Bone Church
Creature Comforts

a czech amber lager but a kind of hoppy one as they go, not the kind of beer i generally associate with this awesome brewery, but i guess they do everything real well so why not? its a little bit of a unique take on the style that kind of caught me off guard, not because its out of balance and overly aggressive or anything, its just not quite traditional to me with this hop level, which is cool. its a real well made beer and thats no surprise, light to medium copper colored and and with a near inch of frothed up white head, good carbonation, close to clear but not quite all the way there. the aroma is somewhat understated, a nice old world nutty malt profile with less apparent sweetness and richness than it looks like it might have, a hint of almond, toasted rustic bread, and an almost clay-like minerality, fresh and simple with some mellow lager yeast there as well, a touch grassy from the hops in the back half of this, but the hop intensity cannot be fully appreciated until the flavor, where right on the swallow its almost potent enough to be distracting, less flavor more just bitter, which adds some crispness to a maltier beer, but pushes past that a little ways too, not leaving an alpha burn or anything, but certainly higher bite for the style. the grain is fresh and autumnal, dry for its color, and actually relatively light in body too. this is well lagered and the yeast adds a nice flavor wrinkle before the hops come in, seems bold for noble hops, some spiciness with the bitter, green tea, ample carbonation washing each sip pretty clean. a neat recipe, something a little different in a style space that sometimes lacks excitement. i wouldnt rank this among their best beers, but its a fun one for this time of year.

So glad Creature Comfort is making beers like this! It pours a dark gold with a soapy, thick head and lace, a slight haze and some bubbles throughout. Smells bready, earthy and a little like honey. But it shines in the taste: it's earthy, rich and sweet but balanced with a lightly bitter and carbonated finish. Good body to back it, and a ton of flavor to chew on. I finished this pint can very quickly.

4-pack of 16 ounce cans - $14.99 at Whitlock Package in Marietta, Georgia.

On: 03/12/25.

Appearance: Pours a light tan-toned body, fairly clear with a tall, airy, off-white head. Nice lacing.

Smell: Fairly solid spiciness of the hops with some crisped, toasty grains, bone-dry herbs and a little purple plum fruitiness.

Taste: Toasted grains, bready malts with a subtle sweetness and the vaguest hint of jet-puffed marshmallow (but not really tasting of marshmallows - again, it's just a fairly little, low hint). Very faint fruitiness. A nice zip of hop spiciness with lesser hints of dried herb, pressed flower petals. One final blip of sweetness precludes the soft, drying, gently spicy finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light, soft-textured body. Medium-light carbonation.

Overall: Pretty solid.