So OK, I know the Christmas beers are out early this year. Or some of them anyway, and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet. But wait. What’s this? A Valentine’s beer is already on store shelves? Let’s take a look at the website description for Second Self Bleeding Heart, a beer my wife picked up for me in early November.
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we release
Stop the press! See? There it is! Valentine’s Day. OK, I’ll let them continue.
this amber ale brewed with COCOA and VANILLA and inspired by the Southern classic, RED VELVET cake. Bleeding Heart is the perfect balance of MALTY sweet with just enough hops to BALANCE it out. Like it’s inspirational dish, the cocoa is there for color and bitterness more than flavor, and the vanilla is the icing on top rounding out each sip, coming just at the end of your taste.
But wait! There’s more!
Breaking Hearts Starting January 2018
My heart is broken early, like! I don’t think this is old beer, because Target just got it in, and I have never seen it before anyway.
Second Self Bleeding Heart has an alcohol content of 6.9% by volume with 27 IBUs. The wife picked it up for $9.49 a six-pack in cans.
Second Self Bleeding Heart pours to a vibrant ruby color with a thick creamy head and gentle suggestions of vanilla and cocoa on the nose. Taking a sip, the beer is lightly toasty malty with more soft suggestions of vanilla and chocolate (powdered cocoa?), very subtle indeed. They work well though with the stewed malt flavors of the red ale, and the beer is nicely balanced at the last with a kiss of bitter hops.
This is supposed to be like red velvet cake, but there’s not enough vanilla to make that work. It doesn’t pull off the theme as well as Ballast Point Red Velvet Golden Oatmeal Stout. Which is not a stout of you ask me, but does taste like red velvet cake. This is the second beer in a short while I’ve had named Bleeding Heart. You can read about the other one by clicking the link. Duh.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled, canned
(D)=Draft