Selkies
Mirror Twin Brewing

To put a little giddy-up in your step for the giddy-up season, the brewers at Mirror Twin roll out a brown ale for the trifecta season that wears ancho chilies and coffee on their sleeve.

Bold coffee and a tingle of spice tease the nose of the hazy brown beer, but Selkies also shares a blend of chocolate, caramel and toast from a malt forward nose. Robust and sweet on the early palate, a melange of toffee, chocolate, coffee, heavy toast and pecan create a rich and darkened sweetness that rolls onto the middle palate with ease.

As the sweetness stews about the tastebuds, its malt influence slowly backs away and the copious additions of coffee bring a soilish roast along with a swift java jolt and a hint of campfire to go along with the toasted malts. A broad bitterness scans the late palate with woodsiness, nuttiness and a savory sense of bread crust that trails into a definitive coffee after palate.

Medium full on the palate, the beer's light carbonation allows the ale to play more weightily on the tongue and to linger in a more savory, lasting aftertaste. Nutty, toasty and a strong coffee presence become a lingering memory with a spice of coffee liquor in closing.