Hoodwink Ale
DuClaw Brewing Co.

 

 

Deep copper in color with an off white head. Great lacing.Nose is sort of bready. Taste also gives off the bready initial flavor that fades to a slight citrus. Not very dry as one would expect. Good Beer, but there is work that could be done to improve.

Built like a drier IPA but its really not an IPA at all, DuClaw brewers look for the methods to help their Brut IPA achieve maximum dryness. A look to the world of the wild does just the trick.

Hoodwink Ale comes with a richer caramel appearance before crowning with a creamy off-white cap. With the scent of the caramelization normally reserved for Amber Ale, the aromas of musty stone fruit and tropical fruit come with a hint of fresh spruce. As its taste is framed of the same caramel flavors found in the nose, its nutty, honey and toasty maltiness is redolent of dry granola.

As the hops gain strength on the middle palate, a citrusy taste of grapefruit, orange and apple come to life. Secondary notes of pineapple, mango and apricot grow before a peppery and resinous finish that balanced with a dry bitterness and a musty tone of dry burlap. Never seeming like a Wild Ale, the pineapple and apricot leave impressions of over-ripened, musty fruit.

Medium bodied and certainly not as dry as the average Brut IPA, the persistence of caramel distracts from the arid finish that the style expects. The caramel helps the pineapple and apricot impressions to seem juicier and fuller, probably the opposite of what the style would normally do.