Night Shift Brewing out of Everett MA. continue to impress me with each beer I try. Night Shift Taza Stout takes the traditional spin on a chocolate stout and brings it to a new level. Or as the brewers of Night Shift would say it is “shifted”.
Let us start with the obvious, the yeast. While most stouts are brewed with some type of traditional ale yeast Night Shift use their proprietary Belgium yeast strain. The yeast gives the beer wonderful subtle fruit essence. The yeast plays well off the ginger added to the boil with roasted chicory.
The color of the beer is an ultra deep brown almost black with deep red tones with a tan head. The aroma is as expected – vanilla, cacao, and ginger esters are joined by wonderful roasted tones. All of the aromas follow this pleasurable experience as tastes on the palette from the initial sip and through the finish. This is quite a favorable beer.
The mouthfeel of this beer is medium bodied. It lends itself to being a perfect food companion seeing it leaves no syrupy coating on the tongue. I found the Night Shift Taza Stout to be the perfect beer to pair with my beef enchiladas with mole sauce. The taza chocolate played off the sauce perfectly, this is culinary heaven.
Paired with an entree, desert, or a nice robusto cigar. This beer is a treat for the drinker. Night Shift have given us a new twist on an old favorite. This is a beer we all will be enjoying for years to come.
You can find out more about Taza Stout and all of Night Shift’s great beers on their NightshiftBrewing.com and by following them on Twitter @NightShiftBeer
