On The Winter Solstice, We Fade to Black

The lack of daylight this time of year can be difficult to deal with in our daily lives. Darkness in the sky is quite apparent today, on the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. What better way to lift your spirit out of the dark doldrums than by sitting down with friends and sharing some delicious craft beer? A fitting beer to have on the darkest day of the year is Fade to Black, Volume 1, from Left Hand Brewing Company in Longmont, Colorado. This fantastic foreign export stout hits all the right notes for the style, offering rich roasty character along with depth and drinkability.

Left Hand releases its Fade to Black beers as winter seasonals, giving consumers a broad taste of dark malts and specialty grains. There are five beers in the series, all of which are black ales that range from more traditional styles like the foreign export stout to experimental or innovative beers like a chili pepper porter. Fade to Black, Volume 1 is also a highly regarded and awarded beer, having taken gold medals in 2010 and 2013 in the Foreign Stout Category at the Great American Beer Festival. With so many variations of the stout style - dry, sweet, foreign, oatmeal, imperial, American - it's important that the brewer get each aspect of the particular sub-style correct, and Left Hand does a wonderful job with Volume 1. Foreign export stouts have a higher gravity than most other types of stouts, with a dark and complex roasted character that leads to a bitter, dry finish.

Volume 1, which should be enjoyed at around 50 degrees, pours a deep black color with a thin head of foam. It has a rich, layered aroma of chocolate, coffee beans, molasses, and roasted bitterness. Moderate carbonation and a medium-full body give Volume 1 a substantial mouthfeel. There's a lot happening in the flavors, which encompass chocolate, espresso, a touch of vanilla, some dark fruit, and a roasty bitterness from the complex malt base and roasted barley used in brewing this beer. There's also a vinous character and some earthy undertones that add to the complexity. Volume 1 finishes quite dry with a lingering bitterness. Overall, it's a very enjoyable, smooth, creamy, roasty stout that fits the style perfectly.

Starting tomorrow, the days will get longer again, but there's still plenty of darkness for a while and lots of reasons to enjoy excellent dark beers throughout the winter. The Fade to Black series alone gives you five different ways to enjoy darker malts, so give any of these beers a try if you see them available.