Review: Harvest Moon Vulcan Ale

Live long and prosper! Not every day do you see a Star Trek themed beer hitting your local liquor store, so when you do, buy it! Actually, this beer was created by the Montana based Harvest Moon Brewing for the centennial of Vulcan, Alberta. Vulcan has received quite a bit of tourism in the last decade or so just from its unique Star Trek-friendly name. I'm not sure why a Montana-based brewery would create a beer for an Albertan-town's centennial when Alberta has no shortage of breweries within a few hour drive of the town, but hey.. the opportunity to do a Star Trek themed beer would get any brewery excited at the opportunity. Also, thank goodness it wasn't a Big Rock product, because they haven't been known for creating town anniversary beers.

Vulcan Ale was one of the most popular and most sought after beers at MLCCs in Manitoba since who knows when, it sold out near immediately at several liquormarts around the province, though a few locations still have a few bottles out there.

Appearance: This being an Irish Red style ale, it holds to the style, a rich orange-red colour, hazy, minimal carbonation but a nice lacing of foam gracing the top of the beer. Reminds me of an Innis & Gunn, colour wise.

Aroma: A musky malt with caramel notes, slightly bready, grainy.

Taste: The taste is a bit.. off, very grainy, but as I continue to drink it, the flavour mellows and it's more enjoyable, it has sweet caramel malts, bit of breadiness to it and a rich nuttiness as well, pretty much your standard Irish Red.

Overall Thoughts: Harvest Moon must have sold a bunch of these as they released it in time for the new Star Trek movie to hit the theatres. The taste wasn't really appealing at first, was a bit of an "off" barley flavour, but as it settles a bit, it gets to be a decent Irish Red Ale with tasty caramel and nuttiness notes appearing throughout the beer. This sure isn't an Assiniboine Lager, thank goodness! 5.4% ABV and costs $3.11/355ml before tax, so it's a pretty decent price just to try something that's getting a lot of attention in the beer community right now. Also, a brewery that has a grain elevator in its logo (see cap)?! I approve!

From the label:
A logical choice for a palate pleasing libation. Vulcan Ale is an Irish Red style ale brewed to celebrate Vulcan, Alberta's 2013 centennial celebrations.

www.nbcnews.com/business/star-trek-beer-boldly-goes-where...