Crema
Forager Brewing Company

 

 

 

Pours oily and black. A fairly aggressive pour from the bottle yields less than 1/2 a finger of tan head.

Vanilla, bourbon on the nose.

Taste is big flavors of coconut, vanilla, bitter chocolate, sweet fudge, bourbon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle pour in a teku, shared with friends.

Deep black pour, thin mocha colored foam quickly dissipated. Very thick and creamy/syrupy appearance.

Aroma is loaded with varied chocolate smells, bittersweet cocoa, milk chocolate, rich fudge. Vanilla and a bit of boozy barrel make more of their presence known as it warms.

The coconut was a lot more noticeable in the flavor followed by sweet rich chocolate and earthy vanilla. Of the barrels I get more of the rye flavor characteristics than the bourbon. The barrels come across as additional flavors, not harsh boozy heat. Subtle but playing an important role in bringing the flavors together and balancing some of the sweetness.

Full bodied, syrupy but not cloying, lighter side of moderate carbonation.

A great brew, would love to try the others made available at this release. Met and exceeded expectations.

2019 vintage; drank 6/22/19 @ Golgi Apparatus.

While not a disaster, this was WAY too sweet & unbalanced to really love. I like a dessert beer, don't get me wrong, but this headed towards cloying. 2-3 ounces is enough.

 

 

I've had pours of Crema on a couple of occasions now:

Forager did a special tapping at Ansari's Mediterranean in Eagan, complete with cheese and crackers. The pours of Nillerz and Crema were an entirely unexpected bonus when I arrived - Crema being the dark horse of the two. While a bit chilly, the beer showcases delicious, rich, mellow chocolate with minimal barrel presence. The coconut isn't quite so present to me, but my palate may have been off after drinking a couple of sours beforehand. Regardless, it's shockingly smooth - the chocolate and vanilla notes add an appropriate, clean sweetness, and the beer still finishes quite clean. No lingering unpleasantness.

Diabetes, for sure, but not syrupy, not cloying, not unpleasant in any way. Crema is killer - even more so when blended with Nillerz.

The second time I drank Crema was at the May 4th release at Forager. Pours were significantly colder and the beer had a surprisingly boozy backbone. Still very little barrel, but quite a lot more rye presence. The heat was still quite pleasant and nicely balanced with the sweetness of the chocolate, coconut, and vanilla notes. It's every bit the same, amazing beer - but there does seem to be some keg variation, which does lead me to believe that bottles could vary a bit.

I'm looking forward to bottle pours - it's an amazing beer, and every bottle could prove to be a new, exciting adventure.

L: Black tar, no head, doesn't cling to the glass for long.
S: Coconut and vanilla up front. Milky chocolate and light barrel follow.
T: Coconut and vanilla beans balanced with some mild barrel.
F: Silky and velvety mouthfeel.
O: Outstanding. One of the best.

Pours inky black. Nose is sweet milk chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla frosting, oak, bourbon. Taste is milk chocolate, with toasted coconut and vanilla coming through mid palate, bourbon, hint of char, sweet although not cloying. Nice silky mouthfeel for a porter, although not huge like an imperial stout. Overall, a world class offering.

 

6oz draft pour at the brewery. pours black with mocha colored head. smells of chocolate with subtle coconut. not a ton of barrel but enough. taste is rich cocoa powder with a nice coconut / vanilla sweetness. it’s not overly sweet though. more rich i would say. it has a Swiss Miss hot cocoa powder taste to it that i dig. feel is on the thinner side, but it is a porter so hard to complain about that. taste and smell more than make up for the mouthfeel. overall, a very enjoyable, delectable dessert porter. very well done.