Luxury Goods
Taxman Brewing Co.

This is the eighth in a run-through of beers that came to me CANtesy of @jkblr for inCANsion in The CANQuest (tm). I remain grateful for the hook-ups!

From the CAN: "dark ale with raspberries and chocolate rye"; "Those who demand craftsmanship choose Luxury Goods, our Belgian style dark ale with fruit. An artisanal blend of barley, oats and roasted chocolate rye build a rich, confectionary malty body, complemented by tangy and bright fruit notes of real raspberries."; "Declare Yourself"; "Belgian Inspired American Crafted"; "IBU 20".

I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN a slow, gentle C-Line Glug as befit CANother wonderful beer from one of my favorite breweries. It foamed up beautifully to form two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with very good retention. Color was Dark Brown to Very Dark Brown (SRM = > 27, < 34) with cola highlights and approaching opacity. Nose was redolent with red raspberries, such as those that grew in my late paternal grandmother's backyard in the Summer when I was a kid. 8=O Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but on the approach. The taste was definitely filled with tangy raspberry plus a light milk chocolatiness that I kind of wished had been more bitter, like dark chocolate. No real matter as this was mighty tasty as was. I CANtemplated chocolate fondue with raspberries as I drank it. Mmm. Finish was semi-sweet, not at all cloying or really as sweet as it had the potential to be. I had to applaud their restraint in keeping this a very drinkable beer. YMMV.

Gorgeous deep ruby hues with modest head retention that settles to patches of foam and a slight beige ring around the rim. Decent raspberry aroma. The taste is shockingly tart and dry. Roasted malts are quickly overwhelmed by a sour raspberry and dry finish. The chocolate rye comes through on the aftertaste, but the chocolate is overwhelmed and subdued. Malted rye body with spritzy high carbonation. Overall the four ounce pour at the bar was fun but not worth revisiting.

Look: A really beautiful beer. When held to the light you can see the translucency. Chestnut and burnt sienna. An aggressive pour yields a massive head. A frothy and rocky light brown head that eventually settles with curtains of lace and a thin layer of foam across the top of the beer. A thick ring of foam around the edge of the glass. No visible carbonation.

Smell: Aromas of dark chocolate covered raspberry jellies and some raspberry jam. There’s a dry nutty and cocoa aspect too. A touch of roast and toast.

Taste: The taste falls quite flat for me. It’s pretty non-descript. Some watered down chocolate flavor and some generic, slightly tart berry flavor.

Feel: Overly prickly with very high carbonation. Seems a bit off to me. Feels like an issue with carbonation.


Overall: Outside of a couple sours / farmhouse ales this is the lowest ABV beer I’ve had from Taxman, with most others between 8% and 9.5%. I was pretty excited to try it for that reason, but unfortunately it seems way off to me. Nice looking beer and very good aroma, but the overcarbonated feel and watered down flavor feel like something is off here.

12oz canned 1/27/20 (41 days ago) poured into a snifter at fridge temp 6% ABV. The beer pours very dark brown with chestnut highlights and light brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island leaving behind some lacing. The aroma is reminiscent of stout with dark chocolate and minor ashiness. The taste is in line with the aroma for a split second before a wave of barely tart raspberry crashes in and mixes with the chocolate, roasted malt and rye. Minimal bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with average carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, very good. This is a very nice, complex beer. The brewery labeled it a dark ale. The Taxman house Belgian yeast is quite restrained here. I would describe it as a fruited Belgian stout.