Keelhauler Scotish Ale

Full bodied malt flavor gives way to a nicely strong hop finish. The balance is excellent. Name: Full Sail Keelhauler Scottish AleBrewery: Full Sail, Hood River, OR.Style: Scottish Ale.Color: Deep copper.Packaging: 22 oz. bottle.Stats: 6.8% abv, 45 IBU.Bought: local store.Ruling: Four out of Five Hops. Nicely balanced, very drinkable Scottish ale.

Southern Hemisphere Fresh Hop Ale

Name: Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop AleBrewery: Sierra Nevada, Chico, CA.Style: Pale Ale.Color: Deep golden/amber.Packaging: 24 oz. bottle.Stats: 6.7% abv, 66 IBU.Bought: local store.Ruling: Four out of Five Hops. An excellent, very drinkable pale ale.

Jah-va Imperial Coffee Stout

This is a downright huge beer with a full body mouth feel that borders on syrupy. Prominent alcoholic presence that along with the sweetness overpowers the typical dark roasted bite common in stouts. It was not what I expected, given the vast majority of coffee stouts and porters I’ve tried have been very robust with…

Full Sail Imperial Porter

An excellent big, bold, robust porter with lots of roasted malt flavor that is surprisingly drinkable. I’ve found this one a couple of times around town and finally pulled it out of the fridge to try. Full Sail says it is available March to April in “very limited availability.” It is well worth finding. A…

Redhook Double Black Stout

Let’s kick this off with an outstanding beer, currently in my top ten list. Last winter, Redhook re-released a brew that never should have disappeared. It definitely delivers on its description as an “imperial stout enhanced by coffee and dark malts with a big roasted flavor.” It is a robust stout with a complementing coffee…