McDermottDrink (4593) reviewed 7th Evil Ex from Skeleton Key Brewery 4 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 6.5
On tap at Goldfinger Brewing company, in support of skeleton key after they were hit by the June 19 tornado. Mild aroma with a touch of grain. Deep brown-to-black color, a lot of lace as the head in the .5l glass settles. Taste is light considering the color. Yes, some dark stout-like malts, but not very acidic. Hop profile is not too strong, but it does keep this malty boy from coming on too sweet. Kind of the lawnmower version of a schwarzbier, easy drinking with just a note of roastiness, and not likely to show me down even with a mug this size.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Draft in a proper hefeweizen glass at Goldfinger. Suitably cloudy appearance with a puffy white head that dwindles away. Light clove nose with an undertone of banana, so all the esters are there. A full bodied hefe taste. Banana note may be a bit obvious, and being far from Bavaria, I don't know if I've had a proper avatar of the style. but still, I just wanna DRINK this puppy! Enjoyable. Can stand up to any food. Slight apple note along the edges.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
16 oz. can. First off, solid black beer with a light coffee crema head. Smell is lighter than I'd expect from the fruit adjuncts. A sort of bananas Foster without as much dessert sugar. The taste, though, does have more sweetness to it. More chocolate, but the plantain and coconut ride together. Again, this comes out very much like dessert, with roast malt and maybe oatmeal making it smooth. Alcohol is noted here, moreso than the previous BisB from Foreign Exchange. I'll expect to find more variations the further I go in this series.
McDermottDrink (4593) reviewed Heart Punch from Skeleton Key Brewery 5 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Pint at SK. Wow! The coffiest smell of any coffee beer yet! No sweetness or cream to buffer the Strong Dark roast coffee aroma. This place is kind of dim, so I'm not sure if there's any Peter color to it... Maybe a little brown is visible here. Taste is coffee, coffee, coffee! A little malt sweetness tries to equalize it. Seems to derive all its bitterness from coffee roast instead of dark malt, which makes it different and interesting. Coffee aftertaste.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
The smell is full of candy-coated nut from the first snoot. The beer itself is black and oily-looking, with a tiny ring of foam around the edge. The taste is more of that candy-coated nut, almost like the caramel in a Turtle. I never was big on hazelnuts by themselves, but the slightly nutty notes plays nicely with the cocoa. There's just enough hop bitterness to keep the sweetness from getting to be too much.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7.5
Sampler at SK. Strange to say, maybe, but I actually smell cherry in this beer. And smoke, of course. Opaque lack, with lacy, Guuinnes-like legs. Taste is smoky, room on the Bamberg level. No, not quite. I don’t think of Bacon or Gouda cheese, just smoky wood. Cherry note is not quite as strong on the tongue. Slight astringent roast malt. A taste profile you might find in imperial stouts aged on wood, but this in a more acessible form.leaves,
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
Taster at SK. Whoops, there’s that big catbox smell from Amarillos that I actuallly dig. A little bit of lemon lurks behind this. Color is amber aand a little hazy. Yes, a dank taste from those bad boy hops, and there’s actuallysome malt trying to back it up. I’m not as big as hophea d as others may Bel but this compares well to Lagunitas Waldos, or other Coastal IPAs.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Sample at SK. Very earthy English hop right in the nose. Cloudy brown body, like maybe a Newcastle on cask. Taste... well, I’ve been into English style aales that promise earthy hops, but is the one that’s really delivering. Caramel toast malts merely stand in proximity to the hop profile. Chewy and filling.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Sampler at SK. Gold is a bit darker than most blond sles, suggesting a bit more body? Not a strong smell in this crowd of fellow swearty people. Just some malt and a bit of yeast. But the taste is nice had malty, and not sugary like most blond sles. It tends more toward a light English bitter, perhaps with less hops. But very crisp and easy drinking. I could have gone with this for a whole pint, but there were too mange new-to-me beers I needed to try.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Sampler at the brewery’s opening, Sept. 2016, rated from notes. Coffee roast is big in this nose. Shows a porter black body, but filtered to allow bright ruby highlights. Thin tan head. Taste is coffee and toasty, but it still has a fruity nose, either from hops, or from a farmhouse yeast.