Four Horsemen Ale
Mishawaka Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

In the words of Michael Scott-Blechhh.

Appearance: So-so

Smell: Not great, but better than the taste.

Taste: Not the worst thing ever, but close. Thankfully there isn't a horrible aftertaste, because the intial taste is not great! I can't exactly describe it. Slightly fruity, no carbonation really. It's kind of like they squirted some lemon juice into flat seltzer water. Not good at all!

Mouthfeel: FLAT!

Drinkability: Tolerable, only because the terrible taste goes away quickly. Seems like low quality beer to me.

Sorry to Mishawaka Brewing, I will try something else of yours if I see it, but this one wasn't good.

Pours with little to no head but has a beautiful reddish brown colour, pour it heavy and you may get a decent head. Does have some lacing. Strong aroma of crystal malts with some subtle prune. Little carbonation tastes like they used nitrogen .No hop Most definitely a malt drinkers beer. Not a bad beer but they could improve on the carbonation.

Appearance: Dark copper-red in appearance. Fairly transparent. Not much carbonation but a lot of foam for me.

Smell: Basically smells like caramel malts...kind of minerally actually.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Pretty strong, but not overpowering. Not much more than caramel malt, with a bit of bitter hoppiness. I'm not sure if it's the water, but this stuff tastes kind of like mineral water...not metallic though. Gives it a weird mouthfeel:

Drinkability: It's an easy beer to drink, but better to sip in my opinion.

Overall: A good beer. A staple for Notre Dame fans. Go Irish!

On tap at the Chumley's in Lafayette. Billed as in Irish Red.

Pours not bad. Caramel brown, decent head.

Smells like fruit and nitrogen. Hmm... not a good sign. There's a little bit of redishness in there, crystal malt and a light dose of hops.

Tastes like it smells only more stale and medicinal, like one of thos insufferable Irish nitrogen beers that get shipped over here and sit on shelves for ages until some poor bastard (often, me) buys it and gets burned. It's not just that it's probably stale; it was bland and offputting to begin with.

This was drinkable, kinda. I didn't send it back. That's about the kindest thing I can say.

Another fine extra I received in a recent trade. Decided to open this one up the other night and check it out. Served cold and poured into a pint glass, this one was consumed on 03/26/2010.
 
The pour was decent enough with a nice caramel colored amber that had a decent amount of thickness to it. Showing off some ruby highlights around the sides and bottom of the glass. Nice tight head forms quickly but faded just as fast as it works its way down the sides of the glass. Aroma is loaded with caramel malts and hints of light grains. Warming brings out a bit of sweetness to it that is followed nicely by a touch of light bittering hops. Nothing crazy here though as it mellows out pretty nicely. Fuller body then I would have thought given the style, but with the ample carbonation I really think it works for it. Smooth, easy, semi sweet finish does it nicely as the last taste was a long and drawn out caramel and bready flavor that left you looking for just that bit more.
 
Overall pretty solid. Nothing really crazy at all just a nice solid and well rounded ale. I would have no issue with putting down more then one of these.

Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a Surly pint glass.

A: Heavy pour yields a .5 finger coarse white head that seems to evaporate it disappears so quickly. Beer is a semi-clear brownish-amber. Lacing is very spotty and has no cling.

S: Enticing nose. Caramel, butterscotch, brown sugar, sweet toffee, creamy, nutty.

T: Nutty opening. Caramel and toffee sweetness throughout. Spicy towards the middle complements the strong malt backbone. Touch of coffee bitterness towards the back. Brown sugar at the end with a very clean finish that leaves nothing on the palate. This beer is very "brown". Not terribly complex here, but as a sessionable brew, I'm expecting a simplicity that this beer delivers.

M: Light bodied, not too carbonated and moderatly smooth. A bit spicy at points. Watery in the mouth and goes down very easy. Finish is extremely clean, appropriate for the style.

D: This almost seems like a cross between a malty amber ale and a nut brown. However, regardless of its pedigree, a highly drinkable beer. Sweet but not overly so with a nice flavor and body that beckons on a sunny spring day. Wish I had easier access to this. Definitely recommended. It's not gonna blow your socks off, but its not gonna dissapoint either.

