Black is Beautiful
Hog River Brewing Co.

Sampling a cold 16 oz can poured into my snifter. Picked up from the brewery today. Ive been trying several of these collab beers and this is the first that has some cool can art beyond the shared label. The art is from a local black abstract artist, Nathan Sturdivant. I like the added flair to the can. The beer is also collab at Hog River with the Craft Crew, a group of black craft beer enthusiasts whose mission is to increase diversity in the craft beer world.

Onto the beer. Im pouring into my snifter and the beer pours a dark cola color and no light passes through my glass. A dense creamy khaki colored head rests effortlessly on the surface at 2cm. This foam slowly drops to a sturdy and very clingy surface layer that remains through the sampling. I get dense lattice on my glass after each swirl or mouthful.
The aroma is rich roasted malts and dark chocolate, some light char and a tobacco notes and only faint hints of the vanilla and coconut mentioned on the label.

First sip reveals a medium body and smooth silky texture with very fine carbonation that gently rolls across my palate. Very nice physical traits on this beer.
Flavor is similar to the nose, but with a little more vanilla and coconut than on the aroma, but this still doesnt taste overly sweet. I get lots of dark chocolate and roasted malt up front and this rolls to the hints of vanilla and coconut, but the finish is more dark chocolate, more of a baker's chocolate and slightly bitter and dry. I dont get any hop character nor any ABV on this beer.
Very drinkable and not very sweet dessert beer. Glad to have tried this one and supported the cause. Will also make a donation to the Urban League of Hartford, which is the recipient of the proceeds of sales of this beer from Hog River.