Granola Multigrain Shambler
Adams Street Brewery

I LOVE making an (at least) annual foray to the northern Midwest, usually Madison, WI by way of Chicago & Union Station. My three favorite North AmeriCAN cities, in descending order: 1) CAN Francisco; 2) Pittsburgh; 3) Chicago. I try to get to Binney's (South Loop) as well as some of their other locations, but at least that one with its attached Tasting Room. It was there that I scored this gem for The CANQuest (tm).

From the CAN: "Ale Brewed with Honey, Citrus, Juices, Spices & Grape Juice"; "Wheat, oats and rye provide a luscious creaminess, balanced by the tang of orange, lemon and tangerine and a hint of cool spice."

The Crack! was sort of subdued, so I gave it an aggro Glug to stir things up. An in-glass swirl raised a brief finger of foamy, bone-white head that quickly fell back to wisps. Color was solidly Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was highly citrusy with the lemon and orange prevalent and the tangerine giving it a light sweetness. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was quite tart, more lemony than anything else. I really did not get the multigrain flavors although there was a light taste of honey and wheat, like my late Pops' morning Wheaties that he would drizzle with honey. Finish was dry and refreshing, again, more lemon-citrusy than anything else. I was kind of put in mind of pop, like Sprite or 7-Up.

 

 

 

 

Poured with a small off-white short-lived head, no lace and a clear honey amber color. Aroma is fairly simple Caramel and perhaps spice. Flavor is even simpler being mainly carbonic tang, a little grain and not much else. Body is okay. A forgettable beer.

 

I picked up a can of Berghoff Brewery's Granola Shambler last week for $1.69 at The Lager Mill. This beer caught my eye and I figured it was worth giving a try, so lets see how it goes. No visible canning date. Poured from a 12oz can into a imperial pint glass.

A- The can looks good, it's got a stylish and clean design to it and I found it to be eye catching. It poured a fairly hazy darker golden color that took on more of a golden amber color when held to the light with a finger and half worth of creamy white head that quickly died down to a thin ring that eventually faded away and it left a little bit of spotty lacing behind. This was a decent looking beer, but I wish the head, lacing and retention were all better.

S- The aroma starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with some light malt aromas being the first to show up and they impart a light grainy and bready aroma with a slight bit of doughy yeast showing up in the background. Up next comes the fruits which at first just smell like a mixed fruit aroma with no single fruit sticking out the most, but the more I smell it the more the grape juice seems to stand out. This beer a decent aroma,I did like the fruity aspect but overall the aroma was still pretty light.

T- The taste seems to be fairly similar to the aroma and it starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with a very slight grainy flavor showing up and it leads right into this tart flavor that sticks out around for a little bit and I would say it's right at a medium amount of tartness. Up next comes the fruity flavors and it's the grapefruit and white grape seeming to stick out the most. On the finish the tartness lingers a little with a fruity aftertaste. This beer didn't taste the great, I didn't mind the tartness, but there was pretty much no beer flavor, just the fruits and the tartness showed up.

M- Fairly smooth, a little refreshing, not too acidic, crisp, light bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel was decent, but it felt a little watery at times.

Overall I wasn't a fan of this beer and I don't think it was a great example of a Shandy, it wasn't the worst I've had, but I've always found that a good shandy will have just enough beer taste to balance out some of the fruit juice aspects and this one just didn't have that and the Granola that was mentioned in the name never showed up. This beer didn't have the best drinkability, it was fairly smooth, a little refreshing, not too acidic, crisp, not to filling, but the taste didn't do the best job at holding my attention and I think one is a little more than enough for me, but I could see how this wouldn't be bad on a very hot day. What I liked the most about this beer was the the fruit flavor, they were nice, they just needed some beer to back them up. What I liked the liked the least about this beer was the lack of any malt flavors, it just felt much more like an alchopop than a beer. I wouldn't buy this beer again and I wouldn't recommend it either unless your not trying to taste any beer, there are better shandys to be found. All in all this beer just wasn't for me, it took that same alchopop direction that I don't like in Shandys. It's not the worst of the style I've had, but so far it's my least favorite beer from this brewery. I appreciate the attempt, but this one just didn't come out balanced at all and in the end that really hurt it, better luck next time guys.