Moments
The Seed: A Living Beer Project

 

 

(16 oz can, no code/date; picked up in swap with The_Kriek_Freak... poured into my Belhaven pub pint)

L: pale amber liquid with a mild (speckled?) haze - I'm curious about this cloudiness and sediment swirl... open, craggy foam build, falling apart on contact, settling into a bubbly collar

S: pie-crust-like(?) malt-forward; after a beat, more golden bread crust, hint of white crumb... subtle apple and/or grape skin perfumy undertone, which develops into a dried apricot or sultana note... to detect these aforementioned aromas, I only poured in a few oz; can now emptied, the overall smell is remarkably more muted, with more grassy, floral hops accenting; potency and expression dull

T: grassy grain, nut powder pop up front, then the bracing bitterness rolls out, eventually blanketing the palate, green(s)-peppery bite pervading for a good while, minerally water profile charging the hop noise, pricking the grain into a frayed fog... herbal (dandelion, it all) as it goes, cutting a jagged, mobile-shaped slash atop the increasingly peanut butter cookie malt pool; mildly white vinous envelope

F: bitterness in that first sip slowly stuns the palate, shooting a sharp sling into the back of the throat... deceptively effervescent? (or am I dyspeptic?)... would say the slightly silty inner textures seem more malt-derived than hop-resinous... a mess, but loud and arresting

O: wasn't too optimistic on the pour, but it soon won me over; maybe this is what ZS meant by 'dirty'... would definitely drink on the regular; this could be the perfect excuse for my first visit! (2124)

Pint pour on draught at the brewery. It pours a clear, orange-brown color akin to iced tea with a thin, ecru-colored head and soapy lacing. The smell is surprisingly robust with chocolate malt, caramel/toffee, nutty brown bread, and tobacco smoke. It has great depth of flavor for the style, including toasted bread, baker's chocolate, toffee, nutty char, and cigar. It's dry with a spicy bitterness at the finish. Very refreshing. The mouth feel is lite and crisp with lively carbonation and super drinkable at 4.5% ABV. Overall, I think Moments is the best Ordinary Bitter I've rated and reviewed. It's an excellent example of the brewing craft.

Hazy, brown-hues copper with a thin tan head that leaves rings of lacing.

Lovely malty aroma of bread crust and dried leaves.

Bread, honey grahams, tea leaves and a touch of diacetyl show in the taste, with some moderate lingering bitterness.

Medium bodied, lightly creamy, with vibrant carbonation.

Delicious. A very well-made bitter.