MDXXI
Twin Leaf Brewery

1st Review
Picked up a 500ml bottle from the Appalachian Vintner 7-8-22 for $13.99. Not sure when this was bottled but it was a bit dusty; consumed 11-6-22.
Beer gushed out upon opening and is pouring ginormous sized heads, clearly over carbonated - 3.0.
Nose has hints of spices and chocolate but there is a weird underlying smell that maybe related to the over carbonation - 2.0.
Taste is a mild roasted malt base that is spiced with chilies, cinnamon and chocolate. Finishes more hot than spice. Flavors seems to be coming together the longer i sip on this - 3.75.
Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and pretty smooth - 3.75.
Overall i can see where this could be a pretty decent beer but something may have went wrong in the bottling process - 3.25 (3.19 overall).

2nd Review 5-3-23
Was given a bottle at the brewery on 3-8-23 by Tim Weber the owner of Twin Leaf after relaying the story of my first bottle above.
Beer poured black with an okay off-white head that dissipated quickly - 3.5.
Nose comes across very herbal and medicinal, perhaps a combination with the peppers, spices, and chocolate - 2.5.
Taste is very good, a substantial mildly roasted malt base takes on the chocolate, peppers, and cinnamon very well. Finishes with a perfect amount of heat for me personally as i would call it Medium on the hotness scale - 4.5.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied and pretty smooth - 3.75.
Overall a tasty beer that has some good and bad qualities - 4.0 (3.79 overall)

Poured a black body with no head. The aroma has some chocolate notes but also a large amount of spices. The beer has an intense spice profile and a large amount of heat which isn't boozy heat but spicy heat, and then there is a minimal chocolate sweetness underneath this "hot spice". The chocolate sweetness adds some balance but it's not perfect; the beer is more spicy and heated than sweet, and it is possible some of the booze comes through on a heated finish, and this medium to heavy bodied beer is filling and a slow sipper.

 

 

 

This is an infected mess

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Jarad for gifting us with a bottle of this to try. 22oz bomber dipped in wax and poured into a snifter. Unfortunately this beer is a train wreck of over-carbonation. Large tan bubbles fill the glass leaving no room for liquid in the glass. A group of 5 of us sat at the table and passed the bottle around 4 times trying to get beer into the glass as the foam started to settle. A slim black solution resides underneath.

The smell is roasty chocolate and earth if you can get passed the mineral and carbonic bite this has. It tastes like bubbles and minerals with a carbonic bite. If you really swirl this and shake out some of the carbonation you will notice a bit of pepper heat.

This is light bodied and ridiculously over-carbonated to the point of actually being pretty disgusting. No idea what this beer was suppose to taste like as the carbonation has ruined it. I would avoid this if offered again.

 

Bottle recall the other week for over carbonation on some batches. Still have both of mine and they are sitting pretty. I'm interested to see what age does to this beer. It was great on draft at the bottle release. About as smooth as silk with just enough bite from the chilies to make it exciting. A little thin, but not disappointingly so. If you can find a bottle, hope it's from a good batch and enjoy!

Twin Leaf's first bottled release (to my knowledge) is a winner.

This is in the same vein of other popular and trendy Mexican stouts, a little chocolate, a little heat, a little cinnamon. In my opinion it's very similar to Mexican Cake, with the thinner mouthfeel (which could be improved upon) and well balanced adjuncts.

Genuinely enjoyed drinking this, wish I had picked up more when I was in Asheville to share with others. Given that, didn't regret enjoying it all by myself either.

I would love to see this become a regular yearly, or more often, release.