Belly Dancer Chai Stout
Parkside Brewing Company

Looks great, viscous very dark liquid with a nice cap of tan foam. Smell is elusive, can’t get a read on much at first. Later on there is pleasant cardamom, clove, and maybe cinnamon. Taste is very spice forward and intense, I dare say too much there. It’s like all the spices are shouting to be looked at and meanwhile the astringency sneaks up to the front of the class and puts a thumb tack on my seat. Ouch! That astringency in the mouthfeel is sharp at first. A fun idea that needs some work. Later on in the pint it settles down, maybe the clove numbed my tongue? The roasted malt - chocolate notes - showed up nicely to balance things out later as well. But it was like a book that I wanted to like so I stuck with it through a slow first several chapters to get to better content later.