Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Capone's Liquor & Food in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: American Porter, 5.9% 
Reported IBUs: 53

Tonight's beer was just sitting on shelves, saying "tick me, bro." I've already dabbled wit Stone's Smoked Porter, which is really good. The Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans is even better. About Stone:

Stone Brewing are one of the more prominent breweries in the American craft brewing scene. They were founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California, and moved to Escondido, California where they recently expanded their operations. Stone was founded by Steve Wagner and Greg Koch. Koch has a reputation among the craft beer community for voicing his opinion, not putting up with shit, and standing behind his beer. Also...farking woot and fizzy yellow beer is for bitches. 

The Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers is the brainchild of Chris Carroll, who in 2006, suggested producing a one-off version of the Stone Smoked Porter brewed with the addition of chipotle peppers. Stone describes this beer as a "deep, roasty quaff," which is also how I describe going down on Serena Williams. Let's get this into a glass and do that adjunct bench press. 

Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers

This one pours out like a Porter or Brown Ale. The shocker here is the three-fingers plus of dense, sustaining head. The head takes on root beer float consistency, and has that cola-brown color. The body of the beer is also hinting towards a dark brown or ruby red in low light. In bright light the beer is a just slightly hazy reddish-orange color, it's kind of murky and swampy, like port side storage containers. The head is hanging around, and there be lacing ahead. 

This one smells surprisingly sweet from the onset. I'm getting big toast, dusty cocoa, lactose chocolate, nuttiness, nutty coffee, hazelnut, and coffee sweetness. There's also an earthy element to the coffee aroma which is nice. There's a hint of earthy ash and smoke on the aroma as well. Noteably absent on this beer's aroma is the smell of chipotle or pepper. I'm not getting any in the aroma. If you handed this to me blind and told me to judge it based on aroma alone, I'd be SOL. 

Mild spice is the name of the game here, with tingly chipotle massaging the sides of your tongue and building towards a peppery finish that drops salty jalapenos, green peppers, and chipotle goodness on the back of your throat. It's a blast of refined and constrained pepper to your tonsils, if you still have them. The base beer is given plenty of room to do its thing, with lots of Brown Ale/Porter-esque goodness. There's plenty of toast, caramel, cocoa, sweet chocolate, nuttiness, and subtle coffee notes at work here. The peppery heat is a nice counterpoint to this beer's somewhat one-dimensional sweetness, but those are the ropes in Porter country. 

As a general rule of thumb, I am better than everyone. People complaining about this beer's heat are wrong and should try some of Stone's Crime. People complaining about this being too light should note that this is a gentle beer, really. The 5.9% goes undetected, and I'd almost dare say this is pretty accessible both in terms of drinkability and sessionability. I don't want to jump the gun on potential food pairings, but this beer seems like it would really go well with some chocolate cake, mole sauce, bacon, chili, clam chowder (per Stone's website), ribs, grilled meats, and big ass burgers. It's kind of a foodie beer, certainly a beer with purpose. It's the adjuncts. Anyway...palate depth and complexity are both pretty good, and this one has that medium-light mouthfeel with nice carbonation and tingly pepper heat that moves things along. If there was ever a case for Ales > Dunkler Bocks, this beer might be it. Up front: rich cocoa, dusty chocolate, nuttiness, coffee; the mids roll into more cocoa and coffee, toast, growing pepper heat; the back end continues with the cocoa, nuttiness, earthy coffee, ash, and big green pepper, jalapeno, and chipotle show up to punch the back of your throat. I'm digging this.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a very Strong Above-Average. This is the perfect example of how you can balance adjuncts against a really solid base beer. Both the Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers and the Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean are an improvement over the base beer, in my humble opinion. This is a somewhat mild and manageable beer, but I suspect it will really work with the aforementioned food pairings. If you appreciate pepper heat, check this beer out. Yeah, it's somewhat spicy. But it's nothing like the abominations that Crime and Punishment are. This is a solid Porter, and you could do much worse at around $5.99~7.99 per bomber.

Random Thought: I debated drinking this tonight because I picked up some hoppy beers that I don't want to camp on for too long, but I think I made the right choice. I'm not sure how chipotle peppers hold up with time, but I have to image they drop off. 

