Satin Solitude, Central Waters Brewing Company

Today’s beer comes from a brewery that strives to be green.  Central Waters Brewing Company sources most of their ingredients from local producers, going as far as founding a coop to meet demand.  They’ve switched to efficient light bulbs with motion sensors to automatically turn off when no one’s there.  They’ve even installed solar arrays to heat their water and provide 20% of their electricity.  I wouldn’t be surprised to find Jimmy Carter wandering the brewhouse in his signature cardigan turning down all the thermostats.  While green politics were unable to take root in the 1970s U.S., businesses like Central Waters are picking up the fight.  A local brewpub owner once ticked through a plethora of green techniques and policies he had in place despite having only one location at the time.  So much for the “environmentalism kills small business” trope.  Anyway, lets move on to the beer.  We can determine if the focus on greening has taken their eye off the ball.  I give you Satin Solitude.

So satiny.  So alone.

As the beer exits the bottle and falls through the air it looks brown, but once it has settled into its new home it is pretty darn close to black.  Good.  I like the dark ones.  The aroma hints this may go coffee on me but doesn’t assure it.  My tongue is a bit more confident.  The coffee notes do not dominate the game, leaving room for others like cream and small doses of carbon.  I can kind of see where the Satin in the name comes from.  The mouthfeel masks the alcohol bite so that this 7.5% stout feels not a point over, say, 6.8%.  Small change but noticeable nonetheless.  Other reviewers have mentioned this beer is a bit thin for an imperial stout.  I wouldn’t say that.  Not every stout is Old Rasputin.  Get over it.  Always remember that each beer style contains a diverse set of brews.  Satin Solitude takes a slightly less bombastic approach and rocks it.  So what if it’s not as thick?  If I want a second one, I can have it.  Try drinking multiples of the far end of the imperial stout spectrum.  I find assessing beers by their own merits leads to more enjoyable drinking.

Well, for Central Water Brewing Company at least, a focus on being green has definitely not detracted from the quality of the tipple.  Perhaps they can serve as an inspiration for us all.  Maybe we can reduce our carbon footprint without reducing our standard of living after all.  If the beer is good we might not mind even if we did have to sacrifice a few luxuries.  Here’s to good environmental stewardship and good beer!  Can we have both?

Si se puede!