Mounting Evidence
Moonlight Brewing Company

a gruit style beer, which likely means its brewed without hops, although i had very little information to go off with this one. its maltier looking than many, deep crimson amber colored and just a little bit hazy, without a ton of head on it from the tap. the aroma is cool, with a wild mix of spices and fruitiness. dried red berries, birch bark, juniper, fresh ginger, tobacco, anise, medicinal herbs, and citrus all coming together, not sure which of these (if any) they actually use in the beer, but these are what my senses pick up. the grain profile has a little sweetness to it, and i think i detect a british type ale yeast, but its hard to really take any one aspect of this in isolation when you drink it, its so complex with all the herbs and such. fresh spruce and hickory smoke, cranberry and currant, raisin and baked bread, oolong tea and oregano, there is a lot happening here, all kind of weird but all cohesive somehow with the rich malt base. some interesting candy and wine esters at the finish and a little leftover sugar. really cool earthy old world brew, bizarre really, but well done, nothing really quite like this out there...

A: Upfront herbal notes are prominent with a touch of malt sweetness, no hops

A: Copper color, slightly opaque with very little head retention

T: Very herbal in taste, with some piney almost resinous herbal editions. There’s a touch of malt sweetness and a surprising amount of bitterness from the herbs, not hops

M: Med-Light bodied with medium carbonation

O: Always interesting to imbibe a gruit, as a change of pace from the West Coast’s love affair with hops. Drinks pretty easily, but personally I would struggle drinking a lot of this, because the spices are so prominent and for me a little spice goes a long way

Served on tap at Toronado San Francisco.