northern tsar

Even in the summer, there's nothing like a good deathly skull to grab my attention.  And on a bottle of stout?  Fantastic!  The gods of beer smile upon me!  Naparbier has been good to me in the past, so no qualms in snapping that up.  It may be a little out of season, as a pumpkin imperial stout, but Pumpkin Tzar might give me comfort in the overheated night with memories of reasonable temperatures.

I don't know what the white streak is, every label had a different one

There's a good, strong aroma, a little but sour but definitely smoky undertones.  It's a fine opaque dark brown, with almost no light getting through it anywhere.  The taste is practically explosive, round and mouth-filling, dirty and smooth.  It turns into sort of a licorice flavor, which is a small disappointment.  I was hoping for coffee.  Suddenly, after the second sip, I start to notice a little burning and check the ingredients.  Yep, habanero chili.  Much like The Mayan, the pepper doesn't make itself known until the beer is going down, or even after, so it's an interesting aftertaste sensation.  It's a heavier sort of pepper, though, so the burn is a little bit stronger.  It starts to get a little more bitter and salty, moving away from the licorice, which is good for me. I find a greater sweetness starts to come out after a few minutes, which may be the pumpkin finally making an appearance.

Supplier: Espuma
Price: €4.75