Mad Manu
OverHop Bières Artisanales

Appearance - Pours a hazy pale amber with two fingers of bubbly white head.

Smell - earthy, leafy, floral, grassy, and herbal hops, biscuity and bready malts, lemon, hay aromas, apple, citrus peel, and earthy yeast.

Taste - earthy, leafy, floral, grassy, and herbal hops upfront. The biscuity and bready malts come through next followed by the lemon, apple, and citrus peel. The brew is rounded out by the earthy yeast.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes sticky and off-dry.

Overall - A pleasant and quaffable blonde that delivers a pleasant hop punch. For some, this may be a little hop-forward but for me, this is quite nice. Nice to see more breweries from Quebec make their way over to Cowtown!

Mad Manu is a hazy, pale amber colored ale filling my glass with the color of ripe hay tinted with hints of lemon peel. The head is packed, white, and decently lasting.

The aroma is unusual in that the first thing I smell is the floral, perfumed aroma of hops. Mad Manu's hop nose is supported by combined aromas of wood, fresh bread, and what could be peaches or nectarines. Fruit esters take enough of a back seat to the other aromas for there to be some room for interpretation. The finish comes back to the gentle, peppery aroma of hops before fading quietly into the night.

On the tongue, Mad Manu is fuller bodied, its mouthfeel bordering on chewy. Again the hop profile dominates, giving an overall floral, perfumed quality. Soft bready malts take on a supporting role, allowing the hops to shine without dominating in an aggressive fashion. Fruit esters come through in the center reminding me more of peach than anything else. The finish is gentle and lasting in its bitterness.

I like how the hops dominate the flavor and aroma without being too intense or aggressive in nature. I would like a little more malt, just to add that extra bit of support to the equation. Apart from that, nicely done. Another reason why Quebec makes some of Canada's best beers.