Stone Crime

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: 16.9oz/500ml bottle bought at Evolution Wine & Spirits in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale/Chile Beer, 9.6% 
Reported IBUs: 102

Tonight's beer has been getting absolutely shit-panned on Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate for being too hot. I'm a huge fan of spicy foods, so it was with more than morbid curiosity that I found myself purchasing the Crime. Will it live up to the hype/hate? About Stone:

Stone Brewing are one of the more prominent breweries in the American craft brewing scene. They were founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California, and moved to Escondido, California where they recently expanded their operations. Stone was founded by Steve Wagner and Greg Koch. Koch has a reputation among the craft beer community for voicing his opinion, not putting up with shit, and standing behind his beer. Also...farking woot and fizzy yellow beer is for bitches. 

When people say, "I like spicy food," they probably don't mean that they are pepper masochists. I'm a pepper masochist. I enjoy trying hot sauces that push the Scoville limit. I'm a fan of ghost peppers and other unholy chilies. Bring on the heat, baby.

I was surprised when I started to do my homework about this beer. According to THIS blog post and THIS blog post, Stone's Crime is brewed with jalapeños and black nagas. The black naga is nuthin' to fuck with. These are peppers in the same class as the Bhut Jolokia and the Trinidad Scorpion. These are not gentle peppers. These are not jalapeños. 

I'm guessing this beer is legitimately hot.

The Crime's base beer is the Lukcy Basartd Ale (a blend of Arrogant Bastard, Double Bastard, and OAKED Arrogant Bastard). The Crime is then aged in American Oak; specifically, Kentucky Bourbon Barrels. The Crime uses "mid-level-heat" red and green jalapeños, "ultra-hot" black nagas, Caribbean red hots, and Moruga scorpions and fatalis. Can you say "owe, my fundie hole." This insane beer was bottled on October 2013, and clocks in at 9.6% and 102 IBUs.

Stone Crime

What a fucking disaster this was...the cork was cemented into the bottle, and I broke it in half trying to remove it. I ended up having to manually remove the cork with a wine opener, which agitated the beer and consequently lead to some gushing. The beer itself pours into a cloudy, dark red body, and kicks up two or three fingers of red-tinted head. This is a dirty beer, with obscene amounts of sediment floating around in the reddish/orange body (per bright light). Surprisingly a layer of orange-tinted head is hanging around, and there's plenty of lacing. 

On the aroma...aggressive peppers that have been cut open, seeds exposed, on your chopping board. Lordy Jesus, the peppers on this beer's aroma are intense. This is...Julius Peppers in his prime. I'm getting aggressive habanero, jalapeno, green pepper, dry heat, salt, some fruity pepper notes, and something more spicy and more sinister than habanero lurking beneath. If you camp out on the aroma for a little bit, you DO pick up some oak, oak/vanilla sweetness, and a little bit of the base beer. I'm getting some mild hops and citrus resin on the aroma beneath the waves of aggressive pepper.

I guess...cheers? I dunno why I'm nervous. Bottoms up, bitches. Wow...this is fucking spicy. My first sip was INTENSE. As it goes with spicy foods. It takes a bit for your palate to adjust to the extreme heat. My first sip was overwhelmed with heat, but I will say this has great duration on the back end. Aside from the salty-spicy heat, I'm getting the base beer in the mix, which includes layers of oak, wood, and some nice hop resin. As the peppers unfold, you pick up jalapeno, green pepper, habanero, and burn. The burn is pretty intense...I'm surprised this beer has as much burn as I'm getting. 

I'm not a huge fan of this. I thought I was going to enjoy this a lot more, but it's one-dimensional, like biting into a hot pepper. The base beer is drowning in peppers, and the subtle oak and Lucky Bastard notes aren't enough to keep things interesting. Unfortunately, this isn't a condiment or pepper or sauce. This is a beer. It's also really hot...I'm surprised, because as noted above, I like to chase hot peppers. It's just not very drinkable. Palate depth is really good, but complexity is low. The mouthfeel is medium-full. I dunno...up front, mid-palate, and back palate all ride into pepper land. You get some subtle oak and Lucky Bastard mid-palate, and some nuanced pepper notes on the back end. I'm just totally over this.

