hogsheadwhiteSome of the more keen-eyed of you may have noticed that over the past few months my news roundups have rarely included Hog’s Head Brewing out of St. Albert. It is not that they haven’t been putting out new beer and releasing seasonals because they have. Actually, they may have been putting out too much stuff – I have had a hard time keeping track and losing sight of what was a brief one-off or what was a new permanent addition. Beer that I thought were permanent disappeared while new ones appeared without giving me a sense of their context.

My confusion was exacerbated by pressure put on the Hog’s Head staff and principals due to their furious pace. No one really had time to keep me in the loop (which is fine – I am hardly their top priority) but neither could they keep up on their website and social media communications. Enter Shaun McCabe, the affable Brewery Manager for the company, who recently made it his task to keep me up to date on all things HH. In some back and forth, McCabe has provided me with a complete rundown on their beer and what was a seasonal, what was permanent and so on.

So, this development means two things. Going forward it will be easier for me to keep updated on any new stuff HH is up to (and if I miss something it will be more likely to be MY fault).

Second, I can offer a definitive list of  the beer brewed at Hog’s Head and their current status, which I do below:

HH hogs headYear-Round:

Hog’s Head Label

  • Hopslayer IPA
  • Boss Hog Oatmeal IPA
  • Whole Lotta Rosie Coriander and Rose Hip
  • Baby Back Hops IPA
  • A Clockwort Orange Wheat Ale
  • Bear Beer Ale (collaboration with 100.3 The Bear radio station and its charity fund)

Amber’s Label

  • Sap Vampire
  • Chocolate Stout
  • Zombie Apocalypse
  • Pepper Berry
  • Lunch Pale Ale

HH rosieRoughneck Label

  • Pump Jack Lager
  • Alimony Ale

They also produce Colleen’s Amber Ale exclusively for the Sherlock Holmes pub  (and I reviewed a while back).

Current Seasonals

  • Black Hog Down Russian Imperial Stout
  • Lemon Head (summer seasonal, currently unavailable)
  • Triple Sow Cow (what they call an Imperial Cascadian Milk Stout, to be released in mid-December)
  • Death by Pumpkin (originally a year-round, currently seasonal and likely a regular in the future)

In recent weeks they have launched a secondary Hog’s Head line of spirit-based products, which they dub Rocky Mountain Moonshine. Starting with a base of neutral grain spirit, they add various fruits and flavours to create what is best described as a cooler. There already have three versions, with more to come before the end of the year. The Original Shine is undiluted or mixed and runs at 40% alcohol. The others are mixed with various fruit and brought down to 16% or 7%. They include Rocky Mountain Cloudy Apple Moonshine and Bear Moonshine ($1 from every jar sold goes to the Bear radio station children’s fund). Before the new year, they expect four  more addtions: Black Forest Cake, Chocolate Raspberry, Orange Creamsicle and Maraschino Cherry.

And then there is the Tap Room, which is open daily and offers all the current beer and a short menu of meal offerings. I was there for lunch recently and had the mac and cheese which as hearty and enjoyable.

As you can see by the extensive list, there is a lot going on over at St. Albert’s only brewery. You might have a better appreciation why I struggled to keep it all straight. Not anymore, thanks to Shaun.