Midnight Star
Boatyard Brewing Co.

 

16 ounce can into pint glass, canned on 7/6/2016. Pours lightly hazy very dark brown color with a 2-3 finger dense and rocky khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts. Dense soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a large amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of cracker, corn, toasted biscuit, spicy rye, cream, light cocoa/coffee/nuttiness, herbal, and roast/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of roast/bready/rye malt, lactose, and light earthy hop notes; with good strength. Taste of cracker, corn, toasted biscuit, spicy rye, light cocoa/coffee/nuttiness, herbal, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/roast bitterness and rye spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of cracker, corn, toasted biscuit, spicy rye, light cocoa/coffee/nuttiness, herbal, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of roast/bready/rye malt, lactose, and light earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from roast/hop bitterness and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/grainy, and lightly sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5.4%. Overall this is a very nice beer! Feels like a cross between a cream ale, brown ale, and dry stout overall. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of roast/bready/rye malt, lactose, and light earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink. A very enjoyable and unique offering.

 

Poured from a bottle. The beer is dark, with a generous and persistent 2 finger head of whipped cream-like foam. This is a fairly sweet, rich beer with a well balanced flavor profile.

This is my first from Boatyard and I look forward to trying some of their other beers.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Boatyard’s version of a sweet stout.* It certainly lives up to its name.

Pours a dark black-cola color. There’s a sweet estery aroma, reminiscent of a Belgo-ish/stout mashup. The flavor is malty sweet with some “holiday” spicing going on. Finishes overly sweet with just a hint of an “off” note.

*Note: at the brewery I was told this was a sweet stout. Further investigation shows it’s advertised as a “dark cream ale” on their website.