Brewers' Cut Maibock
Real Ale Brewing Company

 

 

 

Appearance: Faintly hazy, pale golden in color with a small, coarse white head, which retains fairly. The carbonation is faint, Belgian-style lacing adorns the glass walls.

Aroma: Lightly-toasted malts vie with sweet, perfumy alcohol and a rather earthy aroma.

Taste: Opens with grassy somewhat earthy hops, toasted malts, and sweet alcohol. As the taste progresses, the hops and alcohol struggle for dominance, with the malts offering up a toasted bread undercurrent. In the end, the hops manage to triumph, but faintly, lingering on mildly past the end of the taste.

Mouth feel: Smooth, pleasant, full, with soft carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: A very interesting rendition of a classic style. The higher than-typical ABV presents well. Would be delightful on a cool fall evening - this thought comes to mind on the first full day of summer, sigh.

Presentation: Packaged in a standard twelve-ounce brown glass long neck bottle with a pry-off crown, served in a Samuel Adams Boston Lager sensory glass

 

 

 

 

 

12 fl oz brown glass bottle with simple label art and branded pry-off pressure cap acquired at my local H-E-B grocery and served into an Avery stem-tulip in low altitude Austin, Texas. Reviewed live. Expectations are average. Reviewed as a maibock for obvious reasons.

Served cold - straight from the fridge - and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: No bubble show forms as it's poured.

Pours a quarter finger wide head of white colour. Lacks creaminess and frothiness. Disappointingly thin. Retention is terrible - less than 10 seconds. No lacing clings to the sides of the glass.

Body colour is a clear pale yellow-copper of below average vibrance. No yeast particles/sediment is visible. Appears adequately carbonated.

Not unique or special. There are no obvious flaws.

Sm: Generic pale malt character and generic floral hop character. That's it.

No yeast character, overt alcohol, or specialty malts are detectable.

A bl;and aroma of below average strength.

T: German pale malts. Clean barley. Floral hop character. It's on the sweeter side. It's so painfully simple there's little to say about it.

Lacks complexity, subtlety, intricacy, and nuance. I do like in a general sense, but there's nothing notable about it and it feels uninspired and boring.

No alcohol or yeast character comes through.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Has a good medium body. Very thin for a bock. A biteen overcarbonated. Decent presence on the palate. The texture suits the flavour profile generally well.

Not oily, gushed, hot, boozy, astringent, or harsh.

Dr: Extremely forgettable for a maibock. This won't impress the discerning drinker or fanatics of the style. An extremely underwhelming offering from real ale. Why brew this? I wouldn't bother with it again. Very mundane.

C-

 

12 oz bottle pours a mostly clear gold color with a small white head. Retention is average but lacing good.

Nose is grainy, honey and white wine interestingly enough.

Taste is pretty classic maibock - grainy, grassy hops and clean lager yeast with a significant alcohol punch. This is a good beer, the Brewers' Cut series has rarely failed to impress and this one is no exception. The integration of the freshly crushed pale malt and the old world hops is certainly an impressive feat.

 

Poured into a nonic pint glass from a twelve ounce bottle smuggled by a Texan friend from that God-forsaken state. I kid, I kid... Sort of...

I was blown away by the appearance of this beer, especially the massive head. It was three fingers thick, foamy, chewy looking and the type that could easily float a cap. Beneath it was a cloudy, golden liquid with brown hues. The immense carbonation may have contributed some to the cloudy appearance.

I got a lot of sweet malt and breadiness from this beer and it reminded me of some of the great beers I had back in Munich and Berlin. The beer really took me there. The hops also made their presence felt, providing spicy and floral notes similar to a pilsner.

The aromas all found their way to my tongue, as the beer tasted of sweet malt, molasses, spicy floral hops and lots of bread. There was quite a bit of bitterness from the hops and I wasn't sure how to feel about them.

As noted, the beer has lots of sweetness and lots of bitterness, as if the two were at war in my mouth. It's not bad, but it was a bit peculiar. There is plenty of creaminess to give this beer a good medium body and the bitter, dry finish is unmistakable.

I'd enjoy this beer again, like many Real Ale offerings, its solid and respectable.

 

 

 

I have had this many times now. On tap and bottle. Recently at D&T in Houston.

A: Pours a clear golden/yellow color. A two finger white head that was tightly packed bubbles rises with good retention. Plenty of spiderweb lace is left behind.
S: Toasted and biscuit malts. Grassy hops, lager yeast. Simple but very nice.
T: Again, simple but very nice. Toasted malts, biscuit. A bit of hops with a crisp grassy bit. I like it.
M: A medium body and crisp carbonation. Perfectly crisp, dry, and smooth at the same time. So easy to drink. A substantial, but not overwhelming alcohol presents. Still something I keep coming back to.

A few reviews have mentioned a cidery character which I do not get at all. This is a simple, moderately strong lager, that is very enjoyable. Something would recommend, and another good Brewers Cut offering.

A standard pour of Real Ale's "Brewer's Cut - Maibock" yields a clear, bright, straw-yellow body dotted with tiny bubbles that float lazily towards the surface. The quarter inch's worth of eggshell white foam appears and disappears in the blink of an eye, but does leave behind a thin ring of teasing foam and a large island of fizz atop the brew.

"Hard cider" are the two words that come to mind as I take in my first lungful. There's something mildly adjunct-like about this beer's bouquet. Hmm. I suppose I ought to press on…

Alcohol is up front, in the middle, and on the back end. The thin malt profile doesn't stand a chance of keeping it at bay. Mild hoppy flavors emerge in the tail end, but they too can't mask the alcohol. When considered apart from the beer's flavor, the mouthfeel is, well, just okay. I'm not inspired to take another sip. This beer tastes like malt liquor.

Brewer's Cut - Maibock is a conceptual flop. First, the Maibock ('May'-bock) is a springtime brew; this beer was released in Autumn. Second, Real Ale's rendition is far too bland. A good Maibock is much bolder and brighter than this one. Real Ale produces some of my favorite "go-to" beers. I'm disappointed.