The Whole Nein Yards
Wild Rose Brewery & Taproom

 

 

Well, well, well. I went to my local in search of something new and seasonal and this is what I found. This is a dandy marzen, gorgeous in the glass with a lovely malt base and just enough smoke to make it distinctive. If their last few limited releases are any indication, the Wild Rose crew is keen on keeping up to the competition in Alberta.

650ml bottle - a smoky Oktoberfest lager, apparently accomplished via the inclusion of some Beechwood smoked malts. Good punny name, IMHO.

This beer pours a clear, bright medium bronzed amber colour, with three zaftig fingers of puffy, foamy, and slightly fizzy ecru head, which leaves some wafting firepit smoke (natch) lace around the glass as it slowly but surely sinks away.

It smells of gently meaty caramel malt, toasted white bread, muddled apple/citrus fruity notes, a sense of free-range ashiness, subtle earthy yeast, and some plain leafy, weedy, and spicy noble hop bitters. The taste is more of the same - lightly roasted and gamey caramel malt, a wet charred breadiness, singed apples and indistinct citrus fruit, and some understated earthy, leafy, and dead floral green hoppiness.

The carbonation is moderate in its lackadaisical frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and mostly smooth, with just a touch of char kind of getting all up in my various palates here. It finishes off-dry, the smoke retreating a fair bit, while the complex malt continues to rest on its laurels.

Overall, this is indeed a pleasant version of the style, with a nod to how all beers probably tasted back in the days of Crown Prince Ludwig - not too smoky, but just enough to cut through the big malt machine. Easy to drink, and a nice new offering to complement all the back-yard smoke at this time of year.