Day 218 Beer218 Monkey Fist IPA, Shipyard Brewing Co., Portland Maine

Tonight's brew is an American IPA. They are supposedly more flavourful that the British version. Colour can vary from golden straw to reddish amber.  Hops are typically American with a big herbal and / or citric character, bitterness measured in IBU's are usually very high as well. In addition this brew is a strong ale at 6.9%ABV .
Similar brews that I have rated are Sculpin IPA, Ballast Point Brewing Co. at  3.9 out of 5  and 60 minute IPA from Dogfish at 4.0 out of 5


Tonight's poured a slightly cloudy golden amber with a reddish/orange tint. It produced very little head and very little lacing but it did have lots of carbonation bubbles. The aroma was grassy and citrus hops. The taste is citrus hops right up front with a touch of sweet malts in the background and a slightly lingering hop bitterness. Overall a good American IPA 3.8 out of 5

Day 217-Beer217 Northern Harvest Dark Ale, Trafalgar Ales and Meads, Oakville Ontario

Tonight's brew is listed as a Herb, Spiced Beer This style takes includes beer that is specially herbed and or spiced. It includes such oddities as Pumpkin beer to Christmas beers with nutmeg and cinnamon to ginger beers to heather ales. Some brewers will throw just about anything into the brew kettle; hot peppers, hemp, ginseng or spruce needles. This one is brewed with juniper berries.
It poured a dark chocolate colour with very little head and virtually no lacing and minimal carbonation.  Not much in the aroma department, some sweetness with a hint of coffee.  The taste was sweet, brown sugar caramel and toasted malt. There is a slight pine bitterness in the background which I presume is from the juniper berries. This is not a beer I would buy again, 2.9 out of 5.

Day 216-Beer 216Dragon Stout, Desnoes and Geddes Limited, Kingston, Jamaica

Tonight's brew is an Foreign/ Export Stout brewed in Jamaica man. An export stout is a special style of stout that is brewed bigger than normal for a long journey, the more traditional  Export Stouts will be found in the tropical regions of the world. Higher in alcohol with a very pronounced roasted character. This one is 7.5%ABV. Other beers of the same type are Guiness Foreign Extra Stout, Lion Stout from Ceylon,  and Indra Kunindra from Ballast Point Brewing.


It poured a dark almost black colour with a creamy tan head that left some sticky lacing around the edge  and coated the entire side of the glass as I drank this brew. The aroma at first had a sour background, not sure what it was but as it warmed it gave off  scents of dark chocolate, espresso coffee and roasted malts. The taste has a dark fruit and coffee base with hints of chocolate, cherry and just a touch of smoke and a subtle hint of bitterness. Overall a very good brew, and one that if you are willing to share would go good in many recipes and marinades, I am going to try some in my next batch of gravy. 4.0 out of 5.

Day 215-Beer 215 Ruination IPA, Stone Brewing Co. Escondido,San Diego County, California

Tonight's brew is an American Double / Imperial IPA  You take an India Pale Ale and feed it steroids, ergo the term Double IPA. The Imperial usage comes from Russian Imperial stout, a style of strong stout originally brewed in England for the Russian Imperial Court of the late 1700s; though Double IPA is often the preferred name.  Two other  brews of this type are 90 minute IPA from Dogfish Brewing Company and Hop Stoopid from Lagunitas all of which I have evaluated earlier in the year. 90 minute IPA had one of my highest ratings at 4.2 out of 5 and Hop Stoopid was a 3.9 out of 5.


This one pours a murky straw colour with okay head that leaves nice sticky lacing.   The taste is sweet up front, caramel and toffee flavoured malts with lots of hops, grapefruit, bitterness right behind it. Overall a very good brew with lots of hops to back up its style, but not quite in the class of 90 minute IPA, 3.9 out of 5

Day 214-Beer 214 Holsten Maibock, Holsten Brauerei, Hamburg, Germany

Another Maibock/Helles Bock, at 7%ABV, this one poured a golden amber colour with just a tint of copper colour. It had minimal head with no lacing left behind. The aroma is sweet malts  and not much else. The taste is sweet caramel malt with very little hop background. Overall an okay maibock that is fairly refreshing and only slightly better than last night's Canadian version of a maibock, 3.5 out of 5

Day 213-Beer213, Loaded Goat Maibock, Alley Kat Brewing Co. Edmonton Alberta

Tonight's brew is a Maibock/Helles Bock. They tends to be lighter in color than other Bock beers and often have a significant hop character with a noticeable alcohol around the same as a traditional Bock. Maibocks are customarily served in the spring and are oftentimes interrelated with spring festivals and celebrations more often in the month of May. One recent example was day 194, Dab Maibock, a German version of this style


This one from Canada  7.3% abv, poured a reddish copper colour with minimal head that left no lacing at all. The aroma is sweet malts with a hint of grassy hops. The taste is slightly sweet, but not overly so with a little hop bitterness in the background. A drinkable beer but nothing special and not as good as the German version from last month  3.5 out of 5.

Day 212-Beer 212 Iron Mainden Trooper, Robonsons Brewery,Stockport, England

Tonight's brew is a Extra Special Strong Bitter.  ESBs are essentially more aggressive and more balanced Bitters, both in alcohol and hop character, but nothing overpowering. Color range will be similar, though leaning towards the darker end of the scale; dark golds to copper. Low carbonation. Malts tend to be more pronounced, often toasty and fruity, with maybe some notes diacetyl. And despite "bitter" being in its name, ESBs are not really all that bitter. They key to an ESB is balance.


TROOPER takes its name from the Iron Maiden song which is inspired by the famous Charge of the Light Brigade. It poured a golden/amber colour with very little head and just a little lacing. The aroma has hints of caramel malts and some earthy/grassy hops. The taste is grainy malts, some sweet malts and an awful metallic aftertaste. This was a big disappointed, not one I would recommend. 2.9 out of 5