Jerome Negra

600 ml bottle aptly enough, shared with my Argentine girlfriend who had never heard of it. I would first like to say that this beer blem my impressions of what South American beer normally tastes like away. This stout would stack up against almost 98% of all microbrewed stouts from the USA or classic brews from Europe. This beer pours dark as night with a chocolatey brown head. The aroma is sweet and sugary with just a hint of roasted bitterness. The flavor that follows is the same very bitey like espresso or bitter chocolate, followed up by a candy-like sweetness as it warms in the glass. The alcohol level is perfect, the mouthfeel is full yet a bit oily in texture. The finish is smooth, yet robust. Very, very good.

An enticing Southern hemisphere treat - I don’t much expect a dark beer to come out of South America as I do spicy foods and the lighter beers they pair with. A deep, one inch medium light brown head inflates above the beer, itself practically simmering with carbonation. The rippled, slightly wavy shape of the head reminds me of the dark patterns on a bull frog’s back. These simmering bubbles boil to the top where I catch the aroma of mixed nuts, peat, coffee and even a touch of chocolate. The nut aroma is wildly dominant, and even a bit autocratic. A sip brings me into the realm of severe drought, but I soon catch the enciting breeze of an all out eccentric and well-considered brew. The flavor seems "hollow", dusty, even cobwebby, with a skeleton crew of roasted coffee and light chocolate notes. The palate is flimsy, but still active. Still, the beer is devilishly dry, though not boozy. I’m drawn, but drawn to what? A desert? I feel like there’s an oasis somewhere in this bottle, but every time I lap up the beer I get another mouthful of dry desert air. Trippy, but delicious.

600ml bottle. Faint aroma of dark fruit, roasted malt, vanilla and cold press. Pours a fairly dark brown with a good sized khaki head. Lean and crisp. Lightly roasted acidic and metallic malt, a touch of diacetyl, old cold press and misused hops. Bordering on medium bodied. Lots of carbonation. Not undrinkable like some of their others, but a weak attempt at a stout nonetheless.

Appearance: black color. Medium head with beige color and medium persistency. Aroma: light toast, some yeasty smell and much mineralized aroma, maybe for the wather. Flavor: medium toast start and slightly sweet. Progress with yeast and bitter chocolate touches. Dry-toast, liquory and mineralized final. Palate: medium body with medium to high carbonation. Mediocre beer, too much mineralized.