Arbor Brewing Espresso Love
I received this as an extra a few months back, but sadly can't remember who threw it in the box. Whoever you may have been, thanks for the beer! Review is from notes taken on 7/27/2010 and poured from the bottle to a snifter. Appearance: Pour is a deep dark dirty brown/near black and looks about the color of used motor oil (mind you, it doesn't look as thick as used motor oil, though); despite a vigorous pour, no head whatsoever; body is entirely opaque and based upon no head, I'd say it looks pretty flat; no lacing, just an oily film that quickly slides back into the beer. Smell: Pretty nice, and quite strong -- nice strong and roasty burnt expresso; dark semi-sweet syrupy chocolate; a bit of dark cherry and lactic sourness as it continues to warm... I'm intrigued... Taste: Starts of pretty plain and standard with the nice espresso roastiness (nothing special right of the first sip though); however, the syrupy chocolate and dark cherries and a certain sourness (could be a bit of sour cherries, but it strikes me as more of a lactic sourness) creeps in and really, in my opinion, brightens the beer's profile quite nicely. Mouthfeel: Sigh... never as thick as I would like, but the body is of medium weight; no carbonation, so it feels very flat, oily and slick; a moderate and semi-moist stickiness is left all over the palate. Drinkability: Not too shabby overall, especially if I really consider the smell and flavors; it does need some head and carbonation though, and damn it, I really want a thicker stout; while my numbers are kind of all over the place on this, I do believe it's worth checking out.