Two of the early new releases this year from Public Coast Brewing were darker beers suited for the winter months: stRanger Tides, a chocolate cherry stout, and Dunkel Dreams, a lager brewed with chai spiced tea. Both of these were collaboration beers with Portland companies Ranger Chocolate and Smith Teamaker, respectively, and I received cans of each to review.
Let’s get into them, starting with the lager.
Dunkel Dreams
At 5.2% alcohol by volume, this dunkel (dark) lager is easy drinking, with an interesting dimension provided by the Masala Chai spiced black tea blend from Smith Teamaker.
There’s not much more info on the beer itself, but I will note the ingredients Smith post on its website lists “Assam teas, ginger, cassia, black peppercorns, cardamom, cloves and natural spice oils” for the chai blend.
Appearance: Lovely amber-brown color, with some clarity, and a fizzy light tan head.
Smell: A bit of chai spice, but more of a sweeter direction with brown sugar, caramel, warm baking spices, some cardamom. I get a bit of toasted cinnamon raisin bread as it warms.
Taste: Slightly roasty, with spicing that reminds me more of a pumpkin beer than chai, with clove the most noticeable to my palate. There’s a tea-like character as well, a touch of black tea astringency with some bitterness at the back.
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a residual spice coating the tongue. Dry finish.
Overall: It’s interesting, and feels more like a fall/pumpkin theme. In hindsight it reminds me a bit of a spiced brown ale.
stRanger Tides
Start with a stout, then blend in chocolate and cherries—hard to go wrong on that, I’d say. Public Coast teamed up with Ranger Chocolate and incorporated its cocoa into this brew; the press release says, “This stout combines the rich allure of Ranger Chocolate Co. cocoa with the tangy juice of Oregon-grown [Bing] cherries.”
I don’t think Public Coast sourced the cherries from its own farm—the company usually highlights that if so. The beer is 7.8% ABV, strong enough to be a nice dessert beer or nightcap.
Appearance: Deep, dark brown, opaque, with a chocolate-tan head.
Smell: Chocolate cherry cordial, with the cherries giving a candied fruit impression with some bittersweet cocoa and chocolate fudge syrup. Rich and fruity.
Taste: Semi-sweet chocolate over a milk stout and a slightly saccharine-like sweetness of cherry that seems a bit artificial—not sure why? Perhaps it’s just how the cocoa, cherries, and malt are interacting, but beyond that, it’s good with a nice light roastiness, though it is a bit cloying. It presents more as chocolate than dark malt in flavor.
Mouthfeel: Fairly full-bodied with a slick texture, a deep sweet chocolate note that’s a bit cloying.
Overall: This is decadent and rich and pretty good, though there’s that light artificial note (perhaps phenolic?).
