Defense against Dark Beer – Smoke Jumper

From time to time, I have a guest review of dark beers. Here is the summation of Left Hand’s Smokejumper.

“Dark, good head, nice lacing for a dark beer. Smoke hits you on first taste, top and back of palate, but it quickly changes to a molasses-y smoothness, before finishing with a light bitter, also akin to molasses. Sweetness grows as you drink.

I think for the second half of the beer, i’m going to barbecue some salmon in meyer lemon/molasses(just a little)/lemon basil marinade and see how that flies.”

Review of Older Viscosity

The Defense against the Dark Beer reviewer tested a bottle from Port Brewing.

12% abv 12 oz bottle
Old viscosity aged on bourbon barrels. Super dark in color, no head. Smells like booze not beer. Tastes the same. It’s smooth but it has lost all the beer qualities in the bourbon. I’d much rather have a special old engine oil.
It holds the balance between the two better.
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Echigo Stout review

My mystery dark beer reviewer has this to say about another Japanese beer…
“Nice dark chocolate almost black color. Pretty hefty alcohol smell. 7% abv. Nice rich taste. Fairly full mouth feel. First after taste was pretty bitter but as I drank more the flavors melded nicely. Nice lacing on the glass as well. Drank after an green enchilada dinner while airing out my ole filled house. There’s little doubt that my taste buds have been influenced by my surroundings.
Even though I have only had 2 Japanese beers, they both seem somehow lighter and brighter than the us and Brit beers I’ve had.”

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Ginger beer from Hitachino Nest

Occasionally, I will let trusted beer tasters give me the rundown on what they are drinking (especially if it is something I haven’t had before).

My mystery reviewer “walked away with Real Ginger Brew from Hitachino Nest. The first taste is really light and bright followed by a slightly metallic taste. Ginger flavor is not prominent and it’s not dusty spicy at all. In fact I didn’t think there was a Ginger bite at all until I realized my palate was tingling about a quarter of the way thruogh the glass. It went nicely with my green bean chicken.”