Tropical Surge
Horse & Dragon Brewing Company

 

 

a tropical style stout with pink guava. i love the idea of jazzing up a big stout with fruit that isnt cherry or blackberry or something, but the execution here isnt what i am used to from these guys, or maybe the guava was just a poor choice of fruit to use. i think there is no reason for the stout to be this big in the first place, its chocolaty and flavorful, but its also boozy and sweet, and with the fruit, it seems like a little too much. the guava is bold, more than robust enough to come through the dark grain, which is more chocolate than roast to me, almost gives this a chocolate dipped fruit vibe, very desserty, and not as light as i think about when i consider tropical fruit flavors like guava. it has a perfume essence to it, not unpleasant or artificial, but very odd in a base beer like this, definitely a little challenging. i couldnt drink a whole one, and think maybe pineapple, passion fruit, or some kind of melon would work better than the guava does here, its a little candied to me. its a better idea than it is a beer, but a cool adventure for the palate and another creative beer from these guys. not sure i would go back to this one, but if they turn it into a series i will be down to try other fruited versions. they could also stand to bitter up the stout a little with some darker roasted grain here for balance...