Abandoned Grocery Cart
Refined Fool Brewing Co.

Bomber purchased at the brewery; no bottling date. Served slightly chilled.

Pours a clear golden-amber colour, producing roughly one finger of smooth, creamy white head that seeps off within two or three minutes' time. It leaves behind a frothy, sudsy collar and cap, as well as a narrow band of even lacing - looks fine to me, and the nose does a pretty good job of approximating its target candy bar. Coffee grounds are rather prominent, accompanied by hints of milk chocolate, honey and graham cracker, with caramelized malts and lightly toasted grains.

It's basically a coffee blonde, but sweetened up a little - the coffee flavour is present right off the bat, and actually a fair bit more intense than you'd get from the candy itself. Hints of cocoa, brown sugar and honey, with faint graininess that is eventually overtaken by bitter grounds at the finish; these linger well into the aftertaste, which is bittersweet with a very faint touch of vanilla. Medium in body, with moderate carbonation that lends a little bit of a bite to this brew's smooth, relatively fulfilling mouthfeel. Easy to drink, assuming you enjoy the taste of coffee.

Final Grade: 3.78, a B+. Taken purely as a 'coffee beer', Abandoned Grocery Cart is more than serviceable and I have no real problem with it in that context. However, it's advertised as a "Coffee Crisp Ale", and I'm not so sure about that angle - it doesn't taste much like the candy bar, as the coffee/roasted bean flavour is comparatively ramped up, while the milk chocolate/sugar aspects are comparatively subdued. As always, the experience depends on your expectations going in - personally, I'm generally happy with anything coffee-flavoured, because I'm addicted to the stuff. Needless to say, I'd revisit this in the future, assuming they bring it back at some point.