The end is in sight, the out of office is on and my sack is full of Christmas cheer, yet the weather outside is frightful so a beer would be so delightful. I don't know why I'm writing like that, it isn't my style. But yeah, I am getting into the festive spirit, I mean, I listened to the Pogues so Christmas has officially begun for me. I guess that calls for a beer.
Have you heard about the brindle whippet?
Style - American Porter
Brewer - Double Barrelled
ABV - 5%
The Beer
It is unlikely you know how much I love dogs, one dog in particular, but I do, I love them. Well, most of them, I don't care overly for whippets and I especially don't like brindle whippets (if you don't know what brindle is, look it up, but also think cheap tiger print velour and you're close). This is pure prejudice on my part, I haven't ever met a brindle whippet, but whippets in general leave me cold and I don't care for other brindle dogs I have seen. But, being the true professional (in a totally amateur sense) that I am, I will not let my feelings about the namesake of the beer deter me from giving an objective review - well, as objective as I can (which is not very objective at all as this is all based on my own preferences).
Brindle Whippet pours nicely thick for a porter of only 5% with a pleasing level of head retention. BW settles into a very black beer, I mean blacker than your tele on standby. We've got a hint of body and darkness in all the right places, so things are shaping up for a hell of a porter.
As an aside, I'm not sure what makes a Porter American, but I'm Hoping American in the case of Brindle Whippet means, big, loud and obnoxious in the most loveable, un-British kind of way, the sort of porter that humble British porters would, upon hearing Brindle Whippet talking too loudly with its other American Porter friends on the train, turn to the other British Porters in the carriage and tut in a very passive aggressive way.
Brindle Whippet gives a slightly metallic aroma up front. I say slightly, but really hard to get anything other than metallic notes on the nose - for me, dark beers really should be stored in glass, they pick up a lot of the can flavour so. After a long while sniffing the Brindle Whippet, I can confirm that there are hints of chocolate and a slight maltiness to the aroma.
Let me tell you, if you get a Brindle Whippet on the tongue, you'll find it has a great body, it's really rich but is also rather thick (I'm avoiding the temptation to make a joke about how that's the misogynist's dream woman). Maybe I would say BW is slightly too fizzy, but that is an exercise in hair clutching.
Brindle Whippet is packed with very deep rich roast malt flavours, and a slight nuttiness. You might detect a touch of biscuit (so Double-Barrelled say) but I can see where they are coming from - think slightly over baked cheesecake base - just taken to the edge of being burnt . On a cheesecake this flavour would be bad, but inside a Brindle Whippet this is good. BW tastes a bit like a barrel aged impster, but without the syrupy body. I would say this would make a good replacement for Guinness or any other mainstream stout, but that doesn't do it justice, this is real good.
Brindle Whippet is by far the best dark beer of the advent calendar, it is absolutely perfectly pitched for winter time. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this, except for the metallic taste/aroma - if they threw in some gentle spicing (cinnamon/chili/nutmeg but not a combination) then this would be a world beater, but even without this, it is fucking good.
I think I have figured what American Porter means, here it doesn't mean obnoxious, it means confident and bold, I love this.
Score - 4.75/5 (points off for tininess and nothing more)
Comentarios