Vigor
Merrimack Ales

 

 

 

 

Pours a two finger light brown head that fades slowly leaving a good lace. Black color no highlights. Medium carbonation and medium bodied. Weak chocolate and coffee nose, flavor is rich creamy chocolate and oats. $8.45 for a 22oz bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, MA.

My second attempt at this. as my first was cut short by an over-zealous carbonation. So..2nd attempt, Heavily carbonated,head looks like a sponge after a minute or two. Nice balance of the malts and a not quite sweet chocolate comes through.

First from this brewery, which the brewery looks pretty meh so we'll see.

Can't be too old as I picked it up recently, but slowly starts rising up the neck, and continues to rise up the neck after pouring, and pours a huge foamy head that takes up 70% of the glass, like an underattenutated beer, or infection, fades with lacing all over, super dark brown almost black.

Nose thankfully not infected, some nice creamy oats, plenty of dark chocolate and baker's choc cocoa, some creamy dried lactose, and creamy oats, a little yeasty over productive yeast aroma, faint caramel and fudge.

Taste starts with distracting carbonation, then into mild bitter hop character and bitter roast, roasted charred malt notes, and again yeasty grimy tangy thing and tingly carbonation. Also plenty of dark chocolate, fudgey cocoa and baker's choc, more dried lactose creamy thing, plenty of creamy thick oats as well, with more thick roasty burnt chocolate caramel fudge thing and bitter acrid roast with bitter hop notes.

Mouth is fuller bod, rich creamy lactose and oats, a chewy fudgey feel, soooo much over carbonation, tingly and distracting.

Overall, well lets see, the base beer was OK at best, too much roast acrid burnt flavors, you don't need both creamy oats AND dried lactose, don't like the bitterness overall in it. Then comes the really bad part, the beer was well under attenuated when it was bottled, so the yeast kept going adding way too much carbonation, eruption on opening, and a yeasty tangy flavor.

 

 

 

Bottle from Craft Beer Cellar
Solid black with a frothy mocha head. Big roasty bitter and sweet chocolate with a hint of earthy hops to counter. Silky smooth mouthfeel. Pretty good beer, looking forward to more form them.