Belgian Brrr
Twisted Rail Brewing Company

 

 

This beer was served on tap at Twisted Rail Brewing Company in Canandaigua, New York. It arrived in a flare house tasting glass, showing a burnt sunset coloring. The only hint of a head was a tight ring of creamy eggshell foam gripping the glass circumferentially, and a simmering film across the top of the liquid. No haze or sediment was noted, and carbonation appeared to be milder. The aroma gave dense butterscotch caramel sweetness, heavy phenols, cooling banana esters, orange peel, coriander and burnt nutmeg, massively roasty caramel and amber maltiness, dusty toffees, and Magic Marker phenols. The taste followed along a slightly sweeter, more chemical-boasting track, lifting up notes of roasty and sweaty caramel grain, high residual sugariness, spicy ethanol warmth, pseudo-oaked mossiness, walnut banana bread, buttery diacetyls, candy corn, aloe stickiness, gravel, dried acorns, biting vanilla extract, aluminum foil, and warming autumnal spice of nutmeg, allspice, black pepper, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon. The body was lightly medium, and the carbonation was medium. Slurp, smack, cream, froth, and pop were all sadly dulled, detracting from its heartiness. The mouth was left cooled and prickled, with light tannic puck. The abv was appropriate, and drinkability was pleasant.

Overall, this was our first taste of Twisted Rail stock, and arguably our favorite from the day. Its best quality was its aroma. You get this intensely burnt caramel sweetness that gives a certain authenticity to it. Couple that with the warmed spiciness of the thing, and you’ve got yourself a decently hearty, sweeter winter warmer. The chemical bite of the flavoring suited it well, surprisingly, helping to cut the sugars in half and balance them out. We had initially thought this to be a dubbel, but after talking with the Brewmaster on sight, he assured us that it was a winter warmer they had in mind. One negative was the feel, which we felt a touch light, and to be lacking in specifically creaminess and frothiness. Otherwise it was well executed, and is something we would certainly recommend, as it uniquely blurs the line between curious Belgian and American styles.