Rating: Sewage (WTF did I just drink?) (1.0/5.0 Untappd)

Ah, the elusive Light  Sewage (WTF did I just drink?). It happens. I guess I expected more beer here and less pepper juice. While the spice levels in this beer are manageable for seasoned veterans, the beer itself lacks any logical direction. It's just...beer drowning in hot peppers. If that's your bag then godspeed, but in my opinion this is a salty, burning mess. All the subtlety happens somewhere in the mid and back palate, as you pick up some mild base beer and peppery notes...by then the intense burn is kicking in, and you ride salty heat to intense burn. I could see this beer working well in a sauce, so maybe cook with it? 16.9oz is way too much for one person, I recommend tackling this in 4oz or 6oz servings. This is an entertaining novelty, and I'm glad I checked it out. As far as beer goes, I would not buy this again, especially at the high price this sells for.

Random Thought: And here is what I don't get. Stone releases an impressively spicy beer like this, but their hot sauces are weak as hell. WTF is up with that? 

Pipeworks The One Horned Wonder and His Fanciful Flying Fresno

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #276) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 12.27.2013)

Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

It's an Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™...and I'm drinking a beer that I probably camped on for a little too long. But what can you do. This one instantly reminds me of the Founders' Mango Magnifico, so let's see how she stacks up. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

Tonight's beer is a "big ole pale ale with Fresno Chiles and passion fruit added." This one was brewed in conjunction with The Aviary, and punches in at a big 9%. The back of the bottle reads:

"It's a bird! It's a plane! No, It's the One Horned Wonder and His Fanciful Flying Fresno!!! This dynamic duo is taking off with Citra and Galaxy hops. But wait, this flight's just getting started. The pilots at The Aviary have turned off the fasten seat belt sign. This in-flight pale ale features a passion fruit puree and a hint of Fresno chile to bump it up to first class. Please, sit back and enjoy the flight."

Wow...this beer pours out with some thick viscosity, and it pours into a golden-yellow-orange body that is hazy as hell. The beer kicks up a several fingers of orange-tinged head, and head retention is really good. In bright light this beer is a super hazy orange color, with tons of streams of tiny, effervescent carbonation rising upwards. It looks like unfiltered juice. A pinky of head has settled in and there is plenty of lacing.

The One Horned Wonder and His Fanciful Flying Fresno

Aroma: When I popped this open I was blasted with tons of resinous citrus and pineapple hops. This beer has GIANT hops on the nose. And then you stick your nose into the beer, and it's like, "oh, hello, Fresno chili peppers." The aroma is a mixture of giant hops and giant chili aromas. The Fresno chili peppers impart some serious salt aromas, jalapeno, ballpark nachos, green and red pepper, and earthy peppery goodness. The hops on the nose here are tropical and citrus, with giant orange, tangerine, resin, pineapple, grass, and some mango. Good times...

Despite the towering 9% ABV, this tastes a lot like the promised Pale Ale mixed with passion fruit and chili pepper. The chili pepper is also surprisingly balanced and not overly spicy. It's more of an earthy, green pepper type of flavor. I'm getting a lot of pepper mixed with passion fruit, orange, tangerine, and tropical fruits. There's green pepper, jalapeno, and earthy pepper goodness. The hops are absolutely banging in this...juicy and dank orange, pineapple, passion fruit, and yeah. Just lovely.

How is this 9%? This really drinks like a Pale Ale, and yeah. I'm amazed at how refreshing this beer is, with a medium-light mouthfeel and tons of carbonation. The hop profile is super juicy, and the pepper character is more of an earthy addition rather than a full-on spice assault. Up front: a big assault of juicy hops, citrus, mango, passion fruit, tangerine, and big green pepper, Fresno pepper, and not-spicy jalapeno; mid-palate continues with the hop juicy goodness as the pepper fades into some earthy green pepper on the finish; the back end is lingering green pepper and Fresno pepper, some hop bitterness, and dry. This has a dry, peppery finish.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this...I kind of want to buy another bottle because I am crushing the bottle that I have right here. This is just a fantastic marriage of nuanced pepper with giant hop goodness. Do you like hops? Do you like chili peppers? Okay, buy this beer. Food pairings: Mexican food, specifically tamales, quesadillas, pork tacos, BBQ pork, maybe some dry chicken wings? This beer has fantastic food potential, but it's also pretty fucking delicious in general. Recommended.

