7.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Draught at the brewery, 7/4/16.
Medium-amber body shows a good clarity, light auburn tints and a beige head atop that is medium-sized and well-retained.
Not too smokey from the nose, more phenolic than rich, meaty smokiness with buttercream and toasted malt character quite prominent. The phenolic dryness of the smoke plays well against the maltiness but there might be a bit of a surplus of bready, toasty character. No alcohol or flaw and quite fruity (cherry, strawberry, apple esters) on the end.
Nicely attenuated, with soft, sticky malts and a good deal of creaminess from the tight carbonation. Smoke is moderate in its intensity and quite dry, with more campfire and pepper-like qualities. Again, as from the nose, maybe a bit too toasty for my tastes, adding a strong sourdough element in concert with the buttercream-like notes produced by the base malt interaction with the smoke and specialty malt. Clean, no alcohol, no flaw, and well-done, otherwise.