Ochsner’s 1905 Alberta Porter
Style: Robust Porter
ABV: 5.6%
Presentation: 6 packs of 341 ml brown bottles
Brewery: Alley Kat Brewing Co. exclusive for Sherbrooke Liquor
Country: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk
It’s that time again when Sherbrooke annually releases another recipe by the winner of the Homebrewer of the Year title from the Aurora Brewing Challenge, hosted by the Edmonton Homebrewers Guild. Commercially produced by the talented folks at the Alley Kat Brewery of course.
The winners this year were the local powerhouse homebrewing duo of Ray Duperron and Patrick Doyle, who also brought home the national award of Canadian Homebrewer of the Year, and apparently won by a pretty wide margin.
It will then come as no surprise that Ochsner’s 1905 Alberta Porter, based on one of their recipes, is a phenomenal beer; it’s honestly been a while since a beer has impressed me this much, let alone a Porter. This was brewed as a Robust Porter under the BJCP guidelines. The Beer Judge Certification Program is the governing institution that oversees homebrewing competitions such as the Aurora Brewing Challenge.
Just as a quick refresher, for the past 3 years now Sherbrooke has carried an exclusive batch of beer made by the local Alley Kat Brewery based on a recipe chosen by whoever ends up winning Edmonton’s Homebrewer of the Year award through the ABC competition. It’s a way of providing some recognition and support to amateur brewers, and frankly is a pretty darn good incentive to get homebrewers from across the country to enter this locally organized competition.
This year’s release was timed to coincide with and commemorate the province of Alberta’s 105th anniversary. The surname on the label of this beer is an homage to German immigrant Robert Ochsner and his wife Elizabeth, who opened what could be argued as the first brewery here in Edmonton back in 1894. Although not much is known about the Ochsners, it’s recorded that Robert took care of the business end of operations. It was Elizabeth who did all the brewing as head Brewmistress, the first female brewer in the province, and eventually earned some small local recognition with the designation of the Bohemian Maid. While the brewery changed hands and names over the years it did end up being called The Bohemian Maid in the late 1950’s. Elizabeth is credited with brewing 5 different styles of beer, including a Porter of some repute.
Which brings us back to our Porter in question. It’s my opinion that we don’t have a large enough selection of decent Porters here in Alberta, and as a result it’s an often confused and misunderstood style that tends to get overlooked. Hopefully this Porter will receive enough of a warm reception to be put into regular production after this inaugural batch.
Glassware is pretty much your choice on this one, it’s robust enough to be the one calling the shots regardless of shape or size. So grab your favourite glass. There’s also going to be a lot of flavour present even when it’s just been pulled out of the fridge, so once again I’ll leave the serving temperature up to your personal preference. Of course as it warms new facets within the aroma and flavour will be released. As this isn’t the type of style that you chug down in a few gulps, you’ll most likely get the chance to experience this.
Even though it’s not opaque (yet it certainly gives off that impression), this Porter is still a dense black, and will exhibit a brilliant ruby nimbus around the extremities if held up to direct light. Be prepared for a couple possible attempts to fill up your glass as well, as there is a massive frothy beige head from the pour. Lots of dark aromas will be received on the nose, layers of burnt malt, some toasted malt, wood, slight acidity, and when it warms up starts to reveal some espresso and cocoa. Things continue along these lines within the flavour, starting with some roasted malt with wood and earthy notes, some soft coffee and chocolate in the middle along with bittersweet acidity, then finishing with a sharp dry burnt malt character. As would be expected the mouthfeel is full, with a surprising amount of refined carbonation which scrubs the palate with each sip, keeping the more intense flavours in check between sips. A very well put together beer, credit must be given to Ray and Patrick for coming up with such a solid recipe, along with the crew at Alley Kat for replicating it to a commercial sized batch.
If exploring this Porter works up an appetite in you then grilled dishes would make a large varied option to serve alongside. Be it steak, pork or chicken, the smoke and char will match well. Another good option would be a plate of sausage and sauerkraut, as the acidity in the Porter and the sauerkraut will play off one another nicely. For something a little more exotic the complex flavours within a good mole sauce will accentuate the layers of dark flavour within this beer. And if you’re partial to more gamey meats they’ll be tamed by the robust characteristics that this Porter has to offer.
The next steps in the cooler:
Other Beers From Sherbrooke:
Sherbrooke Shamrock
Bad Hare Day
Aaiieeeeeeeeee Caramba!
Van Helsing’s All Natural Mouthwash
Chocolate Cherry Ostiarius
Neapolean
Other Beers From Alley Kat:
Alley Kat Amber
Alley Kat Aprikat
Full Moon Pale Ale
Charlie Flint’s Original Lager
Pumpkin Pi Spiced Ale
Olde Deuteronomy
In-Style:
Rogue Mocha Porter
Mill St. Coffee Porter
Fuller’s London Porter
Samuel Smith’s Old Taddy Porter
Paddock Wood London Porter
Lateral Steps:
Lost Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout
DDC Peche Mortel
St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Half Pints Stir Stick Stout
Yukon Brewing Midnight Sun Espresso Stout
Paddock Wood Bête Noire