Random Thought: FULL DISCLAIMER: I love spicy foods and I love hot peppers. I'm the kind of weirdo that will eat a whole pepper plain. You've been warned. 

Goose Island Gillian

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 765ml bottle bought at Evolution Wine & Spirits in Chicago, IL; 2013 (bottled 9/12/2013)

Style/ABV: American Wild Ale/Sour/Saison, 9.5% 

Reported IBUs: 20

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend. My weekend was busy, so I'm happy to kick back with some fancy beer. About Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. On November 16th, founder and CEO, John Hall, announced he would be leaving Goose Island. On January 1st, 2013, Anheuser-Busch "veteran" Andy Goeler will take over Goose Island. Additionally, around the same time as John Hall's departure, resident barrel-program leader John Laffler also announced his departure from Goose Island. There have been many changes regarding Goose Island...so we will see what the future has in store for Goose Island. 

Goose Island's Gillian (formerly known as "Scully") is one of the brewery's "vintage" beers. This Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale is brewed with white pepper, strawberry, and honey. The final blend consists of beer partially aged in wine barrels, and the beer is fermented using Belgian Ale yeast and Champagne yeast. The malt base includes 2-Row, Pilsen, and Torrified Wheat, and this one uses Amarillo hops. Let's glass 'er up and see what we got.

Goose Island Gillian

The beer pours into a hazy, melon/peach/orange-tinted body, and kicks up two fingers of rapidly dissolving white head. The head peaces out, but there's a ton of effervescent carbonation rising upwards and crackling away in this. Bright light confirms much of the same, highlighting a white ring of lacing on the edge of the glass.

The aroma on this beer is super complex, with tons of tart funk, delicious fruit, and vinous white wine. I'm pulling off strawberries, peaches, mandarins, hints of tart/acidic orange, grapes, and berries. There's also some big lactic character on the aroma, with some [?] Brett funk. I'm getting wood and oak on the aroma as well, with lots of wood tannin, and vinous, white wine elements. There's some more orange and mimosas...that's what I'm getting. This smells like mimosas. It must be the champagne yeast.

The taste isn't quite as magical as the aroma, but it is still fantastic. Where the aroma implies lots of fruity complexity juxtaposed with the wine and funk, the taste dials up the malt sweetness, honey, and alcohol. This is still really good, with strawberry, melon, peaches, oranges, and mimosa all showing up in the taste. You also get tons of bready malts and honey. There's pepper in the mix, which definitely goes with the Farmhouse Ale theme, and some very balanced white wine flavors with grape, gooseberry, wood tannin, and some barrel character showing up. The 9.5% is totally undetectable, minus some warming on the back.

This is a medium-bodied beer thanks to the fruity tartness and slightly dry finish. It reminds me of champagne, or a mimosa to be more exact. There's lots of lively carbonation, and it is refreshing. But 9.5%, oh man. That will get you drunk. This is a very wine-like beer, which is not a bad thing at all. More on that in a minute. Palate depth and complexity are both outstanding. You get some tart kick up front, with big orange and mimosa; that rolls into the malts, honey, and bread, with some peppery spice and floral complexity, and more fruits; the back adds some of the wine flavors, and you get the wood tannin. The booze and warming shows up at the end. Good stuff.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I gotta go with a Strong Above-Average on this. I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for that might take this beer to the next level...maybe some time in the bottle to funk up? That's the thing though, I'm having a hard time justifying the purchase of another bottle. This one was selling for around $30 dollars a bottle....which is understandable given the aging process, and I get that. For me, this is a food beer meant to be enjoyed with a meal. Pair this with some mussels in a white wine sauce, or some calamari, or some white pasta. Seriously, do it. If you don't pair this beer with food, you're going to be missing out. The barrel character and light tartness can cut through oils and cheeses, so go savory and decadent. 

