Wooderson
Mile Wide Beer Co.

16oz undated can poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 5.2% ABV. The beer pours hefe-hazy in a light golden amber color. The head is nearly white and settles to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Minimal lacing. The aroma is mild in strength with mesquite smoke being strongest and some soft, pale malt behind that. The taste is pale malt up front with a drying mesquite smoke finish that lingers. Minimal bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, very good. I love a smoked beer and this one brings the smoke. No off flavors or flaws to detract from the simple balance of the smoke and pale malt.

For those times when smoked cereal would really hit the spot, the Mile Wide Beer Company has just the beer for you. Grain sweetness of a firm blonde ale foundation anchors its taste while the aura of smoke gently engulfs the session for a new take on the classic German rauchbier.

Wooderson pours with a moderately hazy straw appearance and topped with a fluffy white cap. As a rising scent of mesquite and campfire, lighter aromas of cereal, honeysuckle and light bread seep into the mix. Almost in reverse, the taste begins sweet with bread dough, light honey and simple syrup.

But as the flavors develop, the middle palate turns fro a crisp and concise pilsner malt focus and into a cereal grain medley of creaminess, starchiness and cream of wheat. Smoked flavors start off mild but build patiently grow into a savory, curious and cautionary late palate of smoldering embers and sagebrush.

Lightly on bitterness, the medium light bodied beer wants to be a smoked pilsner, but its Americanized, warm fermented character leaves the beer grainy, sweet and fruity in comparison. Its moderate smoke character lingers on the palate like a fine but mild cigar.