I wanted to treat the wife to a date night and for us the perfect date is takeout a good beer and some Netflix. I ended up arranging a flower bouquet and I was also craving some desert so I opted for some thin baked chocolate chip cookies.
As for the beer I broke out a special sour, Phytologia (2019) by Speciations Artesian Ales. Phytologia is a barrel aged dark sour with coffee, cascara and vanilla. It’s a collaborative beer with Coffee Cultivate.
If you think that sounds crazy enough they started with second use whiskey and tequila barrels. Yes, tequila barrels so there’s a undertone of tequila in this one too!
The appearance is dark like a stout, but being an ale it’s thinner so you can see light through it. This one has no head. There’s only a small halo that is not really noticeable. I would describe it as a clean appearance that’s no frills.
The aroma is complex and just down right funky. I get vanilla whisky notes and earthy tequila. It’s kind of acidic and has a strong sour aroma. I don’t tons of coffee, but with all the sting flavors I was not expecting to picking everything up individually.
The flavor is outrageous. Coffee forward with A warm whiskey and vanilla middle. The finish is complex and funky as hell. It’s a earthy tequila finish that turns sour with an acidic punch. A pint is a large pour for this beer. I’d like more as a snifter because in larger quantities I start to lose my ability pick up individual flavors as my tastebuds get tired.
It was a great beer to pair with a greasy stuff crust pizza. We can all remember the nights were we slammed too much tequila and gad to soak it up with some greasy carb filled meal. Not to mention, after those cookies I was in a semi booze fill food coma.
