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Advent Calendar 2023, Day 14. Today's surprise is made of black rice. It's rather low-ABV, merely 3.8 %. I've had Asian pale rice beers before but most likely never a beer with black rice. Interesting! And yes, the beer is limpid black. The transparency can be easily verified by putting the glass against the light. The carbonation is not particularly posh but manages to unleash a fizzy, light coffeeish head that swells half a finger thick. The short retention pulls the head down to a twiggy lace ring. Roasted malt, rice krispies, faint nut and a milky idea constitute the olfactory universe here. The milk may well be my hallucination because of an imagined association with the cereal. Anyway, not as awkward as I feared at first. Or hoped. Oh yes, no milk in the taste. The flavor cocktail is composed of roasted malt, a hint of burned wood and dark bread, to start with. Marginal rice krispies can be added to the list. Oh wait... do I also pick a wisp of black olive somewhere in the background? Interesting if I do. Still interesting even if I don't. The body is thin. I'm neither surprised, nor unsatisfied, the ABV is known anyway. The finish doesn't fall far from the actual taste profile. A swelling ocean swallows me but all I really want is just another aftertaste; black rice, lady we knew right from the start. The mouthfeel is thin, modestly burned, roasty, slightly dry, balanced and gluggable. An interesting curiosity although tastewise nothing phenomenal. Could be even more perverted, this is now pretty sane. The rating is, of course, ABV-adjusted. As always.

Has a different taste that I find toasty. Toasted bread, toasted caramel with roasted nuts, dark fruit & a hint of chocolate, corn, wood & smoke. All of which are light but make their presence known. Has some very light earthy hops. Sweet and bitter but also light. Overall a very flavorful nut brown ale especially for only 3.8%. The color is almost black as it is really dark. A bit watery but given how it tastes I’ll let that slide.