Fire Ship
Black Fleet Brewing

a smoked red ale, and an absolute stunning, not just the best beer i had at black fleet, but one of the best beers i had on my entire trip to washington, which included a whole lot of beer! this is amazing, robustly smokey, but i like them that way, especially in the fall time. this is really well done, a rich and fuller bodied amber type as a base, maybe a little english or irish yeast to it, not totally invisible, but a relatively basic beer, balanced nicely and not too sweet. its the smoke introduction that makes it, a pretty bold element in this both in aroma and flavor, perhaps a cherrywood smoked malt, but i am not sure what they use, there is some bitterness to the smoke that seems to work with whatever hops help this finish, but the smoke has layers too, a freshly extinguished campfire, slow bbq pit heating up, even burning leaves, all the best smoke contexts in one place, and really nice with the base being malty and sturdy, its not at all one dimensional. the smoke does have some linger, but its balanced the whole way even through the finish, and while this is quite filling, a touch hazy and not perfectly refined, its also so satisfying on every sip i can barely set the glass down. some spiciness as it warms too, either a little rye malt in here or another manifestation of the smoke. very cool beer, super flavorful and if you like smoked beers, this is a gem! far and away the best of the three beers we had here at the brewery, not even close!