Into the Woods #2 - Sugar Maple
Mollusk Restaurant & Brewery

 

Well, this is truly weird. Sugary, yes, and dishwatery too with some sort of candy or marzipan hints. The one interesting thing is the very woody nose. I'm just not sure what sort of beer would taste good with that persistent aroma.

Malty and sweet. Attractive appearance with fine-grained foam on the golden orange brew in the flared Belle-Vue glass. Pleasantly spritzy on the tongue. A bit of caramel but a dry finish. It doesn't taste like oak, so maybe...

If this is an "ongoing series of wood fermented beers" I suppose I would try the next version, but I'm not exactly stoked after tasting this one. But it it's Mollusk it's got to be weird. From the 500 ml bottle purchased at Central Market - Shoreline.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a slightly hazy orange amber with slight visible carbonation in the pour and a few stray bubbles in the glass; odd. Aroma of sweet mildly caramel and biscuit malt, orange and ripe stone fruit; malty. Flavor is sweet caramel malt, wood, biscuit, overripe stone fruit; finishes semi-sweet and light with lingering woody astringency. Medium bodied with good carbonation despite quiet pour. A light, but malty ale that has a flavor profile closest to a doppelbock, but with more caramel and mellow flavor depth. The woodiness is clear throughout, but becomes somewhat sourly bitter in the finish. There is a faint maple sugar flavor, but I'm not sure I'd detect it if it wasn't described in the name. Interesting, but kinda plain in the malt profile, although it is woody. I might try one more of these to see if I can detect differences in the wood. OK, but more as a drinkable curiosity.