Secret Identity
Riverwalk Brewing

Large initial head which leaves some large spots. The liquid is brown and crystal clear. Light shines through the center easily.

Sweet, treacle aroma. Strong level of alcohol to the nose. In the background, I get some raspberry.

Very rich body with a low carbonation level. This makes the alcohol seem very strong. This is very much like a barley wine, far stronger than a typical Belgian Dark Ale. Also, I don't get any of the Belgian flavors from the yeast. Very malty with no notable hop. The malt has a bit of toastiness to it along with some dark, dark molasses. The aftertaste is a combination of alcohol and sweet crystal malt.

Bottled 3/3/16

Pours a light fizzy bubbly head that fades fairly quickly, light lacing, super dark molasses brown color barely any light coming through.

Nose typical Belgian strong, decent phenols peppery like and spices, some fruity esters as well, plenty of dark fruits like fig date, some biscuity malt, some toffee, a little caramel syrup and candi sugar perhaps, a bit of a nutty cola syrup, faint grassy hop note.

Taste brings more of the same, dark fruits out front, date fig and candied dried dark fruits in general, plenty of fruity esters as well as mild peppery spice phenols and some booze warmth and a little tingle even. Malts brings a little biscuity as well, plenty more toffee, some caramel syrup and cola syrup as well, a little candi sugar, little syrupy but rich. Faint grassy hop in the background gives way to a sticky syrupy finish, more tingly booze esp late, lingering candied dates in syrup, candied figs, toffee, etc.

Mouth is fuller bod, syrupy, plenty carb almost distracting but not quite there yet, plenty of warming tingly booze.

Overall it def hits that nice Belgian Strong or Dubbel style beer, nice dark fruits, ester/phenol profile, booze is a bit strong and it's a bit too syrupy, but still pretty nice for cold night sipping.

 

 

from a bottle to a pint tulip
look; dark cherry caramel, nice frothy 1 1/4" tan head, not much retention, some soapy lacing. darker, calmer and prettier than but reminiscent of cherry cola
smell; caramel, malt, sourdough bread, molasses, nice, not too overbearing almost to a fault
taste; dark roasty malt, bittersweet molasses, more sweet than bitter, then more bitter than sweet, hints of caramel on the sweet end of the spectrum and cherry coffee grounds on the bitter end.
feel; full bodied, cola-like. moderate carbonation, maybe more than necessary if knit picking. not overly boozy like many attempts at this style
overall; a successful belgian/american strong ale. complex flavors that kept my palate entertained from beginning to end of the pint

 

Been interested to check out what I can from the Riverwalk Routes series as it's generally at least semi-interesting beer in an agreeable format to me (single 16.9 oz bottles). I've enjoyed their old ale, Flannel Trousers, and Lil Admiral's Ella pale ale before, along with a few others that are slipping my mind right now, but this is a whole new beast. A 10% BSDA with a great name and label copy. "Dark and mysterious, brimming with hidden strength... Treat your inner hero to a Secret Identity." Clever and well-done.

Pour is brimming with dark charm; a towering khaki-colored sheet of bubbles appears atop a deep garnet/ruby colored beer. As it dissipates to a single finger of foam, it leaves mild sticky lacing in the glass. This beer looks excellent and bears an easily-rousable, hazy head that seems wispy and mysterious on the surface.

At first in the nose I was getting a whiff of sulfur that I found disagreeable, but this has (mostly) gone away after a few minutes. Likely to do with temperature acclimation, so not a big deal. As a note, this was literally bottled yesterday; that doesn't really matter for a big ol' hunk of Belgian-styled mystery such as this, though it may play into the flavor seeming a bit youthful. We'll see I guess. Eventually, this dark ale opens up with notes of doughy yeast, dark rock sugar, molasses, plums and cocoa. Pretty typical as things go for BSDAs, but rather true-to-style with a very normalizing profile here.

Flavor is somewhat chewy with toffee (as the label states; didn't notice in the nose but comes through on the palate!), intense dark pit-fruit and molasses again. Slight tartness that starts to enter in the mid-palate with a dusty yeast presence and slight red apple in the finish. Very intriguing. Seems the yeast may be doing some interesting stuff in this one. Makes me wonder if grabbing another bottle and holding it for a while would be a good idea.

Feel is cola-like and comes off on the dry side in the finish. Rather ephemeral due to hefty carbonation. Gets a bit more substantive as it warms, of course, but it's nothing special. Sharp and a little biting.

This will probably be better with some more time on it. As it stands, it's a nice, local (MA) take on the style, but I have issues with it. It's fairly strong, lacking real subtlety (aside from what time may reveal due to what I suspect are actually interesting things the yeast is doing which may continue over time) and a little raw tasting, so I'll recommend this on the condition that those who buy it wait a little bit to drink it. Throw it in with your regular haul and forget it in your cellar or fridge for a while. I predict it'll be a lot better with a bit of time on it, even 2-4 months. Feels a little too young as it stands. Not a bad drink though, just one that's too strong for what it gives back to you.