Beer: Cerveceria Cape Horn

My wife brought me a sampler box of three beers–pilsen, pale ale, and porter–from the Cerveceria Cape Horn when she was in Ushuaia this week. I should have picked up a few bottles on previous trips but I kept failing to remind myself before heading back home each time. I’m not sure how long they have been around since I only noticed their bottles in stores on a trip last year. The label has an email account from a national ISP so no help from a web site giving out that information either.

If Drake is still around, Ushuaia now has at least four craft brewers in town. The others being Beagle and Hain. Like Beagle (I’m not familiar with the others) Cape Horn’s beers are bottled unfiltered.

Cerveceria Cape Horn Pilsen

Best Before: Sept. 2010
5% alcohol

Honey colored, not typical of a pilsen, but I’m sure that was partly due to the somewhat dark yeast that was not entirely settled. Yeasty aroma. Tasted quite hoppy with some fruity notes in the background. Bitter aftertaste that tended to linger a bit. Thin bodied. Lightly carbonated. For me, this beer leaned closer to a pale ale than a pilsner. Overall the beer was enjoyable but nothing really stood out to make it memorable.

Cerveceria Cape Horn Stout
Best Before: Sept. 2010
4.8% alcohol

Very dark color color, almost black. I loved the aroma of this one. Think chocolate syrup, dulce de leche, and coffee all mixed together. Bittersweet with flavors of coffee and dark chocolate. Full bodied. Mild carbonation but had more than similar type stouts. Reminded me a bit of Guinness but a little bit sweeter and with more carbonation. Nice clean finish. I found this to be the best of Cape Horn’s lineup. For those who are hesitant to try dark beers, fearing them to be too strong, rich, and thick, I would recommend this stout as a gateway dark beer.

Cerveceria Cape Horn Pale Ale
Best Before: Sept. 2010
4.8% alcohol

Copper colored. Strong aroma of hops and not much else. Hoppy and fruity flavors with a little bit of caramel. Crisp finish but a fruity sourness tends to linger a bit–not in a bad way. Body sits right in the middle of thin and full. Mild carbonation. As with the Pilsen, there is nothing really memorable about this one. However, I could see myself having a few pints in a pub on occasion.

To wrap this up, Cape Horn has a decent line up of beer judging by these first samples. I’ll have to check for consistency in the future, but I’m very pleased to have another selection of good craft brews available in the area. I just discovered that a new restaurant in town carries Cape Horn so there will be no need to travel to Ushuaia unless I want to stock the fridge. That being said, if I found myself in a store, bar, or restaurant with both Cape Horn and Beagle available, I would most definitely chose Beagle in every instance. Ok ok, maybe not every instance, Cape Horn’s stout is quite different than Beagle’s so I guess it would all depend on the mood and setting.

If you ever find yourself in Ushuaia, you should have no problem finding a store that sells Cape Horn beer along Avenida San Martin (main strip). If a gourmet or gift shop carries them, the store will probably have a couple of bottles displayed in the window. If not, just pop in any shop that carries wine, liquor, and/or food products and ask.