Mad Bee
The Brew Keeper

12 oz. bottle with a white label that has 2 rows of honey combs. The top comb has big black letters that make up "Mad Bee." The second row of honey comb has the ABV% and "Honey Wheat Ale" dropped into the combs. Smack dab in the middle of the label is a large honey bee with a look on its face that says "I'm going to sting you!" To the far left of the label is the Government warning. The Brew Keeper doesn't date their bottles so don't waste your time looking for any kind of brewed date.

Again, I didn't have a Weizen glass available so I poured this beer into a simple mug. I was surprised to see that this beer actually poured a honey yellow color. It was a bit on the pale side, but it was still honey in color. I was also surprised to see such a big head of foam on this beer. It was a good one inch in height and cotton white in color. This head of foam had some great retention that left behind a fluffy white film and a small amount of tiny blots of lace.

There wasn't much of anything going on in the aroma. Even when it was swirled around, there still wasn't much of anything in the aroma. The aroma had a minor whiff of malted wheat that was quickly followed by a hint of honey and a small touch of lemon zest. It wasn't an offensive aroma, it was just the fact that there was basically nothing there.

The Brew Keeper wasn't joking by saying that this was a Wheat Ale. At least they got that right! The taste was all about the malted wheat with a speck of this and that here and there. Those speck of flavors that I talked about was that of sweet honey, dried yeast, a lemon peel. More honey or any other flavor for that matter would have been nice addition to the taste.

This was a crispy light bodied Pale Wheat Ale with a lot of carbonation and a minor malted wheat aftertaste. There was no other flavor in the aftertaste, just the crispy malted wheat.

This wasn't a mad beer at all. It was more of a calm and cool bee. I think I might know why the bee on the label was so mad. I think the bee drank the beer and said, "where was all the honey I made that was supposedly put into this beer?" One bottle of this is good enough for me!

A 22 ounce bomber bottle poured into my nonic pint glass. The ale appears a clear apricot color with about two fingers of fluffy cream colored head. The head leaves the slightest lacing on the inside of my glass. Nose and flavors consist of orange blossom honey, lightly toasted cereal grains/wheat, citrus, sweet malt, lemon. Medium bodied with ample carbonation and a tart dry finish.

Live review. Poured from a 22 oz. bomber into my Cooperstown Beverage Trail pint glass. Purchased for $6.99 at "Wines 4 You" in Mentor 5 days ago. No observed "best by" or "freshness date" found by me on label or the bottle. 5.2% ABV.

A Kinda basic light brown/orange body under a brief but creamy looking head. The head stuck around for about a minute.

S Light wheat, some honey, perfectly as advertised and inviting.

T Well, a wheat ale with a bit of honey in there. There is the taste of barley as well. Not too many chances taken here but that was not what was promised. It is not unpleasant.

M Thin with only a bit of barley and some distant honey to beef things up.

D Great as it has a light feel, low ABV but enough interest to keep me sipping.

"No bees, no honey; no work, no money."

--proverb

Shiny tangerine with butterscotch borders. The fact that the beer isn't bumblebee yellow makes me think some amount of non-pale and non-wheat malt was used. The alabaster colored cap is a quality affair that is beginning to grace the glass with large splotches of sudsy lace. Subsequent pours look even better.

The aroma, despite being underpowered, is both wheaty and earthy. The latter is most likely due to the added honey. It's fairly typical for the style (short on personality), with almost no hoppiness on display.

Mad Bee Honey Wheat Ale is actually pretty good beer. The honey flavor is just right and works well in concert with the others flavors, few they may be. It tastes like the brewer was pretty generous with the ingredients, which helps. It also helps that the lemon juice sourness that appears in some of The Brew Keeper's offerings is an appropriate accent rather than a dominant force.

Beer of this sort is supposed to be simple, so no problem in that regard. The malt tastes lightly toasted, which brings out just a hint of nuttiness. Other flavors include cereal grains, a dollop of honey and a wee twist of citrus. Sweet, bitter and tart are pretty evenly matched, which is a boon to drinkability.

The mouthfeel is more than acceptable for the style. It feels a fraction bigger than usual due to the honey, but the bubbles could stand to be more volumizing. Then again, less carbonation is more suited to rapid, thirst-quenching, hot-day-in-the-sun drinking.

The first bomber of this beer that I drank was more than 6 months after bottling. Don't make that same mistake. If the leaves have changed from summertime green, I wouldn't recommend a purchase. Before that, Mad Bee is the bee's knees as far as American pale wheat ales go.

Appears like a brown ale but with a golden tint. Honey brown. Check. No lace and no head. Smelled of a light, sweet wheat with a little sugary remainder, not overpowering. Mouth is slight, creamy and goes away with little aftertaste other a touch of malt and honey. Taste is a bit of cinnamon, a bit of winey bitter, but mostly wheat and a sweet touch of honey and a hint at the end of butterscotch. Jeeze, is what a Honey Brown should taste like? Nothing really strong, good blend of flavors, not very sweet and about as easy a pint as there is to enjoy, almost like a pint from a local in London. Understated and flavorful. Another winner from the Mad Brewer!