Meerschaum
Talking Cursive Brewing Company

a bit of a weird one here, so much creativity in the beers here, it was downright impressive when we were in. this is a darker colored take on this very loosely defined style, more like a deep brown ale or a light porter, short head from the tap. its got some english character to the malt and the yeast it seems in the nose, and a curious spicy and herbal complexion, as well as what comes through to me as peppermint, this is almost confusingly complex, but its appealing. lots of dark grain in the flavor, cocoa character, chocolate malt, a molasses layer, some black tea sort of herbal bitterness, licorice and tobacco, anise and wet soil, earthy and dark, old school and herbal, strange and new to me. definitely peppermint in the taste, all on the swallow, almost like a hard candy, not the leaves themselves, really interesting with the sweetness here and also the dark roast which is quite a contrast. some black pepper and clove notes too, but this isnt overly spicy or anything, and the grain does much of the heavy lifting in terms of flavor. slick feeling, round bodied, and lightly carbonated, this is a nice sipper, and drinks quite a bit bigger than its modest abv would suggest, very wintery even without the booze. cool beer, really different, the peppermint works oddly well with the recipe, if thats in fact what i am tasting, almost a wintergreen thing going on, a little soy umami thing too. probably not for everyone, but i dug it.