Review - BrewDog Beer's Bashah
"What does it mean? Yes, what indeed does it all mean. Meaning of course is elusive and illusive. It can’t or shouldn’t be found on this bottle. Should it? Yet what if it was? Would you begin to look for pearls of wisdom or life direction on a beer label? Perhaps it’s been there all along. Since meaning is a mere illusion, perhaps we shouldn’t let it have any influence on our destiny. This particular beer refused to succumb to the illusion of meaning or allow capricious parameters to have any influence on its own fermented fate. Are we even asking the right question? Are you feeling frustrated in the emptiness? If so, that could be because someone got to this beer before you, and thus there’s a reason for that emptiness. It’s empty. And if so, perhaps there indeed is not any meaning for you here after all. Style over Substance, or Substance over the scriptures of Style? The latter, thank you very much. Twice." -- BrewDog & Stone
The Bashah pours a very dark brown hue, crowned with a healthy, creamy tan head with excellent retention. Solid rings of lacing with a very thick consistency. Body clarity is completely opaque. Initially, a milk chocolate aroma rose from the glass. Behind it, soft fruity - banana like - esters peaked through. A soft, warming alcohol presence was also noted. After the head settled, a rich hot chocolate-like aroma dominated the aroma. The chocolate reminded us of Tootsie Rolls. The initial taste has a creamy sweetness that slowly breaks down and gives way to a moderate hop bitterness towards the finish. Alcohol level is well-masked. The light to medium bodied Bashah is actively carbonated and slightly thin. The moderate hop bitter finish creates a drying feel on our tongue, then our mouths were warmed by a strong alcohol presence - but not overwhelming. Although the beer was quite dark, fruity esters were quite noticable in the finish.
As a dark beer, the Bashah is very smooth and easy to drink. From appearance alone, one may expect this to be a heavy, meal-like beer. With the combination of malts and fruit, the complex flavors were increased when the beer started to warm up. A beer worthy of the Stone moniker, if for nothing else than its ability to expand our expectations of how a style can be morphed into something new.
Reviewed on January 30th, 2010.
