Formerly The Beaver
Territorial Brewing Company

Another of my flight of beers from a recent trip to Territorial. This beer features a frothy, but slightly creamy off white head that dissipates rather slowly to a rocky layer that is retained throughout the tasting. The beer itself is a very dark brown with bits of mahogany around the edges and a deep red glow when help up to the light. There is some carbonation visible around the edges in the form of small bubbles rising slowly toward the surface. 4.25/5 The aroma is interesting in that it features dark roast, cold pressed coffee, and a bit of dark chocolate, but it also features a dry hoppiness with a strong note of pine to it. Not a very sweet aroma, this beer instead focuses on the graininess of the malt and the piney hop profile. 3.75/5 The flavor of the beer is very much like the aroma but slightly different. There is a light sweetness right off the bat with a hint of sorghum. This quickly leads into a dark roasted malt profile with a hint of coffee, and a bit of ultra dark and bitter chocolate. The hops come in at this point in time and provide a burst of bitterness and pine resin that cuts into the roast. The bitterness is quite substantial and lingers for quite some time after swallowing. 3.5/5 The mouthfeel features a decent carbonation burn up front that lingers throughout much of the profile. There is significant dryness that also lingers upon swallowing, just like the bitterness. Other than the dryness the beer disappears from the palate entirely very quickly. 3.75/5 Not quite what I was expecting when I picked this beer up. The flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel all live up to Cascadian Dark Ale moniker that Territorial markets this as. Very dry and not as bitter as an IPA but still rather bitter. The focus here is on the hops much more than the malt. The malt does provide a decent sweetness and dark roastiness that is pleasant but the bitterness really cuts into those notes big time. 3.75/5