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Helper Beer

neat stuff, all the beer these guys make is good. this one is really intense, but i love it not being a pastry beer and all loaded down with adjuncts. the label says "a shade darker than black" i dig that, and this is, inky and abyssal and viscous in the glass, high caramel to light brown head though and actually a lot of carbonation for the style and body, spritzy even, which i like, but this stays heavy. really complex on the grain, drier than expected too, major roast but also cool middle spiciness, hints of earthy rye maybe, licorice root, anise, and black pepper, there is dark cocoa to this, fudge, molasses, smoke, char, and quite a lot of barrel, more oak than whiskey, vanilla and toffee to it without it being overly rich, i like what the wood brings to this, mellowing against alcohol trying to push forward in here. this is real well grounded, dark bread and baked character to it, burnt marshmallow and vanilla on the swallow, hotter exhale, an almost lager yeast note too though there, it warms up boozy and more umami comes out, soy sauce and dried mushrooms, really deep and weird but good, entirely palate coating and permanent to drink, some late bitterness kicking up too, super complex overall and of some serious technical merit. a pint can was too much, this one got me, wish i was sharing it, but sometimes nice beers cant wait for a buddy, so it happened. impressive stuff from helper, as so many of them are. put these guys on the map!