Jester King Detritivore

For the Thanksgiving break, i amassed a small collection of beers to imbibe whilst cooking turkey and snacking on meats and cheeses.  One of those beers was the fantastic Detritivore, a 5.5% wild ale brewed with cherries, from the good folks at Jester King.  The beer pours a cloudy pink with a white head and smells of tart cherries and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is a kind of subtle mix of those same tart cherries and wild yeast funk, never overwhelming and with a refreshing finish, a great day drinker to pair with cooking in the kitchen.

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Stone Xocoveza Imperial Stout

Out of pumpkin ale season and straight into chocolate stout season.  And the always dependable Stone Brewing has one of the tastiest.  The 8.1% ABV Xocoveza pours black with a foamy tan head and smells of chocolate with hints of cinnamon and pepper.  The flavor is more roasted chocolate with notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and pepper.  It's a tasty concoction that's way stronger than it lets on so don't go crazy.

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The Dissident (2019)

Opened a bottle i've been saving a few months over the weekend from the always dependable Deschutes, the 2019 brewing of The Dissident.  The 10.5% ABV take on the classic Oud Bruin was brewed with cherries and aged in oak and pours a coppery color with a white and quickly dissipating head.  Aromas of cherry and oak are evident along with a hint of funk, and the flavor is an acidic mix of said cherries, oak, and funk with some nice tartness to round things out.  It makes for a wonderful pre or post dinner libation.

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Werewolves of Austin

It's Fall which means i'm still very much grooving on the darker brews most of the time, but it's also Central Texas which means it's still warm, so i'm also still very much grooving on citrusy IPA's.  And so we have the Werewolves of Austin Hazy IPA from Austin's Oddwood Ales, a 6.4% ABV brew that utilizes New Zealand hops to create one tasty libation.  The beer pours a hazy, goldish orange with a frothy white head and smells of pineapple, mango, berries, and citrus.  The flavor is a burst of those same notes with some maltiness on the backend to ground things, making for a real smooth and easy drinker.

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Rumpy Rum Barrel Aged Pumpkin Ale

Let's get one more pumpkin ale in as the season comes to a close.  Rahr & Sons make it even livelier by making it extra boozy.  Finishing off a strange but still fun Halloween comes Rumpy, a rum barrel aged pumpkin ale.  The 9% ABV brew pours a goldish brown with a quickly dissipating white head and smells of rum, pumpkins, and spices.  The flavor is similar to the aroma, plenty of rum and pumpkin spice to go around, with some additional hints of brown sugar.  A wonderful Autumn brew.

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