The Bruery Tart of Darkness
I love stouts! I really, really like sour ales. So what better way to enjoy both than at the same time?
The Bruery have allowed me to do just that. But this isn’t a simple blend of two different beers. This is a sour stout. A 5.6% ABV stout was crafted that was then aged in oak barrels (that formerly held their infamous Black Tuesday, a beer I would love to get my hands on at some point). But wait, that’s not all. The company then tossed in a “…special blend of souring bacterias and wild yeasts.”
The result is a beer that has the flavor profile of a stout (think coffee, light roast, etc), but with the souring pucker of a gueuze. In fact, this brew rivals some of the more tart beers I’ve ever had in terms of it’s puckering power.
Appearance
Tart of Darkness pours black with a small amount of off-white foam that fell noisily to a hint of a collar around the glass.
Aroma
This brew certainly smells tart. An oaky wood presence fills the nose gently along with a sour tartness, light roast and tart fruits.
Taste
Sweet mother of palate wreckers! This is a crazy beer. It looks like a stout, but drinks like the tartest of tart sours. The beer has a light body and crisp carbonation which only proves to accentuate the tart bite. The tartness dominates the palate for a good long while and it’s not until you get used to it (which takes some time) that other flavors begin to present themselves. Hints of roast malt and even a touch of chocolate emerge along with the oak, but they most definitely take a back seat to the tongue grabbing tartness.
Overall
This is not a beer that I would recommend for beginners, or casual sour beer fans. This isn’t a big beer alcohol wise, but it hits like a few dump truck loads of sour patch kids. The tartness isn’t abrasive, but it dominates all aspects of this beer, which really is what you want in this style any ways. The stout characteristics are subtle, but they are in there and make for a truly unique experience. I purchased two bottles of this brew and have only been brave enough to tackle one of them. I think I’ll let the other settle for a bit in the basement.
Rating: 4.25/5
