1554 Enlightened Black Ale

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers on their NBA championship! Of course, I'd have preferred that the Sixers kicked it up a notch and took the trophy, but God would never let the Phillies and Sixers be Champs at the same time. Congratulations also to the Lakers' fans, especially the ones who for some reason think that arson and setting fire to police cars is an appropriate celebratory reaction. I'm pretty sure I saw that in a gangsta rap video one time, too. The funniest part of the whole thing was during the parade a few days later, when all of the actual Laker players were riding through the procession on a giant fire truck. I guess better safe than sorry in LA!

I did a quick poll of some Facebook friends on whether I should drink the 1554 or the Skinny Dip tonight, and 1554 won by a hair. So here I am drinking 1554 Enlightened Black Ale brewed by New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado. The bottle tells a cool story about the 1554 name. Apparently these guys just happened to be reading a 4 or 5 hundred year old library book and they came across references to the Enlightened Black Ale style, then proceeded to translate words and measurement units to create this beer. Sounds like a lot of work!

Very nice chocolate and coffee aroma. My first impression is the lighter-than-expected body of the beer, interesting. Good flavors, with a lot of roasted malts and some nice dark fruits mixed in too. You do taste the chocolate too, but more as the beer progresses, which the above-average carbonation makes sure happens. The finish is dry and slightly bitter. And then it's all gone. The flavors go away in just a few seconds and don't last. Pretty good beer, different, very smooth, and for sure I'd drink it again. Just remember that you need to be continuously drinking it to keep the flavors in your mouth. Not a problem!

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