Ninkasi Brewing Company Sleigh’r Dark Doüble Alt Ale Double Alt at 7.2% ABV (C$7.67 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, reviewed 12-Dec-2015)
Appearance: clear amber-brown with one finger of loose light tan head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Aroma: roasty malt, caramel, nutty, mild dark fruit, light smoke. (6/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate-strong bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body tending to the thin, moderate carbonation, off-dry bitter finish. (3/5)
A bit of a strange beer: the sweetness is relatively low and the bitterness relatively high, but there’s not a lot of depth of flavour to back it up, so it comes across a bit thin. Smells sort of like a “holiday” ale, but the taste and body are more like a lager. Which, I guess, is bang dead nuts-on for the style, since alts are supposed to be brewed with ale yeast at lagering temperatures, giving a lager-ish flavour – but despite the relatively high bitterness, I can’t say I’m a big fan. Letting it warm didn’t seem to improve it a whole lot. At best, a not uninteresting alternative to the same old – but I won’t be stampeding out to buy it again. (12/20)
6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
