Eagle Bay’s head brewer Keegan Steinbacher clearly likes alliteration, as this pair of beers attest. But while smart names are one thing, the liquid inside always needs to be the main event, and he has delivered both with a mature outlook, while bucking the trend towards adjunct excess.
Pepita Porter leads with dark chocolate and roast which segues into a slight late palate creaminess, before trailing off as bitter coffee and lager-derived, Baltic Porter dryness take over. Pepitas add a nutty quality as this warms, a character that leads us nicely into its sibling, Sea Salt Sesame Stout. Here sesame provides a more toasted nuttiness upon chocolate and biscuity malt, with salt providing a round, almost creamy mouthfeel – like fine bead sparkling – and a very dry coda.
Guy Southern
Published August 27, 2020 2020-08-27 00:00:00
