Saskatoon Stout
Belly Hop Brewing

8oz glass at Beer Revolution YEG Oliver Square. Saskatoon berries - ironically, my province's most famous foraged fruit!

This beer appears a clear, dark orange-brick brown colour, with one skinny finger of wispy and weakly bubbly tan head, which leaves some Loch Ness Monster sighting lace around the glass as things evenly subside.

It smells of rich black berry flesh, bready and doughy caramel malt, a hint of wet ashiness, faint bittersweet cocoa powder, and equally understated earthy, musty, and floral green hop bitters. The taste is gritty and grainy cereal malt, generic dark fruity notes, black licorice root, medium chocolate, and more ephemeral earthy, leafy, and musky floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly low-key in its workaday frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and mostly smooth, with nothing really causing any sort of ruckus at this point in the game. It finishes off-dry, the cocoa and frooty essences predominating.

Overall - this does well to add that native Alberta berry character to a basic Yankee stout, meshing pretty much seamlessly. Quite flavourful, and worth checking out should you get the chance.