On the tenth day of Beermas I went and bought for me
Ten lords a-leering
Nine sinfully good black beers
Eight lizards leaking
Seven feathered friends a-fluttering
Six phoenixes rising
Five photographic plates
Four flying saucers
Three sunny toucans
Two dogs in costume
And a lone eagle flying free
I was studying the shelves trying to decide for this one actually. I was assisted by, whoda guessed, the shop assistant, who pointed out the Dark Lord when I said I was looking for something gentlemanly or lordly. Or leapy, maybe with hops, but I already had plenty of IPAs to work with. So, thanks for that...good sir whose name I don't know. I'll blame the Mexican Biscotti Cake stout for my forgetfulness. So, yeah, it's Animus Brewing's Surreptitious, a pastry stout with a label that goes with dark times and desperate measures.
It's a somewhat lighter color than I expected, more of a clear but dark brown instead of black. Head is beige but of unassuming amount. There's a sugary, carnival fairway kind of aroma, but with definite toasty essences in the background. The contrast between taste and smell, though, is shocking. I expected something a little sweet and maybe smokey, but it's really an odd progression of flavors - sweet to bitter to burned to licorice and finally rubber/wood(?!). It's a rough around the edges kind of beer, in spite of its sophisticated ingredient list. The cacao bean barely peeks through and the vanilla is really unidentifiable. There is supposed to be some rum influence through its aging, so maybe that's part of the bite? It's not a heavy or thick beer, a little watery in fact, but you can't just drink it without noticing. There is an interesting mix of flavors, it even has a little spice to it, but as a pastry stout I don't think it measures up to others I've had this season. Oh well, there's sure to be plenty acolytes for this dark lord anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment