Berthô

This slightly hazy, deep amber-colored beer with a moderately large head of tiny, light-tan bubbles has a head that retains well and fades slowly, leaving some nice Belgian lace on the glass. The aroma is nutty, toffee-like and slightly caramelly, with a background of roasty character, bread crusts, and some black pepper and slightly grassy hop notes – definitely an inviting aroma. The first sip brings across nutty notes and an English toffee malt backbone. Very slight fusel, solvent-like notes and smooth ethanol characters in the flavor do not detract and actually work pretty well with the nuttiness. Both the aroma and the flavor have some background smoky notes that add to the depth and complexity of the beer. A medium-light body with a dry finish that is slightly coarse only adds to the overall character of the beer. This is a good, highly sessionable beer with quite a bit of depth – although there seems to be some sneaky alcohol strength lurking underneath it all. This would go nicely with spicy meats, like pastrami or salami, or perhaps a Reuben sandwich.