Oaked Chipotle Ale
Flying Dog Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

12oz brown bottle, sample from the brewery.

Pours a deep ruby hued brew, lacing does a good job staying. Hints of wood, smoke, chile peppers, dark malts, and a mild fruitiness in the nose. Very smooth with a moderate level of carbonation. A brown ale maltiness meets oak and some chipotle pepper heat. Just a kiss of heat, the wood and beery flavors are still intact. Hint of alcohol with more peppery flavor in the finish. Pretty damn good for a Chile beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I can say about this beer is that everything it highlights on the label (chipotle peppers, chicory root and toasted American oak), certainly comes through. It's nice to have a single bottle, but I can't imagine enjoying a full six of these.

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best before 7/27/2016. Pours crystal clear deep ruby red/brown color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, smoke, toasted oak, and pepper; with light vanilla, cocoa, coffee, nuttiness, herbal, and oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready/smoked malt, pepper/chicory, and oak notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, smoke, toasted oak, and pepper; with light vanilla, cocoa, coffee, nuttiness, herbal, and oak/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal bitterness and oak/pepper spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, smoke, toasted oak, pepper, light vanilla/cocoa/coffee, herbal, and oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/smoked malt, pepper/chicory, and oak flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light dryness from oak/pepper spice; lightly increasing through the glass, along with some pepper heat, but never overbearing. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, fairly creamy/grainy, and lightly sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with zero warming other than the pepper heat after the finish. Overall this is a great pepper/smoked brown ale style. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/smoked malt, pepper/chicory, and oak flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink with the restrained pepper heat. A very enjoyable offering.