Bluebird Day
Ike & Oak Brewing Company

my first from these guys and its mighty good, a classic english dark malt, perhaps a little deeper and darker on the grain side than many, but still very much true to style, really professionally executed, a great first impression for me! darker amber, brick red, light brown all at once in the color, wispy khaki colored head with great retention and some lace. the nose is nutty, baked, and drier than a lot of others this color, perhaps a hint of chocolate malt giving it some brown ale depth, toasted more than roasted to me, and with the english ale yeast on full display, almond and chestnut and raisin, more or less trail mix vibes! the flavor is great, recognizable english malts with good water chemistry for the style, a clean and dry fermentation, and a sort of healthful nutritive feel to it, mellow smoke and nuttiness, pretzel dough, molasses, lighter medium body, wonderfully low alcohol and sessionable, but not watery in the least in terms of texture, soft carbonation is all that is needed. this is the kind of malty beer i love, so flavorful from the grain, so much character extracted, yet so light and easy to drink on, i wish the dark mild would make a real comeback, such an underdone style. this was fantastic!