Village Brewery Friend Dandy Baltic Porter Baltic Porter at 10% ABV (C$9.12 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, reviewed 24-Feb-2016)
Appearance: nearly solid black with brown highlights, one finger of dense beige head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Aroma: muted, dark fruit, roasty malt, liquorice. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: full creamy body, soft carbonation, lingering bitter and boozy finish. (3/5)
Quite aside from the merits of this beer, Village epitomizes some of the finest characteristics of craft brewers: they’re big on community, and they’re big on cooperation. Not only is this a collaboration with one of the newer local breweries, but I’ve also been told the proceeds are in aid of Dandy getting a new fermenter. What do you think the odds are of ABInBevShitBeer helping MolsonCoorsShittierBeer raise capital for a project? (OK, maybe a bad example, since they’re actually pretty chummy – but only because it suits them to drive towards cornering the market.) Anyway, it’s a decent, if slightly hot, implementation of the style. The flavours aren’t complicated, and the aroma is slightly muted, but overall it’s not bad. (14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
