Beermas 2013-2014 – Day 12 – SLEIGHR Dark Double Alt Ale – Ninkasi Brewing Company

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Well folks – we made it.  Beermas day 12 is now upon us.  I spent a good while in the beer store thinking how I wanted to finish off this Beermas with a bang and when I saw this beer I had to grab it.  Not only did it call out to me,  it also influenced the hard rockin’ intro I composed for it.

Stats: 1 Pint/ 7.2% Alc. Vol/ OG 1068 / BU 50

First off – what’s in the name??  Well, to quote from the bottle:

The ancient sumerians worshipped the beer they made and praised the goddess ninkasi for the miracle of fermentation.  Beer is a staple of civilization.  Worship the goddess.

I think I can get behind that statement.

Ok, we need to figure out what this Dark Double Alt Ale is.   Quote from the Ninkasi website:

An alt ferments with ale yeast at colder lagering temperatures. This effect gives alts a more refined and crisp lager-like flavor than traditional ales. The doüble alt means that it has been “Ninkasified.” Regular alts are 5 to 5.5 percent ABV and 40 IBU’s. Sleigh’r has a deep, toasted malt flavor that finishes dry and has 7.2 percent ABV and 50 IBU’s keeping it in a perfect alt balance

Suggested food pairings from the brewer’s website are:

Beef, Lamb, Duck, Steamed Shellfish, Strong Cheeses, Chocolate Torte or there very own receipe on the website for SLEIGHR BALLS!

Ok, I think that’s enough pre-tasting info, lets crack it open and see what we’re dealing with!

The beer pours a deep rich brown with a tan coloured head.

I’m having a hard time articulating the aroma – perhaps 12 days of beer tasting in a row has finally gotten the best of me.   Let’s just taste it…  This beer is delicious.  It’s flavourful yet light in body.  It’s not wintery in terms of the spicing.  It’s very well balanced, it’s got just the right malt/hop ration with a subtle coffee/toffee molasses like finish.

This is a great beer and definitely gains rebuy status for me.  I look forward to trying other beers from Ninkasi.

Final thoughts:

This is my 3rd Beermas now.  Beermas gives me a reason to sit down and play music and drink beer and share the results of that with anyone who stumbles upon the site. I have a good time doing it and I hope you’ve gotten something out of following Beermas 2013-2014.

I’ll may take it upon myself to do Beeroween again, but that’s a long way away.  Who knows – I may come up with something in between. I’m open to suggestions too. 😉

If you have any comments or thoughts on this year’s Beermas, good or bad –  feel free to comment or hit the contact page and make a suggestion.  I’m all ears.

Until next time … Cheers everyone and see you soon.