Congratulations
Martin House Brewing Company

 

Definitely a gimmicky birthday cake flavor, but does at least taste like it advertises. Trying it once is fun, but can’t imagine drinking again.

Drank straight from the can
Appearance – From what I have poured before, it looks like a pretty wheat beer. Don’t let that deceive you.
Smell – Smells like a nice vanilla birthday cake. Quite pleasant before tasting.
Taste – First taste is like birthday cake ice cream. Then becomes sour, but not like most sour beers. Imagine cake gone bad.
Mouthfeel – Not bad. Good carbonation and reliable like most Martin House beers.
Overall – Very disappointed by this. Not nearly the quality I expect from Martin House. Most of their sours are great. This one missed the mark. The birthday cake flavor is at odds with the tart sourness. It just doesn’t work.

 

Poured from a can into a tulip glass
Appearance – The brew pours a lightly hazed yellow-amber color with a fizzy white head of foam. The head fades over a moderate timeframe, leaving a light level of lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma a 1:2 mix of sour and cake. There is a sour apple cider vinegar aroma mixed with some notes of green apple. AT the same time there is a nice vanilla cake smell that entails vanilla, confectioners’ sugar, cake batter, and even what I think is a sprinkle like smell. Overall, very tasty smelling.
Taste – The taste starts more out on the sour side. It begins with a tart apple cider vinegar, lemon, and tart cherry like flavor. There are some lighter notes of a cracker malt and a decent showing of vanilla, with a modest sweetness of confectioners’ sugar. There are also fruity flavors of peach, apricot, and white grape that mellow out the sour nicely. As the taste advances the sour transitions, with some of the apple cider vinegar and cherry dwindling, all while a tart green apple takes their place to some degree. The cake flavors of vanilla and confectioners sugar increase as well, and with a light caramel and coconut taste that comes at the end, one is left with a nice sour and sweet taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is lighter for an 8 % abv beer with a carbonation level that is slightly higher. Overall the feel is nice for the mix of sour and cake, making it more refreshing and not overly accentuating the more subtle, but very pleasant cake taste.
Overall – I was rather surprised by this. I was expecting something much sweeter and was pleasantly surprised. It is not overly sour or sweet, but a rather nice blend of the two. Interesting and definitely fun to try.