22oz bottle obtained via Local BIF from alleykatking. Thanks for the opportunity. <Jeremy2002 = bad trader>

Poured into an imperial pint, formed a 1/4" beige head above the clear coppery brown brew. Head lasts okay, with average lacing. Aroma is low intensity but balanced. Taste starts sweet, goes fruity tart in the middle, and closes with chalky bitterness. Mouthfeel is slickery over the tongue, drinkability is lowered by above. Just doesn't work for me.

A-Pours a cloudy, hazy orange amber with a little bit of off white head and no lacing.

S-Bready and caramelly malt. Not bad.

T-Sweet and sour in a strange blend. Not very pleasant.

M-Undercarbonated, which does not help with these icky flavors clinging to my tongue.

D-No thanks.

HV

Had on tap. Review from notes.

A- Came to me as a dark brown amberish color. Seemed to me to be pretty clear with a light amber highlight to it as I held it to the light. Little tan head covered the top of the beer ever so lighty before it was just skim on the top. No real lacing to speak of. Just some stuff that slid down the glass.

S- Nothing really sticks out in this beer. Some grainy charaters in this beer along with general sweet bready malts. Nothing very impressive to say the least. Smelled very bland and not really doing much for me.

T- Mostly sickly sweet malts in this beer come shinning through. Some light earthy hops make quick appearances here and there with most coming through the tail end of this beer. A little more spiced up than BMC but not that much more.

M- Medium mouthfeel to this beer. Carbonation is a little lacking in this beer which I found to be a problem. Sweet malts left on the palate and in the aftertaste. Watery tasting for most of the beer. Kind of clean tasting but not at the same time.

D- This is a good first beer or ending beer. This doesn't make you think but at the same time it's not one that I want to keep drinking all night.

12 oz bottle, label says "Irish Style Red Ale"

Pours a relatively clear, dark red-brown color with a thin, bubbly light tan head that doesn't hang around too long resulting in some sadly, lonely large bubbles. Aroma is an indeterminate mix of light caramel, grain, ummm...general sweetness, but not much distinguishing character. Medium bodied, slightly watery finish, moderate carbonation tries to clean some of the cloying sweetness from the finish. Flavor is caramel sweet with mild earthy hops trying to keep up. I'm not sure what to make of this beer, not terrible, but doesn't really fit a particular style and I don't really have the need to ever try this again.

This darker-hued (deep brown) 'red' ale has a rich and unusual (and appealing) floral nose and a complex malty flavor that stabilizes on the tongue. Mishawaka doesn't talk up this one, as there's no details on the bottle, but it's a tad more complex and hearty (for lack of a better word) than Michelob's Irish red (which I sampled the same day). This one's unquestionably a craft beer, not perfect but not bad, either.

Sampled on 1-24-09

Pours a decently cloudy red/brown color, with no head and thin wisps of white lacing.

Smell is sharp malt followed by a sweet and bitter hop aroma.

Taste is simple, lightly roasted malt with a big hoppy kick. Good at first, but becomes slightly medicinal and tiring to drink.

Mouthfeel is a little thin, could use more carbonation to liven things up.

Drinkability is decent, but the flavor is just not that good.

Overall, kind of what I expected.

Picked up a few bottles at the brewery on a trip through town. Pours a pretty clear red color with thin head and spotty lacing.

Smell is sweet and malty, but slightly watery and non-descript. Taste is very similar with a strong buttery diacetyl flavor to it that really doesn't help matters. Medium bodied and smooth.

This is a pretty disappointing red ale... I finished it but I definitely won't buy again.

Tasted on 7/28/08.

Poured this 12 0z. brown bottle into a British pint glass. No date. The body was golden amber with an off-white solid head. Faded to a cap which stayed. Light chill haze. The appearance was the beast feature of this one.

Smell was sour grain. Fruity. Caramel. Not bad.

Taste was somewhat sour/tart. There was a mild bitter aftertaste. Light sweetness. Tipped toward bitter rather than sweet. Pretty average.

Mouthfeel was thin to medium. Moderate carbonation.

Pours a nice dark red color with excellent head and nice lacing. Very weak scent, though, very little beyond a little bit of malt. Excellent taste, a very malty feel with a great tart (and cherry) taste, with a great sweet/tart after taste. Goes down very smoothly. Although not quite as good as a true Irish Red, it's a great Irish STYLE red ale.