BCTCB Black Lingerie - The Review

As a general rule I don’t want to put my reviews of other homebrewer’s beer up on this site.  There will be however one type of exception allowed, if said beer is so outstanding that it, and the brewer, needs to be highlighted. 

The Label

For the first entry into this rule of exceptional beer I’m going to talk about Black Lingerie that I received from my BrewBrother Daniel.  Daniel, aka Beancurdturtle, is the creative mastermind behind what I refer to as BCTCB or Beancurdturtle Creative Brewing.  Not only does Daniel make great beer but he is probably the most creative brewer I’ve had the pleasure of talking to.   His recipes have included rose petals, oak staves, hand crushed strawberries (added briefly at knockout then removed), kona coffee and many more that I can’t remember off the top of my head. He recently made a mead using lemon grass, kaffir limes, chili peppers and super fresh honey. I need to build a database just to track his creativity for future reference.

Let’s move on to Black Lingerie. I was fortunate enough (only 3 gallons were ever produced) to receive an eight ounce bottle of this delicious concoction back in January.  When Daniel gave it to me he told me to sit on it for awhile and let it age.  It was tough keeping it in my fridge and constantly staring at if for eight months but I did. Then a few weeks back Daniel posted that he had opened a bottle and it was time to drink it. 

I initially had no desire to post up a review but I was so blown away by it I knew I needed to.

So good

Black Lingerie

8oz gold waxed bottle poured into my freshly washed Surly Darkness tulip, in retrospect this was the perfect glass for this beer. The label indicates that it was inspired by his Baltic Porter (another awesome beer) only more vigorously boiled.  It also mentions that towards the end of secondary vanilla beans from Papua New Guinea where added along with Chinese aromatic miniature whole rose bud tea. SRM of 38, IBU of 30 with an ABV of 10% bottled on 11-Dec-2010.

Appearance:  Pours inky black into to glass forming a very creamy light tan head.  The head laces the glass extremely well and is an off white color. The beer retains its head probably better than any 10% beer I’ve ever seen.  I nice bit of yeast remains in the bottle.  The color is very very dark black yet also very clear in the slim instances where you can actually pierce the darkness.

Aroma:  The aroma is my first clue that I was about to drink an extraordinary beer.  I’ve seen in reviews people taking about how some beers have a tobacco like aroma to them.  I personally have never really encountered this in a beer before, this beer changed all that. Holy shit, the aroma hits my nose like a train made of cigars on fire! Deep rich cigar aroma, not tobacco

Mouthfeel:  Exceptionally smooth and silky.  It seems fill and coat my mouth.  Very thick and creamy definitely full bodied.

Taste:  A somewhat long time ago I was really into cigars, drinking this beer brought back memories of some of the best cigars I’ve ever had.  The taste is really rich and extremely complex.  I’m picking up roast, sweetness, flowers, chocolate (might be a sensation), cigar tobacco of course.  No off flavors at all just a wonderfully crafted beer.

Overall:  I should have used this as trade bait to land me a whale of a beer. That was the thought that popped into my head as I drank the beer. Several times while drinking this beer I honestly thought I was smoking an incredibly smooth cigar.  It really is amazing what time will do to a beer. I think the Bruery missed out, this should have been Batch 300.

I know this review might come across as a little over the top heaping praise on a buddy but you have to believe me it is 100% fact based. In my head I have a list of the best homebrews I’ve ever had; for its look, aroma and complexity of flavor Black Lingerie may very well stand on the top of them all.