Lost Town - Himalayan Sea Salt & Black Cherry
Vanished Valley Brewing

Bought upon release, and had for the first time the next day in a tulip glass. Wasn't sure I was a fan. So tonight I tried it again... in a clear plastic squat little tapered punch "glass" in my basement (hey, I was packing cans for trades so didn't want to accidentally knock over a nice tulip glass). When I initially had it just after it was released, I found the flavor to be tedious. Interesting, but tedious. I thought I'd try it again after nearly a month.

L: It looks thick during the pour, though not as thick as some other stouts. The head is beautiful, though dissipated quickly into a thin mocha colored foam around the edge. It has some body to it, there are thick "legs" when i swirl it.

S: Smells like friggin dessert. OMG, I didn't recall the smell, but man oh man, it made me want to dive right in.

T: At first it wasn't bad. I think it mellowed/balanced since I first had it a month ago. However, about 2/3rds of the way through the can it got a little tiresome. It's a great idea, a solid effort, and I'd probably get it again if/when it's available. This is a sipping beer to have with a friend as you hang out and chat to wile away the evening and put off doing dishes. As it warms, the flavors lose balance and the saltiness becomes pronounced. The fruit also becomes pronounced. There's a mineral quality to the flavor (or, to borrow from the wine world, "minerality"), that becomes distracting. I'm still keeping the score above average because I love the concept of the beer and for the most part it does ok.

F: It's not as thick as some other New England stouts, but it definitely has some mouthfeel. I found the carbonation a little spritzy. I feel like it's more porter-like. But then again, at 5%, you could argue that it is a porter...

O: I liked it more now than I did when I first bought it. I thought the flavor was a cool attempt at something different. Generally it works, but there are a few flaws (such as the mineral quality) that keep it from being totally balanced.

Chers!

A- Black bodied pour from the tallboy into a chalice. The beer has a thick and creamy dark charcoal brown head that peaks at one finger high. Good head retention and small streaks of lacing here and there.

S- Smooth roasty grains make up the vast majority of the aroma. Roasted barley, dark chocolate around 80% cocoa, heavily toasted nuts, coffee, milk chocolate and a touch of dark fruits that comes off like black cherries and dried raisins perhaps a bit from the addition and the yeast.

T- The aroma was very subtle with the cherries whereas on the palate the cherries become rather huge and combine with both the very roasty grains in the stout base and the salt to have a bit of an off flavor that is almost metallic. The tartness from the fruit also clashes with those dark flavors like the roasted barley, dark cocoa, coffee and burnt notes. They just don't work together that well here, maybe a smoother more dessert like stout base would have been better for these heavy cherry additions.

MF- Medium bodied with a silky and foamy consistency. A moderate level of carbonation and it ends with a bitterness from the stout and a tartness from the cherries, a clash occurs here.

The aroma was convincing that this would be a dark and roasty stout with a hint of cherries. On the palate the flavor becomes a bit tart and almost metallic when the fruits and the dark grains combine, they just don't get along too well.