Dark Side of the Brew Moon

I took a brief trip to Edinburgh last week which turned up a number of unexpected beer related treats. They were all the more pleasant because I didn't go with beer in mind for this trip, it being a birthday present to my fiancee who isn't really into the beer scene. An article will turn up shortly on the ICB website about the trip when the layabout Mods over there return from various holidays.

My beer this evening is Brew Moon's Dark Side (of the moon) stout. It's the first time I've come across it in Dublin, though their pale ale has been around a while. I know little about their set up but fell in love with them upon trying their pale ale because it was nice and hoppy, but mainly because the abv on most of the bottles was hand written on a sticker which had been placed over the pre printed abv figure on the label. I love the idea of the brewer arseing up his original or final gravity, but because they are a small set up they had no choice but to sell the stuff and conscripted some unfortunate staff member into hand writing the achieved abv on hundreds of bottles. They state on the bottle that 600 litres is the average batch size, which is positively homebrew like compared to the bigger boys. I suppose this another thing that draws me to them because it really seems like their beer is truly hand crafted.

Their stout comes in an unusually ample serving of 640ml, perhaps a unit conversion hangover from whatever units they use in New Zealand. At 6% abv it is certainly a hefty measure, and a little strange because it is bottle conditioned and impossible to pour in one go into any glass that I possess. This is not a major issue for a stout because yeast haze doesn't really feature, but it would be problematic for a paler beer. Perhaps they want us to share the bottle with a chum? Not bloody likely. It's a lovely drop and I want it all to myself. It's rich roasty stuff with warming alcohol, satisfying fullness and a tan head that won't go away.