it first hits your palette, you can catch up with some malt in the middle and there is enough fruity sweetness to carry it through to a nice but dry finish.

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Alley Kat has this listed as a limited run beer, but I’m willing to start a petition and possibly even chain a close friend to some sort of barrier in protest if they don’t find a way to continue production of this beer. I believe that it stands head and shoulders above any other beer being brewed in Edmonton currently.

After that initial post on Untapped, I made sure I would drink this again. I bought a case of it. Alley Kat, if you keep making it, I’ll keep buying it and drinking it. Again and again.

Beer, Dutch, IPA, Would Drink Again

De Molen, Lentehop

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Lentehop is an American style IPA, from a Dutch brouwerij (brewery) called De Molen. Like many great beers from that part of the world, it’s brewed in an old mill a mere 171 years older than Canada. Unlike many of those beers, it’s own history spans a little over a single decade. While it’s housings might give it instant credibility I’m inclined to criticize, brewers here in Canada should take note. Specifically Molson, who sold Molson House, a 50 year old fort near my house in Edmonton rather than making use of it in what would have easily been the most interesting place to drink in Alberta. But I digress.

Lentehop. It pours cloudy and golden, with a fairly substantial head. There is very little nose, just a hint of hops. I taste hops, certainly, but also some light citrus and pine. This IPA is surprisingly refreshing and fairly crisp.

I probably won’t go hunting specifically for it, but I would drink Lentehop from De Molen again.

 

Ale, Review, Would Drink Again

Fresh Hop Full Moon Pale Ale

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I haven’t always been a big fan of Alley Kat brewery. There are definitely some positives. They’re local, and try to source their ingredients locally as much as possible. They make a pretty good effort to keep waste to a minimum. They’re also Edmonton’s longest running Microbrewery, which is a pretty big deal. Another of our author’s here (Blaine, for those paying attention) had a chance to hear Neil Herbst speak at a Beer Geek’s Anonymous event and touched on it in this post. For my money, Alley Kat’s offerings have always tasted a bit too much home brew and not quite enough craft brew.

I’m happy to report that my opinion is changing.

Alley Kat has started producing their Big Bottle series, which are limited runs released in 650mL bottles. The current offering is Fresh Hop Full Moon pale ale, which isn’t to be confused with their Full Moon pale ale. The fresh hops make all the difference.

This ale pours with nice clarity and a good head. The hops are nicely present up front, beginning a bit piney but ending up with a bit of citrus. The flavour leans towards bitter, but not as much as in an IPA. In that sense it might be a nice gateway beer for those interested in exploring the hoppy side of beer.

I think the difference in this beer can be tied right back to the title. Freshness. The fresh hops lend flavour and depth, which make for a much more interesting beer.

I’ll close this post up by telling you that I love this beer. I will gladly drink it again. In a limited edition sense. To combat that, I already have a few more bottles in the fridge.

Lager, Review, Would Drink Again

Alley Kat at the Edmonton Beer Geeks Anonymous night

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On Tuesday night I had the pleasure of attending the Edmonton Beer Geeks Anonymous night at Wunderbar. If you are not familiar with either the EBGA or Wunderbar you owe it to yourself to check them both out.

According to the EBGA website the group was developed to “provide an outlet for craft beer enthusiasts and their passion – give them the atmosphere to actively taste, debate, and share all things beer.  By doing so, this group will foster the growing sense of community within the beer scene in Edmonton.  A growing number of individuals are turning towards the craft beer revolution, which prides itself on having standards on such things as purity of ingredients, care and attention when brewing, an analytical palate, but most of all a desire to learn and enjoy the company of fellow beer geeks.”

Don’t let Wunderbar’s sketchy dive bar appearance fool you. It’s a friendly bar with an incredible beer selection that destroys the terrible offerings presented by most bars and pubs in Edmonton. And I’m told they have some pretty great live music as well.

This month’s guest was Neil Herbst from Alley Kat brewing here in Edmonton. Neil brought three of his excellent beers with him; Ein Prosit!, Red Dragon Double IPA, and a very special Fresh Hop Full Moon pale ale. Neil gave us a bit of information and background on each beer, spoke about his brewery and passion for beer, and answered questions from the crowd. Did you know that Alley Kat is wildly popular in Seoul, South Korea? Me neither.

I had a chance to try the Ein Prosit! and the Fresh Hop Full Moon but by the time I was ready to go up and get a pint of the Red Dragon Double IPA it was sold out. I guess that must mean that the IPA was good, should have bought the IPA first. Oh well. I’ll have to pick up a bottle of the Red Dragon to try later. It’s part of Alley Kat’s new big bottle series. The big bottle beers are limited edition runs of 650ml bottles, I guess I’d better not wait too long or I’ll be out of luck.

The Ein Prosit! is an Oktoberfest lager. It’s made with six, yes six different types of malt, four of them being caramel malts so unsurprisingly it was very malty and caramelly. If you are a hop head you probably won’t like this beer as it had only a very light hoppy finish but it is an Oktoberfest lager and apparently they are all about the malt. If you want a hoppy beer look elsewhere, like maybe at the Fresh Hop Full Moon. This was a delicious beer, like a big glass of bread! I would definitely drink this one again. However, this is one of Alley Kat’s seasonal brews and it is only available until the end of fall. If you or I are looking at drinking this again, we’d better hurry.

The Fresh Hop Full Moon is a very special pale ale that Alley Kat is brewing in limited supply. Alley Kat has been brewing Full Moon for a long time so in one sense it’s not that special. What makes this one so unique is that Alley Kat used fresh hops. Normally brewers use dried hops but these hops went from the vine to the brew pot within hours (days?). I’ve never tried the regular Full Moon so I can’t say that the fresh hops made any difference. Some people swear that they do, Neil Herbst says he is skeptical. I guess I need to do a comparison of the two. I only had a small sample of the Fresh Hop Full Moon but it was a really nice looking beer, almost red. The sample was too small to talk about the head or any of that. I couldn’t place the smell, very distinct and unique but I don’t know what it was. Kind of a green smell I’d say. The taste was fantastic, very hoppy. I would drink this again in a second but I’ll have to be quick, it’s very limited!