“If any beer makes us world famous, it will be this one.”
That is the initial tag line from the Roth Brewing (no relation) website for Forgotten Hollow, a damn special beer that speaks the truth to the bold statement. It’s a fairly straight-forward brew – a porter with cinnamon – with great results. It’s got an 84 on Beer Advocate in limited review.
I met the brewery’s CEO and brewer, Ryan Roth (I swear, no relation), a couple years back shortly after Roth Brewing opened. This beer is based from his own homebrew recipe, although I can’t recall how many iterations he went through before finding the right amount of everything. Needless to say, it’s a great and unique entry to the North Carolina beer scene. It’s just a shame this seasonal isn’t around more often.
Curious where this beer took my senses? Hit the jump for a quick review.
Like a warm dessert, this beer feels appropriate to be served as a breakfast treat or an after-dinner course. It’s most tempting to let Forgotten Hollow warm to let its characteristics of roasted coffee, chocolate and fresh cinnamon blend together even further:
At 6 percent ABV, it’s an easy sipper that offers the option of drinking quickly because you don’t want to put it down or linger on each sip to savor the beer and draw in all the mixing flavors. The more Forgotten Hollow warmed, the more it reminded me of all the flavors you’d soak up enjoying coffee cake with a cup of hot chocolate. This is a beer that cries to be the lone alcoholic beverage and perfect complement served at Cinnabon.
The cloying mouthfeel of dark grains leaves a slight bitter taste, although its the lingering coffee and chocolatethat really bring everything together. There’s no hop aroma or flavor present. A vanilla sweetness pops by from time to time to offer a nice roundness beyond the obvious characteristics of cinnamon and chocolate.
Forgotten Hollow is a great addition to North Carolina beer for its novelty as well as an almost romantic makeup. It’s a simple profile, but one that works great and yearns to be enjoyed by a fire in the middle of winter.
*Forgotten Hollow ingredients aren’t easily found, aside from caramel malt and cinnamon as an adjunct*
