Confectioner Series 002: Red Velvet Cake Red Ale
D9 Brewing Company

 

I will readily cop to an unfamiliarity with this series, especially since I CANpletely missed out on Series 001. 8=( That said, I am always CANurious as the owners/proprietors/staff of The Beer & Beverage Shoppe in Lancaster, PA know quite well. I walk in & they begin to trot out all sorts of arrivals & other desirous beers. I happened to see three of this series & when I inquired as to the fourth, it was sold out. 8=( No matter! I'll take one of each of the other three for the advancement of The CANQuest (tm).

From the CAN: "Ale brewed with Cocoa Nibs and Lactose".

I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN a slow, gentle C-Line glug until the foaming action became too much to CANtrol. I ended up with just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with very good retention. Color was Deep-Amber/Light-Copper to Copper (SRM = 13, < 17) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was kind of weak, especially for the price point. It was lightly malty-sweet, but it lacked presence. It was as if they had an idea for a beer, but lacked the wherewithal for its execution & ended up with a shadow of their dream. Mouthfeel was medium. The lack of assertive malt presence was disturbing, given its relatively high price point. I understood how it was MEANT to evoke Red Velvet Cake, but it fell well short of the mark. 8=( It was slightly-sweet with a modicum of chocolate, sitting at about my upper limit for sweet. I got what they were going for, but without a visual aid (the CAN's label), I might have glossed over it entirely. Blind, I would call it an early-era American Amber/Red Ale. They were the industry standard back in the late-1980s, but now, they are an ocCANsional dinosaur. I would have liked more of a malty presence. If you're going for dessert, go for it! Finish was semi-sweet, but overall, less than I would have hoped for, especially at the price point. YMMV.

 

Somewhat of a mess.