On Through the Night
Decibel Brewing Co.

Poured from growler into a tulip. Stout brewed with oats, Lactobacillus soured and fermented with Norwegian kveik yeast. A hell of a combination!

Appearance: rich dark brown hue, nearly black, with ruby highlights visible when held up to the light; haze is pretty subdued here. Head is a thin layer of frothy tan foam.

Smell: quite roasty with plenty of chocolate and coffee aroma. Nice, if not especially complex for the style.

Taste: there's a nice sourness up front, but it's not overblown. The beer is roasty and chocolatey, but also has a nice toffee character that plays well with the bit of sourness. I don't get a ton of kveik character; there's enough else going on here that that subtlety is buried. However; this is an oddly successful beer to me.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a light carbonation -- let's just say it; this beer is too thin. Perhaps the serving has something to do with the carbonation, but even allowing for that the body is too thin. Some creaminess would do wonders here.

Overall: I like this beer a lot, despite its texture. It is a style I have had before and generally not liked the outcome - a sour stout - but here it is made to work. I think it's because the souring is mild, but just enough to be present, and the roasty character is pared back a bit in favor of a more caramel/toffee-heavy background to complement the other sour and astringent flavors. Definitely an interesting beer -- I hope they make it again.