Honey Underverse
Masthead Brewing Co.

2023 vintage (released in 10/2023); consumed on 11/19/2024

Pours a slick, oil-black body capped with a finger of sickly caramel-hued foam, expeditiously collapsing to a blank surface, paper-thin collar, and no lacing clinging to the walls of the glass with any longevity.

Aromas of dusty oak are cut with intermittent whiffs of blackberry, waves of rye, and off-cocoa edges; tinges of toasted honeycomb and caramelized vanilla evolve and add soft sweetness over time.

Taste brings honey and marshmallow toning a base-level char upfront as a familiar dusty barrel progresses against building rye spice; hints of bramble deep in the backdrop settle to cocoa flake undertones on the backend of the profile.

Mouthfeel features a body on the thinner end of medium, with a gentle spritz of taut, prickly carbonation grazing the senses through a slick middle and drying back end; the finish is warming and vaguely boozy.

Honey inflections and a uniquely dark fruit-forward overtone are paradoxically engaging yet muddled, yielding a somewhat boring though wholeheartedly steady barrel-aged beer.

500 ml bottle into a snifter. A 2023 release, had 4/6/24.

Pours near black and opaque, with a quarter inch quickly dissipating foamy head and some foamy cling. Aromas of rye whiskey, roasted malt, vanilla, oak, some chocolate and honey, light tobacco. Mostly the same flavors: rye whiskey, roasted malt, vanilla, oak, some chocolate and honey, light tobacco. Has a spicy rye taste. Smooth, a very good full body, well carbonated.

The rye barrels are excellent, lots of spicy rye flavor. While the honey is definitely noticeable- and good, this really isn’t all that sweet. A really solid beer, really enjoyable.

Rye + Honey + Barrel + Stout. They may as well have called this “Max12 Honey, Buy This”. So I did. 500Ml bottle with slightly off orange wax.

Dark, with a few more bubbles than your average skim milk. The nose is heinously sweet & just how the name describes it. MMMmmmm.

Honey Underverse is the beer they serve in a bee bar. Holy honey! There’s more honey in this than every so-called honey beer I’ve ever tasted. The rye slips a barrel-laced finger into the sweetness & stirs, creating a sublime experience. One could pick & quibble about other stuff that’s present, but who the hell cares. I could have put about two or three of these away if they were available.

This is the best brew I’ve had in a long time, the kind of beer that ends the night because there’s nothing available that could possibly top it. Borderline perfect.