Rating: 5/5
Seven Sharks A-Circling by Karl Strauss is a 9% ABV Holiday Imperial Smoked Porter
Label:
Each year, leopard sharks flock to the warm waters of San Diego. But these little guys aren’t out for blood; they much prefer the taste of the newest local brew. (Yep, leopard sharks love craft beer. It’s science.) Introducing Seven Sharks A-Circling, the 7th installment in our “Twelve Days” holiday series. This Imperial Smoked Porter is brewed with a blend of caramel and smoked malts for bold flavors of chocolate, coffee, and a subtle beach-bonfire-like smokiness. It finishes sweet and smooth. You’re gonna need a bigger glass.
==Introduction==
The 7th release of the 12 Christmas beers of San Diego was released this year now available in time for the Holidays. As the 7th installment in the series, each year, Karl Strauss has been releasing awesome hit after awesome hit. Ever since I tried the Fruit cake forward Mouette à Trois, I was hooked on this series. After completing the review with Two Tortugas, it was about time I finally got to the next one in the series. This is themed with sharks. Instead of Swans swimming, it’s sharks swimming but circling around their prey. I am not sure how a smoked Imperial porter would work as a Christmas beer other than sitting toasty by the fire around Christmas time which would make sense. Either way, let’s have a look at another amazing installment in the series. Cheers!
Aromas:
Smokey notes, campfire oak, vanilla, caramel, mocha, fruit cake, ginger bread, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, whiskey oak hints, marshmallows, hazelnut nectar, molasses, licorice, anise, tobacco and dark fruits.
Flavors:
Rich caramel, rye bread, smoked malts, coffee, espresso, burnt candy sugar, dark fruit prunes, currants, cinnamon, toasted fruit cake, dark chocolate, BBQ sauce hints, brown sugar, campfire oak, vanilla, dulce de leche caramel, mocha, fig pudding, molasses, licorice, anise, tobacco, soy sauce hints, maple syrup, whiskey notes, pecans, hazelnut nectar and marshmallow smores.
Aftertaste:
Finishes with rich dark fruits, smoked oak, rye bread, tobacco, earthy notes, licorice, anise, fruit cake, marshmallow smores and dark chocolate. No alcohol in the taste. Dark crimson full body, smooth, creamy and velvety mouthfeel and a sipping drinkability.
Overall:
A perfect smoked brew. I haven’t a smoked porter in a very long time and the way this was made definitely brings in some subtle notes of Christmas. I really would love to know what part of it has the subtle holiday spices since they do seem to be there but the smokiness tends to balance things out for this one. So you still get the Christmas aspect of the beer along with some smoky goodness. If you love smokey brews, give this one a shot!
Anime Corner:
7 Girls from the RWBY series, 3 are antagonist (Cinder Fall [center], Emerald Sustrai [left standing] and Neopolitan [left sitting]) 1 questionable (Raven Branwen on the most left) and 3 supporting protagonist characters (Penny Polendina [Right side next to Cinder], Velvet Scarlatina [laying down on the right] and Coco Adel [Right]) They were all used in this pairing to go with the 7 sharks a circling. Now, the fact that they are on the beach also goes with the theme. Some of these sharks are evil and some are good. So the fact that there is a balance in the characters, the shark species and the balance in this brew was the perfect harmonious pairing.
Brewerianimelogs (Anime and Beer Lore) 