DuClaw Brewing Company Dirty Little Freak American Brown Ale at 5.8% ABV | 30 IBU (C$3.00 at Oak & Vine, 355 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 27-Mar-2017, reviewed 31-Mar-2017)
Appearance: clear brown with one finger of dense creamy beige head, good retention and patchy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: chocolate syrup, coconut, vanilla, caramel, dark fruit, grass. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, dry slightly sticky mildly bitter finish. (4/5)
Well, it might be a dirty little freak, but it’s my kind of dirty little freak. Rich chocolate and coconut aromas, but not excessively sweet at all, and in fact it finishes nicely dry. Even-handed on both the sweet and the bitter, with a hint of hops on the back end, making for a nicely balanced beer. Completely different than my usual preference of highly-hopped, highly-attenuated pales, but damn if I don’t like this a whole bunch. Actually, it’s pretty similar to their Sweet Baby Jesus! except with coconut instead of peanut butter – and I like coconut more than peanut butter. I might be just a touch high on my rating here simply because it’s playing so very much to my personal taste, but not by a lot. Solid and recommended. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
