Scratch Matter
Scratch Brewing Company

a really unexpected beer, i thought it would be dark! a collaboration with dark matter coffee, they use a whiskey barrel aged coffee in a pale wild brew that is aged in oak, very interesting brew, lots of coffee in it, but strange from all angles here with the whiskey influence on the coffee, the body of the oak and its relative newness, vanilla and sweetness to it rather than some charry old bourbon barrel or something, and a cleaner take on wild beer that i have generally known these guys to be capable of, tart but not overly funky or acidic, neat with some of the natural acid in the coffee. i get a baked vanilla thing, a little grain richness, honey and maple, the coffee, which is roasty but maybe a tiny bit less than fully fresh, and with a raisin and whiskey note to it, pleasant still for sure. fuller bodied for how light it is, mellow cocoa and even toasted coconut flavors here too, its very complex. i could see this being awesome with some actual cocoa nibs added in here too. great depth overall, really flavorful stuff, unique like so many of the scratch beers are, and just delicious all up! yum.