1972
5 Seasons Westside

 

On-tap at the brewpub.

Pours a hazy brown color with ruby highlights and a one-finger light tan head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving light lacing.

Smells of dark fruits - mostly raisins and prunes - with a hint of molasses and leafy hops.

Tastes similar to how it smells though a bit more complex. Sweet malt flavors up front are joined almost immediately by loads of dark fruit flavors. The fruit flavors let up midway through the sip to allow hints of herbal hop and spices that carry through to a crisp ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It has a solid thickness with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability is good. I finished my glass without a problem and could have another.

Overall this was another interesting beer from Crawford at 5 Seasons. An amalgamation that turned out well and is worth a shot.

It's time again to welcome in a new member to the exclusive Serenade Series, which includes such illustrious brews as Black Beauty, Coltrane Belgian Ale, Dark Star Stout, and the Shakti Saison. At first, I thought this beer had been "serenaded" by the popular track from the Smashing Pumpkin's album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, but, no, that's 1979, and we're talking 1972, in reference to the Grateful Dead tour. My bad!

Appearance: Arrived a turbid, medium brown body capped with a 1½ inch high layer of light beige foam.

Smell: Malts smelling of bread, toffee candy, and all-natural unsweetened chocolate powder. The nose is positively jam-packed with strong fruity esters that, along with the lightly spritzed alcohol wafts, impart a smell of fine fruit cordials. Also notes of spice and of a distant background smokiness, but those strong whiffs of fruit are really what draws your attention.

Taste: Rich initial maltiness of bread crusts, sweet toffee, and a light dusting of cocoa powder. Touch of spelt bread dough. All the while, the taste is interspersed with strong, distinctly fruity overtones of everything from grapes to figs to white peaches. The spicy character gives impressions of nutmeg and cardamon. Earthy, lightly citrusy hops with a restrained bitterness. The hops used have been smoked, a brewing method I honestly don't recall encountering before. It does indeed impart a slight smokiness, but not so bold as smoked versus non-smoked malts, but more like the subtle, pleasant nuances between paprika and smoked paprika. Touches of warming, peppery alcohol make their way onto the palate, alerting the drinker that this indeed hearty stuff and maybe perhaps you should "slow your roll" as the kids say these days. Finishes spicy and still so fruity.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Tasty! A beer that's certainly not shy about delivering plenty of flavor (and fruitiness). A pleasure to have had on cask and one I'll look forward to trying once it arrives as part of the regular lineup.