Wild Hunt
Christian Moerlein Brewing Company

 

From the fine folks at Moerlein in a 22 oz bottle, enjoyed in a snifter, and also kudos to
Randy for this nice little ale. Pouring a deep dark blackish brown with a fantastic fluffy
head of tan foam that lingers long and leaves rocky peaks and fine sudsy sticky lacing.
Very appealing. Nose of heavy citrus, sweet malts, light char, and prominent grapefruit.
Flavors are nice with dark roasted malts touched by char, black strap molasses, heavy
grapefruit and pine. Nice body; medium mouth feel, assertive hopping, bitter finish.
Overall, a good American Black ale that makes me think of another American classic
brewer----Rogue and Mogul Madness ale which was a favorite of mine for years.

Cheers

My wife was in Cincy recently for work so I put in a request for her to bring home some of the Moerlein beers that I used to love getting when we lived in that area. She came back with this one (as well as a few others) since she knew that I had never seen this one before.

Poured moderately hard, this beer produces a 2 finger high, creamy off-white head that has a bit of a tannish tint to it. The head dissipates rather slowly. The beer itself is black and opaque with light carbonation visible around the edges. 4/5 The aroma is very strong with grapefruit and citrus peel easily discernible, even from several feet away while I put down the beer to write this sentence. Tangerine, pine resin, mango, and papaya come through as well as dark toasted wheat bread. The combination of citrus, pine, and bread is quite interesting and well balanced. 4.25/5 Caramel, molasses, and dark toasted wheat bread come out right up front, showcasing the malt. These flavors very quickly give way to the hop profile that is very much focused on citrus peel and pine. There is not as much of the citrus fruit from the aroma in the actual flavor. The bitterness is moderate to moderate high in strength with a lingering bitterness that is moderate but not overpowering. As the beer warms there is a bit of char and woodiness that comes through, providing a burnt and earthy note to the flavor that seems to amplify the bitterness. 3.5/5 There is a fairly significant carbonation burn right up front that gives way to a medium bodied mouthfeel that features significant drying with lingering dryness after swallowing. 3.75/5 While the aroma is quite sweet and fruity, the flavor is quite bitter and unbalanced. This is not to say that the flavor is not good, because it is. It's just not quite what I expected based on the aroma. 3.75/5