Mutually Assured Destruction Chipotle Ginger
Thimble Island Brewing Company

 

Look: The beer pours translucent, dark brown from the can. Sits opaque and black in the glass, with streams of tiny bubbles floating up along the edge. A dark brown head struggles to stay alive and immediately disappears upon pouring. Zero head or lacing. Appears watery and looks simply like a glass of Coke. Not the most attractive looking stout.

Smell: A sweet nose of bread and toffee. There is a fruity and spicy note that I assume is ginger. Candied ginger. Fruit bread. A little meaty, smokey and vegetal.

Taste: Some dark toasted bread, some black, bitter coffee and dark chocolate. A lingering nutty flavor. Mid palate the flavor opens up into a meaty RIS with some smokey chipotle flavor. I really enjoy the meaty aspect of an RIS. That flavor works nicely with a smokey and earthy chipotle. No heat associated with this beer. There’s an overall “fruitiness” that I would attribute to the ginger. It brings a certain brightness to the beer. A semi-sweet finish.

Mouthfeel: This beer is pretty thin with low carbonation. The lack of body coupled with the ginger flavor takes me a bit toward a dark, ginger soda. I do prefer more feel.

Overall: The can says “distinct roasted malt profile and notable sweetness.” There is a distinct meaty flavor and there is certainly sweetness that never goes overboard. I think they’ve done a pretty good job with this beer. The mushroom cloud on the label is probably a bit misleading. There’s nothing explosive or hot about this beer. It is smokey from the pepper, so I suppose there’s that. I don’t think I’d buy this beer or go out of my way to drink it again, but I get it. So, if chipotle ginger sounds like your thing this might be a good place to start.

It pours out dark brown and has some highlights in the glass. Tan bubbles disappear as fast as they can form, never forming a crown.

The nose carries the ginger with more prominence than peppers. Faint touch of peppers in the background with slight kiss of chocolate.

The taste, like the nose, is more ginger forward. Very little evidence of peppers except for a faint tingle at the end, which of peppers hadn’t been mentioned would probably just be mistaken for other spices. This definitely isn’t hitting any notes of being an RIS. thinner mouthfeel, no roasty malts.

 

Pours opaque, dark brown in color with 1/4 inch head. Taste is chocolate syrup, big ginger powder, and nice heat from the peppers. Sweet, moderate carbonation, with moderate carbonation. Nice amount of heat coming through without vegetable flavor. Nicely balanced. Would get this again.