Black Gold
Northbound Brewpub

these guys should get a whole lot more attention for their beer than they do, its a shame, sort of under the radar and undiscovered or forgotten about in a very strong local scene here, but this is a cool beer a low alcohol pretty classic dry irish stout, but brewed with potatoes. the spuds obviously add a starchy sort of earthy body which is a nice touch, and they seem to give it an interesting layer without forcing the base beer to deviate too far from style norms. its a smooth and creamy, fuller bodied euro stout with some english yeast notes almost more than irish to my tongue, and a definite deep roast bitterness amongst the other elements. the potato is predictably subtle in flavor, there but not forced, it influences the mouthfeel more, and its such a natural thing here, i am surprised it hasnt been done before, at least to me, it makes perfect sense. what more do you need in the style, it hits every mark, and is supremely satisfying. its weird because what the potato actually does is sort of hard to finger, but at the same time, if it was missing, the beer would now seem incomplete. the mark of a well integrated and unique ale. this is brilliant!