Oh Lait
Lakes & Legends Brewing Company

ive been doing a random dark beer from the cellar every thursday of quarantine so far, and this was up this week, a new tradition ill probably keep up even when life goes back to normal here post virus. i got this batch one bottle at the brewery a couple or three or four years ago, its been ages, lower alcohol but it says suitable for ageing on it, although i think im over the window. its a pretty bottle, and an intriguing recipe it seems. the cap pops and within a second its gushing like mad, i made a mess of things, but i was more concerned that this might be infected than i was about cleaning up. fortunately, there is no sign of any bacterial element in nose or taste, and once i get it poured, i settle into a very unique, well refined, and delicious beer, but i have no idea how much i have the cellar to thank, as i never tried this fresh. its shiny black in the glass with a somewhat fatigued head from the gushing, tiny bubbles, and a little bit of flaked sediment towards the bottom, stirred up in the pouring no doubt. it smells awesome, and tastes just as good, some rich melty dark chocolate character in here, a hint of wet tobacco, and a yeast element that is subtle but unique, lightly belgian to me, not estery or anything, but lightly spicy, almost trappist or something, mellow but really uplifting with the darker malts in here, i love the complexity! some nice roast but no bitterness, obvious chocolate here but no real sweetness, and a neat almost cola sort of element to it. the yeast is great, the carbonation is high, and this dances on the palate, not at all the palate coating dessert porter i was anticipating here. despite the name i get little to no trace of lactose in here, maybe faded over time, but i dont know that to be a thing, it just seems tastefully used in here, if at all. the liveliness of this is awesome, unexpected for a beer like this, and really, despite the gushing, i think this aged very well. all who shared in this bottle with me enjoyed it.