This was another bottle given to me by my friend out in San Diego. I'm pretty sure he sent it to me because it's hugely polarizing and wanted my opinion. Considering he likes it though at least he's not playing a trick on me. The reason this beer is so odd is that it's made with madras curry, cayenne pepper, cumin, toasted coconut and kaffir lime leaf with a 9% foreign / export stout base. So, yeah, kind of bizarre.
Smelled like cumin and curry with a hint of coconut. Really strong cumin smell. I like cumin, but it was still a bit off putting as it's not a smell normally associated with a beer. Luckily, the flavor wasn't dominated by the cumin but instead by coconut with some chocolate and roast from the base stout. There was a little hint of lime and the finish had some cumin in it but at that point it blended well with the rest unlike the nose. As I drank more, my lips started tingling a bit which was a result of the cayenne pepper in the beer. It's not something you notice flavor wise as there's no spiciness, but it still manages to make its presence known.
I drank the whole bottle myself so I'd say I enjoyed it, but not sure I'd be interested in drinking a second. It was one of the most unique beers I've ever had, though, that's for sure. I do find it funny that there are reviews complaining about too much cumin, too much spice, etc. I mean, what did they expect? It's not like Ballast Point hid what this was. The ingredients are written right on the bottle! Silly people. Like complaining a sour tastes sour or a coffee stout tastes like coffee.
I suppose this would be good with Indian food then? There is a great Indian place near us - I should tell Sean to try to get a hold of this beer to go with our next takeout order. Is this beer hard to find?
ReplyDeleteI mean, the curry and cumin would go well, but the chocolate and coconut may clash a little. Since most of the flavor was coconut and the base stout, it's hard to tell. Still, it's unique and worth experiencing once.
ReplyDeleteAs far as it's availability, I honestly don't know. A friend sent it to me from San Diego. It may only be on shelves closer to Ballast Point.