Isle Royale Cream Ale
Midland Brewing Company

 

Nice refreshing cream ale sampled on tap at Midland Brewing Company. Pours a clear, golden color with a mild white cap of head and small sheets of lingering lacing. Smells of fruity, slightly bitter hops, malt, grain and vanilla. Tastes similarly, very crisp and light and refreshing. I would have preferred a little more creaminess. Mild, smooth mouthfeel and just enough carbonation. Light and easy to drink.

This is my first cream ale so I have nothing to compare it against. To me this is what I like to call a "winey" beer, meaning a beer that has some fruity flavors I'd associate with a white wine more than a beer. Often I don't enjoy these flavors in beer but from time to time, if not overdone I find it enjoyable and this one of those cases. I'll have to try more cream ales to get a better idea of where this beer stands but as of now it's something I would drink again but not something I'd seek out. The 4.2 abv makes it an appealing option for the hot August whether we are having in Michigan right now.

Had a lot of beers. I like this one. I picked this up on a trip in MI and glad I did. Great session beer and right on with the creme ale taste. Enjoy!

 

I picked up a can of Midland Brewing's Isle Royal Cream Ale last week for $1.79 at The Lager Mill. I had this beer a while ago at a beer fest when it was just called Cream Ale, but now they have renamed it and canned, so I thought I would try it again, let’s see how it goes. 2016 Vintage. Poured from a 12oz can into an imperial pint glass.

A- The can looks real nice, it goes good with the name, has a nice description and its eye catching. It poured an amber golden color that took on more of more of golden yellow color when held to the light and it was pretty clear with a finger and half worth of creamy off white head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it left some nice rings of lacing behind. This is a very good looking Cream Ale, it's just how a good one should look.

S- The aroma starts off with a higher amount of sweetness with a big fruity yeast aroma being the first to show up imparting a stone fruit and white grape like aroma with a good amount of cherry aromas coming through and that leads into a sweet creamy aroma. Up next comes the malts which impart a grainy, doughy, biscuit and white bread like aroma. This beer had a decent aroma, the fruity yeast really take it over and that doesn't make it that true to style.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma, but lighter and a little less fruity, it starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness that leads into a little bit of a creamy and doughy flavors with some of those malts from the aroma showing up. Up next comes that fruitiness again which is a little lighter than the aroma, but it's still very noticeable and towards the end it takes on a little bit of cherry wine cooler flavors, especially with that added sweetness. On the finish there's a little bit of bitterness with a creamy cherry aftertaste. This isn't a good tasting cream ale, whatever is imparting that fruity flavor is too dominating and it would be a hard to know that this is what the brewery call their take on a traditional Cream Ale.

M- Not the smoothest, creamy, not too crisp, on the thick side of being light bodied with a lower amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is nice, I like the creaminess, but I wish it was smoother.

Overall I thought this wasn't that great of a beer and it wasn't a good example of the style, it had the mouthfeel for the most part, but the taste and aroma didn't line up to the style and the brewery doesn't note anything about the strong fruit flavor, so I don't know what to think of it, I can't remember If it was like that last time I had it. This beer didn’t have good drink ability, one is more than enough for me. What I like the most about this beer is the creaminess in the mouthfeel. What I like the least about this beer is the taste, it just isn't what I want out of a cream ale. I wouldn't buy this again and I wouldn't recommend. All in all I'm let down and it's not as good as I first rated it, I think something changed. It's one of my least favorite now from this brewery and it's not a good example of the style, Better luck next time guys, this one needs some wor