30th Anniversary - Fritz And Ken's Ale
Something I get to have from this company that isn't loaded with hops. This should be interesting to see how they do by not hiding behind the hop flavor. Picked this one up for 5.99 at a local store and thought with such a discount I would grab a few so I hope it's good. A- Pours thick and heavy. The beer is black as looking though my windows at night. Although if you catch the light just right the beer has a ruby tone to it. The head is a very light tan color, very light and fluffy. This has a lot of initial carbonation because the head was almost out of the glass. S- Chocolate came though first, followed by burnt/roasted dark malts. A big hint of cherry was next mixed with a fruity smelly. Not the Richard Simmons variety either, no sweaten' to the oldies here. T- The taste builds in your mouth. At first there is nothing, blah, bland then this flavor starts to come on light then strong. You get this chocolate and roasty smokiness that really comes though at first. Then as things start to mellow back down you get a tobacco type taste, more specifically the Red Man Honey chew or the Levi Garrett whole leaf variety. That kind of dry tobacco flavor is good. In the after taste I get that cherry flavor I mentioned in the smell. This beer has got me thinking about how we as beer tasters really need to be tasting a wide variety of other things to really pick out what we are tasting in our beer. Different breads, chocolates, fruits, wines, spirits, tobaccos, and other cooking ingredients. Very interesting. M- Thick and very full bodied, yes everyone likes a fatty. The initial carbonation is not as aggressive in the taste and feel of the mouth, just the right amount. D- Very drinkable, and I'm glad to see it isn't a hop forward stout. Well done. 400th Review and a tasty one at that.