Glissade Escapade
Monolith Brewing

 

blonde ale with really good coffee in it, nicely made beer, my first from these cats who took over the old black project and former future space on broadway, revolving door in this neighborhood of late. the place is cool and this beer is great, light but not boring as a base beer, really tidy on the ferment and dry which are both key, and the coffee is new school, lighter roast, nutty and fruity rather than roasty and bitter, a more complex profile, very well integrated, not greasy or acidic, there is some technical excellence in play here. just golden in the glass, like super pale yellow probably on its own and taking a shade from the java, but it still looks real light, clear and frothy headed from the tap too, nicely refined. the aroma is coffee all the way, just light pale malt behind it but real simple, hazelnut and almond, cocoa and raisin, lots of nuance to the beans and its all there in the flavor too, no bitterness at all, not too sharp, and with a subtle but appreciable caffeine jolt as well. i love how the coffee leads this but without dominating, how its such a unique coffee complexion, and how drinkable this is, dry and lighter bodied, bubbly, and it warms up well too. a heck of a first impression from these guys, big shoes to fill in these walls i guess some people would say, but this is also a decidedly cooler place to hang out, there wasnt pretension dripping off of everything. impressed by the beers i drank too, this one was my favorite.