Marzen
Ellicott Mills Brewing Company

 

Kind of sad, this is now contract brewed by DuClaw while the kettles in the brew house stand silent. This beer was so completely average in all respects. I so wanted it to be more.

Draft at brewery. Typical marzen up and down, which isn't a bad thing. Malty nose and taste, minor sweetness. Slick, slippery mouth feel, nice weight to this. Pretty accurate rendition.

Their beer menu says this is their best-selling beer they brew. This was one of four I sampled and it was the best of the lot. First taste was the greatest but it grew on me over time. Also tried their dunkel and kolsch. Stick with the Marzen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was a decent drink.

A: Amber ale, has about 1 finger of head that dissipated quickly.

S: Smelled bittersweet.

T: Sweet, almost citrus. Had a bold flavor with a slight alcoholic burn. Wasn't bitter at all.

M: Wasn't watery, and left the mouth feeling pretty clean. Very smooth.

D: Finished the glass fairly quickly. I could have probably drank another.

All in all, not a bad beer. I would drink it again.

Served as medium copper colored beer with moderate off-white head.
Smell shows some light bread-like malt, but is very light.
Taste presents with some caramel malt and a light fruitiness.
More caramel notes at the finish, but is a bit thin with little taste retention.
An average beer.

Served at the brewpub in Ellicott City.

A- It poured a light reddish-brown, very hazy, with a thin head that dissipated very quickly.

S- Slightly sour, some unidentified odor, probably an infection.

T- It was worse than the smell, this was terrible. There was a definite problem with this beer, or the serving system.

M- Watery, very unimpressive.

D- I wouldn't recommend this to my worst enemy!

I have poured better homebrew down the drain. This beer had a definite problem. I usually don't review beer I don't like, but I had to warn the BA readers.

Brewed 9/11/05 and tapped 10/20/05 at 5.1% ABV. I sampled on 1/3/06, though hoping elapsed time since release would not compromise the experience too much.

Found my serving to have a nice full-copper color with good representative foam throughout my sampling session. I could not smell too much of notice with the aroma - simply that of a non-hoppy beer smell (perhaps time has taken its toll). The taste was a slight caramel flavor with bittering hops pretty notable, but retaining an overall smooth taste. Would have preferred a much more malty aftertaste, but from the other reviews of this beer, my sample was likely past its prime.

Just wonder how it would be at the time of O'zapft is' (when first tapped)...

Richness abounds in this luxuriously festive lager from the tiny brewpub on the top of the hill in Ellicottville, Md. It's clear, deep copper body burns with an orangeish glow and reveals golden-amber highlights when held to the light. It maintains a short head of creamy ivory colored foam, and thick swashes of short lived lace add to it's appearance. The nose is as might be expected for the style with a very clean, delicately sweet and toasty malt dominating. It's medium/full body and very fine median carbonation leaves it crisp and then smooth across the palate; yet somewhat full and almost creamy as well. Rich malts dominate the flavor profile - partially juicy and partially toasty - with a mild, spicy & floral hop flavor and low-key bitterness acting as ballast. It finishes dry with a flash of spicy hops that fades to reveal some short lived toasted malts and some lingering bitterness. It's exceptionally well-balanced and very well done - a perfect example of the Maerzen style that's rich and fullfilling, but also highly drinkable!