What beer are you drinking now? #1155

I actually forgot it is possible to win 1st and 2nd in this reindeer game . All in good fun .

 

Enjoying the sound of raining game on my skylight as I enjoy pouring a little Melange on my liver for my dead homie

 

Cheers you all! I have done a few chores today but whoop dee doo it's Saturday. The Day of the Dark and I have Ithaca Beers Anniversary 18 to celebrate. This beer is a Baltic Porter and the now old bjcp said that this style represents the idea of the imperial porter. To many that means that there is a difference between stout and porter when the abv gets above a certain point. 8%. It uses a variety of malts and is very complex. This style is "influenced by the russian imperial stout" and is "full bodied smooth and has a well aged alcohol warmth."

This beer pours like liquid velvet. In fact when I first saw it I thought of red velvet. The colors are stunning and rich. Browns, chestnut with it's red highlight. A moment of red velvet color can be observed in this beer. It also appears to be black, pitch black. Outstanding.

The nose is roasty but also has lots of earth. The vienna malt seems to give it a silken sweetness. Coffee and vanilla. Light cocoa and a smoky quality that us so earthy it smells almost sweet. You might miss it if you don't give the nose a chance to open up. Cherry fruit in the background. That is from the kiln smoked cherry wood malt.

Robust flavor on a silken carpet. Roasty earhty malt. Sharp well defined flavors but not harshness and nothing burnt or astringent. Wood does not overtake the nose or the palate but it does provide a lighter bearing. As though this dark portrait is being painted with a lightness deep inside. It has a delicate crispness overall this beer that I find expert and outstanding. The smoke adds depth and fullness to this beer without adding the flavor of meat. I am amazed at the soft enveloping fullness. Hops show up at the very end to finish with a light herbal sweetness and a perfect bitterness. This is impeccably balanced. There is no roughness to this finish. It lingers long and dries out lovely.

Congratulations Ithaca on your Anniversary 18! Stunning!

 

Perhaps the Big Bad Baptist I picked up would have been a better choice for day of the dark. I think I'm in last place in the running currently

Cheers BAs

 

For lunch:

 

Tempest's dark and moody black IPA - In the Dark We Live. It's very good, everything you want a black IPA to be.

 

Good to see the snow. I assume it is going to get warm up there too so no snow for Christmas for you either.

 

Cheers all!

 

My late-morning coffee and DOTD contribution.
Happy Saturday, BAs.

 

Good to see a lot of this one. I cannot wait to get into the six pack I got for my son. I am sure he will share.

 

Straying from the dark beers sorry guys! my last for the day is DDC's Moralite IPA

 

Cleaning the fuck out of the shower. This kind of labor deserves a championship type brew. Fidy never fails. Cheers.

 

Was wondering what happened to your punk ass. Thought you may have caught a First Class ticket on the Nag train

 

Yeah this snow was today only. I think it said 60 for Christmas.

 

Well here is the line up for my Day of the Dark, sure there will be others mixed in as i have alot of games to watch today and tonight!! Happy Saturday BA's

 

Alright I know this isn't dark, but I have some amazing dark beers on deck. I've been running around all morning with errands. This beer has been sitting in my fridge for a year. I needed to drink it and what better time to drink it now while wrapping presents? I'm not the biggest fan of this beer, but this is tasty with age. Stay tuned for dark beers...

 

Sun isn't up yet and the power is out on a stormy day of darkness

Cheers all!!