Elves' Elixir 2014
Town Hall Brewery

 

 

This beer was served on tap at Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis, Minnesota into a skinny house tulip. It showed the deepest, blackest shade of brown, letting up hints of ruby towards the bottom of the glass. A one finger head of café au lait colored bubbles retained well, leaving soft islands of dripping lacing around the glass. These bubbles were easily reproducible with a swirl of the glass. No haze or sediment was noted, and carbonation appeared to be light. Aromatics included soy sauce, cooked brown and black malts, steamed oat, cocoa powder, mineral, soapstone, light herbal and soapy hops, big lactic creamer, lime rind, massively roasted chocolate grain, earthen truffles, smoked tobacco and beechwood, brown clay, freshly baked wheat bread, and singed honey ham skin. The flavor was a blend of soured black malts that were raw and roasty at the same time, soy and light teriyaki sauce sugars, aluminum foil, limey sugars, charred molasses, heavy chocolate malt, dark chocolate ice cream syrup, sweat, chocolate truffles, vanilla crème brûlée, wafer sweetness, almond icing, shaved porcini mushrooms, phenolic plastics, light boozy sweetness, and raw cacao powder. The body was medium but saucy, thickening up at the periphery of the sip. Carbonation was bigger and foamier than expected, especially when moving the beer around your mouth. Slurp, smack, cream, and pop were otherwise nice, with the mouth left wetted before being rid almost entirely of saliva through chalk and puck. The abv was appropriate, and this drank well as an easy sipper.

Overall, this beer was incredibly true to style. It was thick, bittering, sweet, saucy, and salty, with nice soy sauce and molasses bite to keep things savory and flowing. This all helped towards an incredible balance that was noticeable throughout each aspect of the beer, both individually, and as a final, cohesive unit. The feel was probably our favorite thing about it, although this is a hard call. It had that solid, flowing, oily syrupiness going on for it, and just made it so sippably quaffable. This was our first one of the day on our second trip to Town Hall, and went perfectly with a bitterly cold, lazy afternoon, in an empty bar watching sports. It is hard to find a lot of Baltic porters these days, but this is one you absolutely shouldn’t pass up, either if you’re just discovering the style, or you’re in the mood for something darker, and superbly executed.

 

 

 

 

 

At the THTap, into a tulip
A: Jet black, small crown of a head
S: Sweet, some faint vanilla, some hints of cherry (but not too juicy or too tart), a tinge of grassy hops.
T: nicely balanced, some grass and pine hoppy liveliness 1/3 of the way in, ends with a combination of leathery black licorice and sweetness that is not at all cloying; just a whisper of smokey roast. Hard for me to i.d. the profile of the sweetness: a little molasses and vanilla but not too much, maybe a little cherry, but it isn't that fruity, and it isn't caramel or toffee. As it warms, a little bitter edge comes out more and the licorice is more pronounced.
M: A bit heavy but soft with a little edge. A little syrupy.

Overall: Very impressive, great taste profile and well constructed. Especially nice when the temp dips below zero!

 

 

On tap at the brewpub. Served in a Town Hall Chalice glass.

Appearance: Color is midnight black. Moderate amount of bubbles and about one finger of light tan head which settles into a thin creamy layer. Leaves some good lacing.

Smell: A roasty and fairly sweet smelling aroma with hints of chocolate and dark fruit. Dark roasted barley malt with hints of dark chocolate, coffee, toasted bread, biscuit, caramel, yeast, and smoke. Hints of molasses sweetness and a little anise spice. Dark fruit hints of raisin, fig, and cherry. A pretty good roasty aroma.

Taste: Follows the nose with a nice malt forward taste of dark chocolate ,coffee, and dark fruit. Upfront dark roasted barley malt with notes of dark chocolate, coffee bean, biscuit, toast, burnt caramel, yeast, and smoked malt. Some sweet notes of burnt molasses. A little anise licorice. Dark fruit undertones with notes of raisin, cherry, and fig. A good dark taste.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Creamy, slick, and chewy. Alcohol is hidden well.

Overall: A pretty good take on an imperial Baltic Porter. Good roasty malt flavor with some dark fruit.

 

 

Roasted malts. A lot of licorice and molasses. Black cherries. Some chocolate and coffee. Brown sugar. Raisins. Some spices.

A lot of malts. Solid brew. Very thick and chewy.