Random Thought: Oh man, the Bears laid an egg today. After today's crapfest, they deserve not being in the playoffs. 

Founders Mango Magnifico

Brewed By: Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Fruit/Vegetable Beer, 10.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

I feel very entitled about tonight's beer. I was lucky enough to track down a bottle in my distro, and went and picked one up first thing in the morning. It's weird buying beer at the liquor store at 10am...with the other drunks and alcoholics. Not that I have any judgement. Anyway, my sense of entitlement here is that I love Habaneros and spicy foods. I have high expectations for this beer, and the sweet citrus heat from the Habanero should pair magnificently with the mango in this beer. About Founders:

Founders is the holy grail of Michigan brewing. Based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Founders was founded in 1997 by Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers, and produces some of the best beer in the world. If you haven't heard of Founders...well, what are you doing? Get on that, now.

This beer is the seventh beer in Founders' Backstage Series. The Mango Magnifico con Calor (with heat) is a high-gravity fruit beer brewed with mango, and Michigan-grown habaneros. The fruit is supposed to be complimented with a hint of heat, adding a layer of complexity. You can read more about the beer here and here.  

Founders Mango Magnifico

The beer pours into a gold/orange body, and kicks up two fingers of creamy, off-white head. The head soaks up some gold/orange tones. The beer looks to be semi-transparent with a touch of haze, and there's a lot of carbonation streaming upwards in the form of small bubbles. I'm surprised by the head retention, or the two fingers of head I initially got on the pour. In bright light, the beer is much the same, with a hazy golden-orange body. The head seems a bit more white in bright light, with sea foam persistence, and your usual lacing and all that. 

As you might guess, there's not a ton of heat on the nose. What you do get on the aroma is HUGE mango. If you like mango, this beer delivers on the aroma. I'm getting mango, peach, maybe some earthy habanero-citrus, tea, sweet tea (peach tea), sugar, and some underlying malt fatness. The malt backing leans towards a cracker or wheat base. 

The taste delivers everything as advertised, with zesty/peppery mango up front. The mango proliferates on your tongue and you do get zesty heat up front. But the actual heat/spice really kicks in on the back of the palate. This is pretty straightforward stuff. I mean, there's some shades of mango, peach, and sweet tea in this. As the habanero kicks in I'm getting some peppery citrus, earthy heat, and even a bit of cinnamon spice. The peppery heat makes your mouth tingle in a pleasing way. There's some honey/biscuit/cracker-like density from the malt as well, and this has a welcomed and big body at 10.0%.

Seriously, this beer is not too thick. I always get sad when I crack open a coffee or chocolate Stout/Porter that has a thin body and mouthfeel. This beer is dense with a huge mango character, and lots of peppery habanero. Palate depth is outstanding, with each sip lasting a long time. Complexity is low. The mouthfeel is like medium-full to full-bodied, but is assisted by lively carbonation and peppery heat. It almost feels like Pop Rocks on your tongue. I feel like this is pretty easy to sum up: mango up front; malt sweetness and sudden heat in the middle; big peppery citrus and habanero heat on the back. The beer leans on a reasonably large malt base. The heat grows if you take sips back to back.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd) 

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. You definitely get a lot of peppery heat in this, and you might even find this to be a bit hot if you don't frequent spicy foods. That said, this beer promises EXACTLY what it advertises. Mango + Habanero. This is one of the better pepper beers I've had, and I really enjoy the huge mango sweetness that you get here. I don't know what I would pair this beer with. I feel like you could go a couple of different directions....pork tacos? Something with chocolate? The big mango, citrus, and pepper heat in this beer would work with chocolate. You might even get away with pairing this beer with plain fried chicken. I think, above all else, this is just a fun beer. I paid 12 or 13 dollars, and I wouldn't pay much more. If you enjoy spicy peppers and beer, grab a bottle to share with a friend and pair this beer with some savory pork tacos or a sweet chocolate-dipped churro. 

Random Thought: I missed out on Doom, but to be honest, I didn't try very hard to track a bottle down. I heard that Doom is still sitting on shelves in Michigan. Hell, I heard that the Frangelic Mountain Brown is still sitting on shelves in Michigan. I assume this one will hang around for a while too. They can't all be CBS. 

