Staring at the Sea
Other Half Brewing - Center Street

an absolute wonderment and delight, the best of the dark beers my homie sent out from back east recently, which is really saying something. this is divine, as good as the style gets, and as big too, its crazy that a lager yeast would ferment this so strong, and that the recipe is so dialed as to be dry at this strength, but its true, and this shows a level of expertise not always evident in the hoppy stuff these guys make, extremely impressive. black as midnight in the glass, thick like oil, but also nice and frothy headed, the color of espresso crema and airy for how dense the beer is, neat in the glass. it smells and tastes deeper than a lot of these ever get on the roast, tons of unmalted dark barley it seems, maybe some dark wheat too, a little char maybe even, but nothing scorched or burnt or acrid, no smoke to me, and even somewhat mild on the bitterness that comes with grain this dark, room is left for dried fruity character here, a definite raisin element, along with rich coffee character, and its neat how much the lager yeast contributes, its bready and somehow flavorful enough to come through all this grain. this is cohesive and complex but also smooth and drinkable, its not sweet at all and as such not even all that palate coating with all the body, its just big and silky and then its gone, i love that. the yeast has done something special with this ferment, unexpected, honestly this is maybe the most massive but also best refined baltic porter i have ever had, its not like normal stout or porter, its so obviously a lager, i love that. traces of tobacco, vanilla, graham cracker, dark chocolate, and dark volcanic soil. really amazing beer here, well hidden alcohol, nice carbonation for what it is, and just artfully fashioned. i love it!

 

It takes the form of a deep brown abyss the inspires the feeling of gazing out into infinitude, with a petite but foamy chocolate head. The nose is a real stand-out, nutty with sweet notes that evokes dark chocolate and raspberry. Full-bodied but not too heavy, bitter as its high IBV implies, tastes of chocolate and coffee. It's not my favorite but it's very impressive.

Pours a thick, dark black. Not much of a head.

Smell is your typical porter- roasty and delicious, with a hint of sweetness in there too.

This is really tasty. Lots of dark chocolate and coffee notes with roasted, malty bitterness, with just a slighttt hint of vanilla sweetness. The booziness isn't obvious but there is a nice, long, warming finish to this that's really enjoyable.

The feel is thick an sticky, but not overly so. Based on my pour I expected it to be somewhat syrupy and cloying but it really isn't.

This is easily my favorite dark beer I've tried from OH. There is a hint of sweetness in the background, but it is really well-balanced and the roasted malt flavor is right at the forefront. A great choice for a chilly winter night.