nutty days

It's a world of signs and guides and new demands, isn't it?  Keep your distance on the metro, obligatory masks, hand sanitizer everywhere...I went to visit a beer store in a market, one of those with a good number of taps too, and the security guards were taking temperatures at the door.  It's those laser thermometers, and I would expect there to be some distortion from the heat of the damn summer sun, but I guess those things are sophisticated enough to distinguish a real fever from excessive sun.  A little wander around the shop and I came across Peanut Gorilla, a barrel aged imperial stout from Basqueland.

A lovely dark brown color, beige head that isn't particularly foamy, and a tempting sweet aroma.  It promises to be a bit heavy.  There's a similarity to a number of other nut-added beers, be it pecan, hazelnut or chestnut.  I get a feeling that is reminiscent of peanut butter cups, with the chocolate mixed with peanut butter, although it's somewhat saltier and has the expected tang of licorice.  While mouth-filling, it's not exceptionally heavy, and goes down quickly.  It's clean, but not completely smooth, with a little rumble of scratchy bitterness at the end of the swallow.  Other notes make their appearances, little by little: chocolate syrup; sour fruit.  Not much coffee in this stout, or smoke, or earth.  It's a happy little beer, just right for me, summer or winter.  Tastes are swaying in a lighter, puckerier direction, but I will not be kept from my black beers!

Supplier: La Buena Pinta
Price: €5.60