Halloween is now only a few short days away and time if fast running out to find the right beer for the occasion. Last week, we featured a pumpkin ale from Southern Tier Brewing and if that’s your cup of Halloween beer, you’re more than welcome to it. Personally, I prefer more tasty brews that still have a connection with the occasion. Rogue’s Dead Guy Ale or Great Lakes Brewing’s Nosferatu for example. Or this week’s selection, Certified Evil from Lucky Bucket Brewing in La Vista, Nebraska:
Certified Evil is the result of a 2008 collaboration project with Todd Ashman of Fifty Fifty Brewing in Truckee, California and Matt Van Wyk of Oakshire Brewing in Eugene, Oregon. Each brewer set out to create a dark Belgian strong ale with their own unique spin on the style. Since the first collaboration, six new breweries have been added to the project to invent a truly unique beer. This beer is properly named Certified Evil.
The new Certified Evil recipe is more complex and interesting than the brew from 2008. This new beer blends Certified Evil aged in Cabernet barrels for one year with a younger batch of oaked aged Certified Evil. The combination makes for a vibrant yet smooth and elegant taste. The recipe also includes a wide variety of complex sugars including turbinado sugar, molasses and honey. The result is an amazingly complex beer. Truly a must try to any craft beer lover.
This is our first beer of the week from Nebraska. I’ve heard that nothing good comes from the Cornhusker State, but I never thought it would bring forth Evil.
12oz brown short bottle. Stark black label with creepy yellow font.
Alcohol by Volume: 9.6%
COLOR (0-2): Deep ominous black. 2
AROMA (0-2): Sweet and sour malt with vanilla. 2
HEAD (0-2): Light brown, moderate volume, laces well. 2
TASTE (0-5): Strong flavors of roasted malt, yeast, and hops with a little pepper and syrupy sweetness. It has a sour, bitter finish. Heavy-bodied with a thick mouthfeel. You can definitely taste the heat as well. 3
AFTERTASTE (0-2): Very rich and long lasting. 2
OVERALL (0-6): This is a big bold beer that packs a wallop of different flavors. It’s not especially balanced or well-rounded and is a bit of a mess really. Still, it’s an interesting mess and is certainly unique. There’s just enough appeal there to keep it tempting. And it does work well with chocolate. What more could you want on Halloween? No need to fear the darkness here. 4
TOTAL SCORE (0-19): 15
