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The can insists that I should be drinking local. I am in middle Tennessee, and Knoxville is in Eastern Tennessee. Is that local enough? Should I be even trying this beer? Is it possible I'm violating some kind of blood oath that was implied as a result of purchasing this beer in the first place? Well, I already have the beer, and I'm inclined to drink it, as I paid for it. I'm guessing that Knoxville is local enough, and I'm not really sure that printing drink fresh, drink local on the package is legally binding. Let's see what this beer with the remarkably bad can art tastes like.
Unsurprisingly, this is brown. In fact, is very dark brown. The last bits that were in the can seemed to add a certain amount of murkiness to the beverage that a lighter beverage would call hazy. The off-white head has very small and medium sized bubbles mixed together. Even though the ring around the sides is very strong, there are points that are completely naked on top. The aroma is nutty, and the can tells me that it should be also chocolatey and toffee...y? But all I smell is the nuts.
First sip is smooth for a beverage that has so much flavor to it. The toffee and nuts are here, but I don't really taste any chocolate. If anything, I would say that I'm tasting some brown sugar. It's a good tasting beer, and the carbonation is adding a bit of sizzle to the mix. I'm not sure what to say beyond that it is a pretty good brown ale so far.
Tip-in is a little bit of vanilla with possibly some sassafras before the nuts come solidly into view. The carbonation becomes too much for the center, as the smoothness that I enjoyed in the sip seems to be underneath all that carbonation. The finish is bitter chocolate with coffee and the bitterness doesn't go away before bitter dark chocolate and slightly seared brown sugar head into the trail off with a tiny glimpse of vanilla.
Bottom Line: Pretty complex, and not bad at all.
2.75/5
