Leviathan
New Level Brewing

 

Appearance - Pours a jet cola black with three fingers of mocha tan head.

Smell - earthy and leafy hops, roasted malts, cocoa, fruity esters (plum, and other dark fruits), slight burnt notes, and earthy yeast.

Taste - earthy and leafy hops followed quickly by the roasted malts, and cocoa. The fruity esters, burnt notes, and earthy yeast round out the brew.

Mouthfeel - Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes smooth with the roasted malts and cocoa lingering.

Overall - For my first go at an offering from New Level Brewing, they certainly deliver a highly drinkable and dangerous RIS. All elements are done spot on considering this one was canned. Well done nonetheless.

473ml can - they kind of messed it up with the label design, making the first 'a' in 'Leviathan' look like an 'n'.

This beer pours a pretty solid black hole, with very subtle amber basal edges, and three chubby fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and bubbly brown head, which leaves some stellar spooky forest pattern lace around the glass as it slowly sinks out of sight.

It smells of gritty and grainy cereal malt, bittersweet cocoa powder, cafe-au-lait, some faint wet ashiness, and plain earthy, musty, and floral green hops. The taste is bready and doughy caramel malt, melted vanilla ice cream, weak coffee grounds, more free-range char, a hint of bruised dark stone fruit, and more understated leafy, herbal, and dead floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is average in its palate-supporting frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and quite smooth, with a rich creaminess pretty much there from the get-go. It finishes on the sweet side, sure, the malt, cocoa, and vanilla really holding tight on the lingering reins.

Overall - this is a rather pleasant interpretation of the old-school style, with the oats and lactose really softening the whole experience. Add to that the damned-near invisible 17-proof booze factor, and folks, we have a winner here!