Monthly Archives: January 2009

Beer Review #5 Rogue Mocha Porter

I’m a big fan of Rouge’s beers. This one newly appeared in the 6-pack store the other day and I just had to get it and try it out. As usual, I’ll let the brewery describe the beer first:

“Tasting Notes:
Ruddy brown in color, a bittersweet balance of malt and hops with a light cream finish.

13 Ingredients:
Malts: Northwest Harrington & Klages;
135-165, 95-115, and 70-80 Crystal; Beeston Chocolate, Black, Munich
and Carastan.
Hops: Centennial & Perle Hops.
Yeast & Water: Rogue’s Pacman Yeast & Free Range Coastal Water.

Specs:
13º PLATO
54 IBU
73 AA
77º Lovibond”

Rouge’s Mocha Porter pours a dark black with a full light brown head. It had great head retention that lasted all the way though the beer. The smell was full of chocolate malt, coffee bitterness, and a bit of hops. Overall I loved the look and smell of this beer.

Upon first taste there is a lot of malty flavor going on. The chocolate malt is the first thing you notice, followed by some coffee, then a very slight hop flavor. It was a thin beer (as expected with a porter) and was very drinkable.

One thing I did notice was a slight chalky mouth feel after I was done. Everything tasted fine, it just left that feeling in my mouth. It was interesting, but to a great or terrible thing. As I said eariler I love Rouge brews, while this one isn’t my favorite, it is very good and worth a try.

Beer Hammer

My Dad happened to pick one of these nifty things up last year, and he hasn’t stopped using it. The Beer Hammer is the perfect beer gadget for the DIYer. It looks like your basic hammer, but instead of a nail remover there is a cap remover. The hammer is a bit smaller than a normal hammer as well, but it does have some weight to it (as I found out when I dropped it on my foot).

You can now do work around the house and open a few cold ones as well. I have got to tell you that the caps fly off when you use this thing, I guess it has to do with all of that leverage and stuff. Just Google “Beer Hammer” and you will find tons of suppliers for the product. Most of them seem to be right around $10 or so. This is a gadget that is actually useful as well as fun to use.

Beer glasses

I’m of the opinion that a beer is better drank from a glass than a bottle and better from a bottle than a can. If it were a math equation it would look something like

Glass > Bottle > Can

I think most people can agree with that statement. But what is it about a glass that is so perfect? Imagine sitting down at a bar and have everyone with bottles instead of a nice pint glass. It just doesn’t seem right (unless you are a some cheap college bar). I don’t know if there is a real reason for this, it is just my preference.

I love beer glasses. I have several different types. I started with the typical pint, moved to a pilsner, and then to a challace. I use all of my glasses (that’s what they are for) but some beers just suit some glasses better. Some are just for fun, like my 26 oz half yard or my boot like the one on the left. My pint glasses get a hard workout weekly.

Beer glasses are just one of those beer culture icons that I just love. I do have a strange fascination with beer, and beer glasses are just another way to express myself.

Do you have any preference with glasses, bottles, or cans; leave a message below.

Magic Hat up huge

This is a few days late, but it is noteworthy, Magic Hat Brewing Company had a 26% increase in sales for 2008. 26% that is insane! The craft beer industry as a whole saw increases around 8% last year. It is also interesting because Magic Hat is expanding to new areas, and they are still seeing increasing sales in markets they already sell to. Magic Hat #9 sales were up 33%.

Magic Hat is the nations 12th largest brewer and is adding a massive addition to their capacity for 2009. They plan on taking production from 127,586 barrels in 2008 to 165,000 barrels in 2009. That is an increase of 37,414 barrels, or 1,159,834 gallons of beer, or 12,371,563 more bottles of beer. Way to go Magic Hat.