The last time I rode a bike, it was probably a Huffy, and I had skinned knees and not a care in the world. I used to take a great deal of pride in my bicycling skills. I was no Dave Mira, RIP, but I was able to ride with no hands alongside the bayou that ran through my neighborhood and up and down curbs/sidewalks. Nobody else could do that. Well, I don’t have a long list of accomplishments or a palmarés, but that’ll have to do.
A palmarés is essentially a cyclist’s resume, or their list of accomplishments. Although mine’s not real long, Cycler’s is! We learned that they earned 2 gold medals at a Hawaiin beer festival when we visited them for a detailed brewery guide. They sent us packing with a handful of beer to taste and write about, and today on the list is Cycler’s Palmares RIS.
When you come upon Palmares RIS out in the wild, it’ll likely be on tap. The Cycler’s tap handles look like little black bicycles doing a perfectly vertical indo, and they’ll have a label on them detailing what kind of beer it is. Palmares RIS is going to be black and gray with white and gold accents, and so is the label on the bomber. If you come across a bomber, the label will have the usual badge shape with the name of the beer and some sort of cycling-illustration. In this case, it’s a guy on a bike.
Palmares RIS is a jet black beer with a tall creamy head that didn’t stay along for the ride. The full-bodied rich character was bold and delicious. The mouthfeel was a tiny bit on the light side, but that lent this Palmares RIS to be super-drinkable. The carbonation was perfectly balanced too.
This Russian starts with a roasty sweet nose. There’s a mild start, and a big roasty climax that peaks higher as it’s colder but mellows out a lot as it warms. Then there’s a loooooooong roasty finish that hangs out for a while like a strong black coffee would. Starbucks ain’t got nothing on cyclers. Palmares RIS has a tiny bit of booze on the finish once it warms up to almost room temp.
Palmares RIS reminded me a bit of SpindleTap’s Aceite Crudo, but not quite as creamy or roasty as that one. A little lighter.
I gave Palmares RIS four stars because it’s a great beer. I love all (good) beer, but stouts aren’t really my go to. I could see myself stocking up on this if I can find it out and about. It’s a great beer.
I didn’t really know what to expect of it when I first had it because Cycler’s beers are all over the map creativity-wise. Check out more here.
Anthony's a Houston native, a Creative Strategist at https://ledgeloungers.com/, an adjunct instructor of Visual Communication at Lone Star College, and a UH Coog that loves good beer almost as much as he does his city. Anthony lives to help others and that's found a home helping some of the coolest breweries on earth with creative and marketing projects that can be seen on our Portfolio page. Fueled by hoppy lagers, sessionable IPAs, and gangster rap, he's ticked his way through H-Town, rocking the most unusual Nikes he can find. When he's not writing for us, he's with his family or very patiently rooting for the Rockets.
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