Dark Cabaret
Breakside Brewery - SE Taproom

 

Pitch black body, finger of brown foam for head. Smells of earth, char, dark oak, red wine, grape must, and bitter dark chocolate, all invoking a rich yet earthy complexion. Taste adds some barrel funk, red wine is large, barrel next, rest is all mashed together with soil instead of deep earth. Feel is dry and medium-light bodied, barrel character is great on this one. A unique and fun take on the ba stout, not as vinous as say Napa Parabola, but not as decadent as Brasserie Noir. Pleasant and biting, could get away with it on warmer spring days

Immediately upon opening, I received a waft of deep bourbon. Poured dark, soul-stained black with a beautiful head of foam, wonderfully sculpted and soft that left behind no trace. Aroma is one of bourbon, oak, chocolate and raisins, but all equally balanced. Taste follows and a rich character of bourbon, oak, chocolate and raisins permeates this brew. On the tongue, it feels smooth, lightly carbonated and boozy. I do not get much hops, but there is a resemblance to a Baltic Porter here. A dark cherry profile and a hint of sea salt is also present, as the beer warms. Taste is complex without being overbearing. The booze is present but not overly so. This was a vintage 2021.

my god this is good, gold standard level beer here, nobody does it quite like breakside, and for how good all their hoppy stuff is, its weird that they dont get similar attention for these types of beers, this is truly a brewery that does everything, and does it well. this is a crazy blend of bourbon barrel aged dark beers, tons of wood and maturity to this, not over the top on the whiskey character although it certainly helps define it, and its absolutely packed with nuance. there is almost a bitterness double jeopardy here which is cool, some back end hop bitterness along with a deeply roasted almost burnt layer in the grain, wrinkles of licorice and black pepper and barrel char mingle here as well, and the whole complex serves to offset some natural whiskey and malt sweetness, so there is crazy balance to this, despite its enormity and depth. i get smoke, old wet oak, honey, raisin, black figs, and dark chocolate in here, but also some unique suggestions of good port wine, dark rum, and amaro. bakers chocolate, rich soil, and caramel are also here, its just got so much going on, and i taste more every sip, cigar, pipe tobacco, leather, the maturity is off the charts, and the oldest beer in this blend stands out to me. espresso crema, light vanilla, and black tea notes round it out, huge amounts of wood, high end bourbon, and even a little bready almost english yeast to it as well. i love everything about this, no need for adjuncts at all, which gives this an even higher degree of appeal to me, given where the style has gone lately. this is amazing stuff, one of their best ever as far as i am concerned, and a beer 99% of american breweries could only ever dream of making. positively world class, one of a kind!