Bad Donkey
Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery

interesting to have this one after such an absurd beer in their magnificent pagan beast, this seems modest almost to a fault by comparison. its a well structured and nicely fermented out patient tasting dark lager, european in origin it tastes to me in the malts, nicely roasted and kind of slick and clean, nutty and earthy without hardly any sweetness to it. there isnt a ton of cocoa either, which a lot of these have, this one sort of skips over that and opts for the deeper more roasted grains, which i appreciate. it forces more out of them, and keeps this drinkable, wintery, and i think it lets it be crisper in the finish, i can taste the lager yeast through the dark grain, which isnt always the case with these. smooth but a little thin for me, especially for the color and depth, i want a little more body, but i appreciate the drinkability, and the high carbonation keeps it from feeling watery at all. good roast, campfirey for a second but not smoky, and lingering bitter on the palate after the swallow despite the dryness. nicely made beer, a little different than many in this sometimes lackluster category. well done. these guys have been impressive in my limited experience...