Dark Cacao Altbier
Ola Brewing Corporation

perhaps not their most refined beer, like this has some heft, some grain weight and sweetness to it in a style that is generally a bit more easy drinking than this, but also i reckon this is one of their best beers anyway, the recipe is so original and good, i was stoked to find this on tap at a little bar in kona and would put it up there with anything we had from them at either location. real deep brown, darker for the style for sure, and a lighter brown tinted head, high and creamy and popping, some shine to this but also perhaps unfiltered, not messy but not crazy polished for a german style like this either, molasses colored. aroma is awesome, long boiled german grain, caramelized and rich, more doppelbock than altbier to me, cant believe the abv is this low, its hefty to me overall. i get some obvious earthy cocoa, a sweeter milk chocolate, hints of maple and praline, old world yeast still pokes through, dark bread, lots going on here! love the cacoa in the flavor, never seen it before in this style and it adds a lot, earthy yes, some bitterness too, but the overall here is sweet and this element plays super well with obvious brown sugar and raisin notes. there also seems to be a bit darker malt than is common, some chocolate malt likely, maybe dark wheat or something, its got both roast and body and i dont mind the late balancing roasty bitterness at all, its needed, super smart recipe here. light smoke, treacle syrup, bread yeast, and blacktop sealant. bigger than what i normally think of for this style, but some brilliant creative liberties here, super original!