Doug The Dark
Ferment Brewing Company

Look: A dark waterfall spews from the open can and quickly fills my glass with pitch black beer, lidded by a velvety tan head

Aroma: Pine sap and needles, white grapefruit, navel orange, pomelo, ripe blackberries, wafts of skunky dank, and freshly baked bread

Taste: Opens up with a big-time blast of resinous pine that feels as though it’s scraping your tongue and is quickly followed by pithy citrus fruit. As the citrus piles on, a hint of blackberries comes through and wafts of skunky dank pop in and out throughout. The rich, bready malt keeps the hops as tame as it can handle but in the end, they win. Closes with more pine and a nice bite

Mouthfeel: Full, clean, good carbonation, and smoother on the finish than I would think but also with a hint of dryness

Overall: This is awesome. This CDA caught my eye recently and as a huge sucker for the style, I was in and even before seeing mention of both Mosaic and Simcoe hops. They not only shine, but the whole beer is really well put-together, with everything in good balance and not having the clashing flavors between hops and malt that sub-par examples of the past suffered from. Delicious and recommended

Taster flight at brewery. Dark brown pour, spotty head, light peeking through around the edges, lacing. Mellow roasty aroma, light. Taste is sweet, cola, mild roast. Super smooth with a light body.

Canned on: ??????

A - Dark brown / black pour with dark caramel colored lacing and low carbonation.

S - Chocolate roast and some earthy woodiness.

T - Light chocolate roast, some earthiness, some wood presence, some juicy floral, citrus, and a touch of spice. Finishes balanced with some lingering juicy citrus resin.

M - Big medium body with light airy carbonation around the edges.

O - This is a really good beer!

16oz can picked up at ABV Public House in Hillsboro, OR
Poured into an Imprint Belgian-style tulip

P black w/ a 2-3f creamy khaki head; looks good; heavy lace
N med nose of spruce, pine, resin, and woodsy notes as well; citrus as opens
T pine and earthy notes over light chocolate and roast; light-med bitterness; nicely balanced; chocolate aftertaste, dotted w/ citrus
Mf light-med bodied w/ med-high carb; on the dry side
O pretty solid; good balance of pine/citrus, roast, and cocoa; fairly mellow and easy to drink

Review date: 09.01.25
Can date: not captured

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a very dark mahogany brown with little light transmission in the glass and a two finger light khaki head with good retention and nice lacing. Aroma of pale and toasted malt, citrus and piney hops, toffee, mixed citrus and pine. Flavor is moderately toasted malt, citrus and piney hops, grapefruit, lemon, bakers chocolate, pine. Moderately bitter finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. All the classic CDA elements are here: Northwest citrus and pine hops and a good toasted malt in the finish. Both the hops and malt seem dialed back a bit, I would have liked some more toastiness to the malt and a bit more character to the hops. The malt stayed solid, but the hops tapered off in flavor in the finish, which was moderately bitter. Some more aggressiveness there would have been appreciated too. On the other hand, the balance is right and for a lighter, sessionable CDA, this is quite drinkable; all CDAs are appreciated. Too few of them.

Mostly roasted malts. Coffee and chocolate. Good body. Easy sipping beer.

 

2022-04-30
13.5oz pour on tap at The Bine.

Black with a small head climbing the glass. Smell is roasty toasty and pine resin. Some kind of a sweetness that reminds me of plums.

Taste is similar, less plummy, actually somewhat mild or non-assertive.

Mouthfeel is medium. Very nice, surprisingly relaxing.