Your Mates Brewing ‘Donnie’ Dark Ale

Rating:

“Donnie is the dark horse, the strong and silent type. He may seem a bit intimidating at first, but once you crack a beer with him you’ll find that he’s a smooth operator with a heart of gold. If you’ve got a mate like #donniedarkale, you’ve got a mate for life.”

Glassware: Deep cola pour with a short tanned head on top. Steady reduction and reasonable lace as it ebbs.

Aroma: Nice and smoky. Really gritty and peaty and chock full of charred malt, ash, burnt wood, chocolate, tobacco and raw coffee bean. Really packs a punch for its size. Maybe just maybe a hint of smoked almonds and lightly burnt toffee rocking up late to the party. Nice!

Flavour: Just keeps enough meat on its bones. The smoky flavours are the most dominant, bringing other adjuncts like ash, charred wood and raw tobacco. Lightly roasted malts, chocolate and coffee, maybe a touch of earthy hops peeking through too. Finishes roasty and toasty with a little dryness to clean it all up.

Mouthfeel: Just a tad thin for our liking. Mild-medium body. Co2 and ABV are spot on.

Overall: Not bad. The aroma is its strongest attribute but it went ever so slightly down hill after that. Look, it’s a decent drop, love the smoky notes – very unexpected. It just didn’t wow us in the end.