Maibock
Brewer's Alley Restaurant & Brewery

 

Uninspiring

 

Beer served in a tulip. Beer pours orange red with little head. Beer smells of raisins and sweet malt. Tastes of sweet grain and fruit, mainly grapes and berries. Beer is light bodied and dangerously drinkable. Overall, an above average beer.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a growler into tall ale glass

A: super high head--amazing; pours cloudy dark orange
S: bouyant, fresh, floral aroma; pleasant
T: tinny; flat-cola flavor; it's really hard to get around that, but if you can, you might pick up a pleasant orange, malty flavor

Overall, a fine beer except for the metallic character; but maybe it was just this batch

In general I was pretty unimpressed by this beer. Dark ruby in color...even when held up to light. Little too dark when compared to other maibocks which I liked much better. Left no lacing behind on the glass. Smell was almost nonexistent. I picked up a touch of sweet maltiness but that was it. Taste was the same. I tasted was malt sweetness. Where are the hops that are traditionally in maibocks? Felt thin in the mouth...watery even. All together I was rather unimpressed...especially when compaired to some of the awesome maibocks I've had...Smuttynose I'm looking at you. I wouldn't recommend this this beer to a fellow BA...there are much better examples of this style out there.

A= deep dark cherry-amnber, some white lacing and modest rimming.

S= fruity malts, slight hops floral dryness.

T= a bit of a shock, sweet sweet sweet shock that really put me off. It was something like taking a gulp of cold but flat Dr Pepper. Some hops bitters and malty notes. The beer seemed to settle together somewhat after a few minutes but not enough to let me be able to drink even half of it.

M= cherry, light bitters, some dusty malts.

D= not that drinkable for my preferences, just too sweet compared to any other maibock that I've ever had.

I happened to read the last, and only other, review of this beer from '05 and was surprised by the low rating. Seems the lads at Brewer's Alley have been busy making the right changes to this style, because I found this Maibock to be quite tasty.

Appeared a deep brown/orange copper color with a one-finger head, and a bit of lace. It was much lighter in orange color around the edges of the glass when held up to the light. The aroma was a very sweet, banana-nut-bread scent, with some orange rind, a hint of vanilla, and some other spices. Definitely some clove scent in there. The taste was strong; very dense banana flavors with spices (again, the clove is present here as well). Very full-bodied mouthfeel. Chewy and smooth. This is a heavy springtime brew, and certainly not to be trifled with at 8.2% ABV. Not my favorite style of beers, but this maibock is one of the better American versions I've had to date. A must for sweet and spicy malty beer fans.

Something was again off with this beer. It looked good if a few shades too dark and it smelled nice all malty and yeasty. The taste was a let down and there was a residual cloy taste that stuck out in the aftertaste. It made for big gulps and slower drinking. It was also a little thin for a 7.5% beer.