Fan-fucking-tastic, today is my work's Christmas night out which, although I am going voluntarily, still feels me with feelings of dread. The idea of some semi-pissed-up colleague coming over and acting all chummy when we barely speak to each other in the normal course of things makes me shudder. As does the prospect of getting the train to Dundee for the privilege. The major silver lining to all of this is that I'm meeting up with two mates (also colleagues) and hitting a few places around Dundee, just to get ourselves in the festive spirit.
By lucky happenstance, today's beer was brewed in Dundee - it's all connected, must be the illuminati or something.
Poke the Bear
Style - dark cream ale
Brewer - Outlier Cartel
ABV - 4%
The beer
I've never heard of Outlier Cartel, but I am very familiar with 71 Brewing in Dundee, where this was brewed. I really like 71's IPAs and pales, but to be honest, I don't remember having any dark beers from them that really blew me away - I'm a fan of big barrel-aged imperial stouts and usually find the lower ABV dark beers a little insipid. Hopefully this isn't the case today.
Things aren't filling me with joy on the pour. This is a little thinner than I would like to see and too effervescent. Reminder to myself, this isn't a stout, its a dark cream ale (I'm not sure I've ever seen any beer described that way before), so I am in unknown territory.
The aromas coming off this one aren't really my bag at all. The overriding scent is of honey and marshmallows (they mention these on the can) but this is all tinged with a vague scent of a Chinese medicine shop - something unfamiliar but rich and herbal.
In the mouth this is just a bit weird. I don't know if it is just me, but there's a slightly oily texture to this which then explodes in a mouthful of fizz. I spoke in a recent review about how the juxtaposition between elements of a beer can be intriguing (at least I think I did), but they can also be unsettling. This is very much a case of the latter. Fizzy oil is not for me.
Then there's the taste - I will absolutely caveat this by saying I am not overly fond of sweet beers and this is all personal preference - but I don't really like the taste of Poke the Bear. It's quite bitter and too sweet all at the same time. It doesn't taste overly of honey or marshmallows, to me it tastes quite a lot like liquorice root and coca-cola mixed up. but hang on now... what's going on here? I was just about to begin saying that I wouldn't be finishing Poke the Bear, that it was going down the sink, but in the interests of fairness I took another gulp. That time I quite liked it. The liquorice and coca-cola flavour is definitely still there, but now I am getting a smooth honey note and pungent waves of vanilla. I think this is growing on me, although I probably wouldn't rush back for another right away.
There we go, if that isn't a lesson for all of us, I don't know what is? Persevere my friends, even if at first something makes you wince in pain, it might be worth it in the end (just about).
Score - 3/5
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