Telegraph Brewing | Brewerianimelogs (Anime and Beer Lore)

Rating: 3.5/5

Obscura Cacao collaboration between Telegraph brewing and twenty-four blackbirds chocolate is a 7.3%ABV Herb/Spiced ale brewed with cocoa beans and with cocoa beans added.

Label:
We teamed up with our friends at Santa Barbara’s Twenty-Four Blackbirds Chocolate to create Orbscura Cacao. Made with whole Dominican cocoa beans—prized for there subtle, fruity character and rich chocolate flavor— Obscura Cocoa emphasizes notes of apricot, banana, and tropical fruit, all in perfect harmony with an underlying and unmistakable cocoa character. Pair this unique ale with one of the Twenty-Four Blackbirds artisan chocolate bars for the ultimate chocolate experience!
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This ale is quite different. I almost expected a dark ale in appearance, but this ale is quite dark in the sense of trying to figure out what it is taste wise. Aromas are of peach, bananas, raisin, plums, papaya, coriander spice, caramel, slight chocolate, candi sugars and veggies. The flavors are of banana, caramel, coriander, peach, raisins, cocoa notes, close to a white chocolate but more bitter, sweet potato /yams with little sweetness, pumpkin spice and pears. Different from what I was expecting. It is an interesting beer regardless but it is something I would only pick up once. I assume they were trying to go for like the Theobroma feel of using cocoa nibs in a clear ale or like the White Chocolate from the Bruery. Although those beers are in another league altogether. The flavors are not as balanced as I liked it to be yet this is still a decent beer. It is closer to the Fantome Chocolat but lighter and more sweet and bitter than sour.

Rating: 4.6/5

Winter Ale by Telegraph Brewing, in Santa Barbara CA, is 7.1%ABV Winter Warmer brewed with spices.

Label:
Inspired by Mexican hot chocolate. Telegraph Winter Ale warms even the coldest of nights with hints of cinnamon,allspice,and sweet ancho chilies. Using generous amounts of chocolate and caramel malts,we brew this beer in limited quantities as a special treat for our friends and families. Be sure to enjoy it cool,rather than cold to fully appreciate its complexity.
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The aromas of this beer are of caramel, apples, cinnamon, sugar plums, spicy chocolate, ginger, cloves, butterscotch, brown sugar and caramel. The flavors are close to a quad but lean more toward a spicy side than a bready side. Although some raisin bread pudding can be detected. This is quite nice. The ancho chillies come out alittle bit later as it warms up but only like peppery and spicy notes rather than heat. There are also flavors of chocolate abuelita, plums, apples, slight apple pie, cocoa, cinnamon, brown sugar, ginger bread, cloves, all spice and nutmeg. The beer has a nice cinnamon after taste that lingers for a while. It is a sweeter but more spicier. This one is worth trying as it is still very good and I am sure it would be good for the holidays too. While it is not abundant in chocolate, that is still no reason to not get it. The beer shines in its ability to balance out the sweetness with it’s spicyness which is really good. Like I said I almost got some nice quad characters. Which is definitely a reason to get this again.