Thirty Days Belgian Black
Twain's Billiards and Tap

 

Served on-tap at Twain's, in Decatur.

A- Pours a medium, murky black with a fluffy tan head. Average looking brew.
S- I get some of your typical belgian yeast aroma, dark fruits. Quite a bit of roast.
T- I don't know if awful is an adequate word to describe how the liquid in my glass tastes. Definately heavy on the roast, with some belgian fruit qualities in the background, but the whole beer is completely overshadowed by a gritty, saltiness. Every sip just leaves me wondering if this beer was made with ocean water...
M- That salty gritty quality from taste definately carries over to the mouthfeel. Reminds me of chalk.
D- This wasn't a drain-pour, since there were no drains available to me at the bar. I did, however, leave it half empty and order something else.

Overall, a horrible, horrible beer. Honestly, everything I have had from Twain's has been beyond subpar, and this is no exception. Thirty days of this beer would be torture.

Comes out of the tap a deep, opaque sable with a fine-bubbled tan head - very appetizing. Roast coffee aroma has yeasty undertone and hint of unsweet chocolate. Malty, yeasty flavor has tones of caramel and chocolate and a firm hint of coffee. Texture is smooth, tingly, jazzy and thick - quite satisfying.

13 oz. pour into a tulip.

Pours an almost black color with dark ruby highlights and a one-finger tan head. The head dissipates into a wispy layer on top leaving light lacing.

Smells of roasted malts with a good deal of dark fruits - plums, figs, and raisins. There's also a very small hint of a light fruit aroma.

Tastes a bit more roasty than I would've guessed from the smell. Roasted malts up front, that let the dark fruit flavors out, but still maintain their authority. Ending is mostly sweet but there's a slight bitterness there as well.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with carbonation that isn't over the top.

Drinkability is good. I had no problem finishing one, but I'm not ecstatic about ordering another.

Overall this is a solid dark Belgian from Twain's - I believe it's the first I've had. I'm sorry that I missed out on the cask with the grains of paradise, but the normal version is worth a shot.

Growler pour at the Brick Store HMoG.

Pours dark, dark brown with a small tan head that doesn't hang around for too long and leaves a bit of lacing.

The aroma is very sweet with lots of fruits and chocolate on top of some dark roasted malts. Definitely some bubble gum sweetness from the Belgian yeast and some dark fruits with plums and raisins.

The taste follows the aroma with lots of fruitiness on top of the roasted malt backbone. Bits of chocolate and licorice as well.

The mouthfeel is fairly slick and smooth with a little less than moderate carbonation.

A sweet and very good Belgian brew that goes down very easy.

Appearance: Dark brown, near black body with a very thin, bubbly, beige head.

Smell: A dark, roasty maltiness abounds in the nose, but the real highlight of the aroma is its overflowing fruitiness. There's plums, banana, grape bubblegum, and yes, yes, even some dried figs.

Taste: Dark malts with a bit of caramel sweetness and a touch of licorice again transition into a rich fruit character. Light spiciness. Not much in the way of hops or bitterness. Long, lingering fruitiness beyond the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Fairly smooth mouthfeel.

Drinkability: Quite good. I believe the name refers to the lingering fruitiness.