Evil Twin Brewing Ashtray Heart Smoked Beer at 8.9% ABV (C$5.75 at Zyn, 330 ml, no bottle date or best before)
Pours clear (flashlight confirmed) deep ruby black with a short tan head diminishing to a thin ring, no lacing. (3/5) Nose is roasty malt, cocoa, dark stone fruit, toffee, light smoke. (7/10) Taste is mild sweet, mild bitter, mild smoke. (7/10) Medium to full body, low carbonation, oily and syrupy, dry and astringent smoky finish. (4/5)
It might pour the solid unrelieved black of a politician’s heart, but it has far less smoke than I’d expect of such an organ. Both Beer Advocate and RateBeer call this a smoked beer – but I’d call it a porter, first and foremost, with only a very mellow smoke presence. Very little hop character, but a fair amount of bitter astringency from the dark roast malts. And that moderately high ABV? Completely absent until most of the beer is, too, at which point a warm cigarette ember glow starts in the gut. A little challenging, sure, but worth the effort. (14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