Fantôme Dark White

Brewed By: Brasserie Fantôme in Soy-Erezée, Belgium   

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Saison/Farmhouse Ale, 4.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

So I've got some Fantôme in my fridge/cellar. Ergo, tonight's review. I wish I had more inspiration for a fancy introduction, but isn't rare Belgian beer enough? About Fantôme: 

Fantôme is a brewery based out of Soy, Wallonia, Belgium, that was founded in 1988 by the mad man and mastermind, Dany Prignon. The brewery is located in a crumbling farmhouse in the Marche-en-Famenne district of Luxembourg province, and Fantôme's beer just might be more popular in the United States than it is in Belgium. Dany brews one type of beer: Saisons/Farmhouse Ales. Each of his Saisons have a unique twist, and he often brews his beers using herbs, spices, juices, and other off-beat ingredients. Their website is so hardcore it only comes in French, but check it out anyway. 

Tonight's beer, the "Dark White," is a mystery like everything Fantôme. Missing from my bottle is the distinct "BBB" marking from other bottles. This low-ABV beer is apparently brewed with black pepper, and the bottle states: "Belgian Ale brewed with spices." I kind of like the ambiguity, plus it means less work for me. Who cares what makes this dingle tingle? If it tastes good...

Fantôme Dark White

After removing the cap and freeing the cork, I quickly ushered this beer to a glass as the carbonation started creeping up the green ol' chimney. This one pours a hazy (gasp!), brown/caramel/cardboard color, and kicks up two fingers of tan head. The head is holding up nicely. In bright light, the beer is a swampy orange/brown color, and the head is soaking up those orange tones. Carbonation is active and evident in this. About a finger of head is sustaining...and there is lacing...it looks like a Belgian Ale. 

In a lot of ways, it's just not fair. Fantôme/Dany Prignon is raising the bar for these funky, rustic, wild farmhouse ales. The nose on this pops with peat, smoke, and black pepper. There's also underlying apple slaw/salad, lemon, and some grass. The whole thing is tied together with earthy funk, leather, must, and cigarette smoke that has soaked into the interior of a house/car. 

The taste follows through elegantly...this is legit. You get a splash of tart and cigarette smoke up front and lots of leather, which transitions into huge lemon/tart, hay, must. Then the black pepper pops up, and you get peaty smoke, and more cigarette smoke/bowling alley. Light apples/lemon pop up, along with some peach and tropical fruit, but the big thing here is the black pepper/leater which is layered and incredibly complex. Especially so for a 4.0% beer.

This is complex...especially at 4.0%. This is light-bodied, and oh so drinkable. And yet the mouthfeel is expansive and the complexity is incredibly high. The carbonation is nicely done as well, and the whole thing pops. If I had to pin down what makes this beer tick...I think it's the leather from the Brett combined with the black pepper...plus all the apple/peach/tropical fruits from Belgian yeast and hops. You get a blast of tart fruit up front, followed immediately by big leather/cigarette smoke; that rolls into more tropical fruits/peach/grass/hay, some funk, and big smoke and black pepper; that fades into more leather/bowling alley/cigarette smoke/hint of meat, and the finish is dry leather. FUNKY.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying this! So a Light Divine Brew it is. I really wasn't expecting to like this beer as much as I do...but I love the smokey/cigarette thing, and the complex black pepper, and the leather...it layers this beer and plays off of the big lemon/apple/tropical fruits. It's a weird fucking beer, but it's complex and bold...and the 4.0% is impressive. I mean, I could session this. Look...this beer isn't going to be for everyone, but I have to commend it for pushing the envelope and embracing these huge, bold flavors. This would pair great with a cigar, smokey meats, barbecued food, a burger with smoked bacon, or just as a standalone beer. Full disclaimer: I'm a weirdo and I like smoked beers. 

Random Thought: In my opinion, this is considerably more bold/adventurous than the Fantôme Chocolat. I have a bottle of the Fantôme Hiver that I need to bust out...soon...we'll see how a proper smoked beer from Dany stacks up.