Carrot Cake a la Mode
Untitled Art

There’s no dessert that’s more synonymous with spring than carrot cake. And if this Untitled Art beer is what’s in the basket, then this bunny is going to never remember where he hid any of those eggs. But as long as I can find my beer then all is good.

Pouring a striking neon orange color and held in a dense matt finish, the beer’s appearance carries a lot of weight. A frothy, bubbling and spritzy froth dies down for a still carrot juice appearance in the glass before a tease of coffee cake, holiday spice, sweet vegetal and butter cream drift across the nose like freshly frosted carrot cake. Sweet on the tongue, the early impressions of brown sugar, pecan, maple, french vanilla and a cake batter sweetness takes the cake.

A slow fade of creamy cereal malts and heavy cream additions have the sugars and starches stewing on the middle palate, rolling in the flavors of sweet carrot, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger while finishing with an icing-like balance. Balanced with a moderate measure of acidity, the beer finishes with a curious but welcomed tartness to take an edge off of the vanilla cream.

Full bodied for sour ale, but racy, savory and sweet, Carrot Cake ala Mode hits all of the happy buttons while satisfying the sweet tooth all at once. This pastry sour ale closes sweet and tart, and with a little sass while an afterglow still sees echoes of cake and carrot briefly onward.

Served from the can in a Lagunitas mason jar.

Pours a hazed-over Sunny D without all that much of a head to speak of. The nose comprises buttercream, sugar, cinnamon, and pound cake. The taste comprises mildly tart orange, carrot juice, cinnamon, and -- look, I know what you're gonna say, you're gonna accuse me of being biased by the name and whatnot, but I gotta be honest here -- something vaguely akin to cream cheese. Philly, natch. The body is a light-leaning medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a sorta/kinda drying finish. Surprisingly delivers what is promised on the tin, as well as being couched in the foundation of a sour beer. Weird, wild stuff, indeed.