Cocoa Pils
Red Rock Brewing Company

what an interesting idea! not sure i have seen something like this before, a pils with cocoa nibs, an unlikely but successful fusion of flavors, and i like that this isnt all trying to be dessert beer, its pils first, and a decent one at that. its a pretty pour, clear and bright, high headed, no sign of the cocoa, looks like a pils, good carbonation throughout, well refined. the aroma is subtle, slightly buttery like raw cacao, rich in that way, earthy and distinctive without really being chocolatey in the traditional sense. the pils malt is forward in this, and its not just yellow lager, somewhat european on the yeast side too, and i think having a full flavored base beer is a smart call. smells fresh, hops seem somewhat restrained for the style, leaving room for what the cocoa brings in the flavor. its way more evident in the taste than the nose, not surprisingly, although its also not radical, and its neat how well it actually fits in this style, never would have thought of that. its got dusty cocoa character, baking chocolate and that bitterness, definitely earthy, and i like where it hits, right before the swallow, almost where the hops would be if that aspect was more robust in here. there is some smoothness and maybe some light oils from the nibs too, and this hits more high end bitter chocolate than it does desserty beer, its quite dry overall, well lagered. its interesting how the cocoa fits with the flavorful grain, its more cohesive than it sounds, and this ends up being awfully interesting, subtle as it is, and i need to drink a bit more of it to fully understand it. very cool to see red rock taking a risk like this, i think the execution is solid, this is a little more exotic and inspired than i really know from them, but i am no master of their book. really fun beer, ill be thinking about this one for awhile. i hope to find it again!

On tap at Mountains Brew Fest. Clear golden pour, thin white head. Aroma is chocolate cereal. Taste brought to mind pouring Cocoa Puffs in a lager. Interesting at first, but couldn't drink much more than a taste.