Disclaimer: Black Hog Brewing Co. provided the Yale Herald with a selection of its beers free of cost. We are committed to impartial and unbiased beer analysis, and this relationship has no bearing on our evaluation of the beer.
Upon first search, Google defines granola as a kind of breakfast cereal. Further prodding and the additional keyword “slang” turns up a different, more interpretive definition: an “informal North American English adjective that describes someone who is environmentally aware, liberal, and uses natural products and health foods.” We went into this beer review expecting to taste the former: a nutty concoction of semi-sweet carbohydrates, perhaps with a thicker mouthfeel than a standard light beer. We got no such beer. Instead, we were left with something more akin to “granola as a concept,” as it was put to us by our Editor-in-Chief. So much so, in fact, that we found ourselves regretting getting vaccinated and yearning for essential oils.
The beer is light, agreeable, and inoffensive. It has a slight bitterness that is quickly flushed away by a piney sweetness, making each swallow crisp, like the crackle of a late-October leaf. Traversing the can’s circumference is a silhouette of a bandana-donning hiker, which is fitting. There’s a hint of trail spice in the flavor palette, and a dark chocolate dankness that hangs on the nose, making this feel like a beer crafted for outdoor consumption.
Overall: 7.4/10