Yesterday it was Black Heart, today it's Ink Heart! As much as I ragged on SOB's labels yesterday, I'd like to offer a completely inverse opinion about Laurelwood's. This label is gorgeous! I have no idea where the name "Ink Heart" comes from, but I totally dig the bottle art. Here's the beer description written on the side of the bottle: Fairly bitter, with some cereal-ish malts hiding out somewhere in the back. I don't love the hops variety... they seem mostly of the "straight-on bitter" variety rather than the "bitter, but floral and fruity" kind. That said, it's not a hop-bomb, and the bitterness, though at the front of the flavor profile, isn't a tear-off-your-tastebuds sort of bitterness. This beer was just okay. There's not anything wrong with it, per-se, but it does make me question my allegiance to this whole new "Cascadian Dark Ale" style. The Hopworks Secession was my first introduction to the style when it first came out two years ago, and I absolutely loved it. Since then, they've been rather hit-or-miss for me... and as much as I hate to say it, I think that Ink Heart is a "miss". Don't get me wrong, I love Laurelwood. I honestly believe that they make some of the best IPAs in Oregon, hands-down. This, unfortunately, isn't one of them. On a final note, there was a bit of sediment at the bottom of the pint, which isn't something I necessarily love seeing in a beer, and is the second time I've come across this problem with Laurelwood bottles in less than a year. Last time I wrote about it (in the Laurelwood Organic Pale), I received a nice email from Laurelwood founder Michael De Kalb, who wrote: So much for "lessons learned", I guess. :/