2017 Tovarish - Chocolate, Vanilla, Cinnamon & Serrano Chili Variant
Beachwood Brewing - Huntington Beach

 

 

another remarkable beer from these guys, seems like whether its wild or clean beer, they can really do it all. i was a little nervous about this one, chili beer is rarely my thing, but i really like what the serrano peppers add. i get their green citrusy flavor without the normal heat intensity of the pepper, just a little warmth on the tongue from it, and i think a great compliment to both the aromatic cinnamon in here, and the smoke and charred notes in the darkest part of the grain bill. a risky but well executed addition to this beer. the base stout is killer too, and there arent too many adjuncts in this for that to still be obvious, creamy and rich, thick bodied but not sweet, and with a wonderful depth of flavor even before the extras. the chocolate stands out quite a lot to me, marrying in beautifully with the dark grains and the high end coffee, and giving this a fancy chocolate bar complexion, dark chocolate more than anything. vanilla is a nice unifying element but also isnt overdone like it so often is. i am surprised by how well hidden the alcohol is here, its not anywhere near as intimidating as it all sounds on paper, and this actually drinks dangerously easy for what it is. overall a very impressive stout, a cool use of the adjuncts, especially the peppers. awesome stuff!

 

 

 

Not my favorite variant they've done, but isn't too spicy. Reminded me somewhat of Alesmith's Boxcar, minus the barrel aging.

Prefer the base beer in this case.

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Bottleworks Liberty Station.