Roasted Pine Nut Amber
Chain Reaction Brewing Company

a really righteous fall beer, and a wonderful change of pace from the spiced pumpkin beers and oktoberfests that dominate the season. man, they should make this one every fall. its a sturdy but drier amber at its core, but its brewed with roasted pine nuts, which arent a dominant flavor agent here, but they sure add a nice wrinkle to a style that usually does very little for me. the roasted part is there, like when you toast them in a pan before making pesto or something, when they start to char just a little bit, and the oils start to get aromatic and the earthiness opens up, this is nice and nutty and rich like that, amazing with the richer red malts that make up the base of this, toasted and kilned and long boiled and dense to me, really hearty and delicious. the flavor off the pine nuts is perceptible but mild, its almost as much of a feel and vibe thing as anything else, i get a little of that oil which i love, a nutty almost pithy thing that dries out the amber malts just enough. subtle leather and toffee too, gosh i love this, a total pint beer and a ripper. part of their one barrel wednesday series, which continues to impress!