Warning: this review came into contact with nuts. This was written in February, not seven in the morning today (I swear). And if you can't tell yet, yes, I'm reviewing all the new beers in their "Spring Thaw" mix pack.
Style: Porter/Stout
Twist: brewed
with maple syrup and pecans
Strength: 5.6%
This beer pours an extremely dark brown, bordering on
black, which turns to a murky but transparent crimson when held to the
light. The foam is tan-hued and settles
to a small sudsy crown after not reaching much more than a half-finger in
height.
The aroma is redolent of maple syrup at first whiff,
though once you get past that it starts to smell more like a porter. I’m detecting a flavor that reminds me of
Edmund Fitzgerald and perhaps Blackout Stout, sort of a light unsweetened coco. I do get some nuttiness, and I probably could
pick it out if I drank it blind although I wouldn’t be able to specifically peg
it as pecan.
This tastes a lot more like a standard porter than it
smells, though that maple syrup is still unmistakable. Roasted malts in the form of coffee flavor
and coco start things off. The middle is
hops (earthy) and some sort of toasted flavor, probably malt. Assuming they used actual pecans and not
extract, I would assume they would have been sliced, spliced or shredded, not
toasted. The finish is all maple syrup
and pecans, with a kiss of earthy hops that I initially mistook for pecan. I can’t decide if it has more pecan flavor or
more maple flavor.
According to their website, this is brewed with both
carafe and Munich malts. I can kind of
see the Munich, though not much.
The mouthfeel is a bit drier than I expect in a
porter. Perhaps they were trying to make
the maple sugar stand out on its without having to compete with barley sugar.
Interesting, surprisingly balanced for a flavored porter,
and generally tasty. I could do with
more maple and less pecan, but otherwise a pretty enjoyable beer for porter
lovers who also like maple and pecans.
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