Beer!

I've been waiting so long to open this bottle of beer! It's Rogue Hazelnut Brown "Nectar" and I picked it up a couple of months ago after I saw the @winebratsf AKA Thea raving about Rogue on twitter or somewhere.

It took us a while to find the right setting for this beer. The thought of hazelnut beer conjured up Nutella-esque flavors which don't necessarily lend well to food pairings. Also, the patio has been off limits these five long months putting a big damper on our beer consumption.

So the beer: Was it naive of me to think it would taste like hazelnut? It doesn't. It smells like Guinness. It doesn't taste like Guinness. It's lighter--less molasses, but it still has a nice creaminess. It has the texture of a good micro-brewed cream soda.

Anyway, I like it. I would choose this over Guinness given the option because it's got all the flavor without the gloopiness. Actually, now that it's been in my glass a while, I can smell some toasty nutiness...almost hazelnut. Okay, yeah... I can see it. It's not overwhelming; not sweet. This beer will go just fine with bangers and mash, brisket, garlic fries, in other words, any kind of pub grub.