Thunder Canyon Black and Tan

Sampled 1702, March 2009
This beer arrives from the tap with a clear, dark brown, amber tinged color. It is topped by a wispy, thin, tan colored head that sticks around partially covering things for a bit. The aroma has a nice nuttiness to it as well as a solid toasted malt aromatic and a backdrop of solidly fruity esters that help to round things out. The toasted grain notes seem to increase over time.

This beer is quite fruity tasting with a definite berry note as well as a touch of soft citrus character that must be hop derived. The flavor has a solid malt character to it that provides a nice toasted nuttiness, toasted malt notes, a hint of roast character (though this is quite subtle) as well as a sweet caramelized malt character. This beer is pretty good, I am a bit surprised by how subtle the stout influence is, but this is nicely balanced, yet characterful enough to stay interesting.