One whiff tells you this beer is no joke: With 20 pounds of fresh ginger in each 20-barrel batch (“I stick fresh ginger in the blender and press ‘annihilate,’ then leave it in the entire boil,” Thompson says), the hazy, cider-color beer’s aroma is decidedly ripe, but soft and rounded rather than tangy. Smells of fresh ginger and a bit of toast carry through to the sharp, zippy taste, where sweet, tart ginger explodes on the tongue and extends through the entire swallow. The ginger could easily hijack the palate, but chocolate malt helps tame the beast, as does a tight, crisp mouthfeel that wards off cloying sensations and washes away all but a bit of ginger in the finish.
