Mo-Mosaic
Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant

 

 

Manayunk Brewing Co. "Mo-Mosaic"
16 oz. can without production codes or freshness dating

Notes via stream of consciousness: Mosaic hops are my favorite hop at the moment, or at least one of them, so I was pretty excited to try this. While talking with Evan Fritz, the brewer at Manayunk, I noted however that Mosaic hops don't always perform in the same way each time you use them. They're not like the super reliable Saaz, Hallertauer Mittelfruh, Cascade, Centennial, or Fuggles. They're complex and sometimes they don't give you the notes that you want. With that said, let's break it down quickly: slightly hazy yellow-gold body beneath a standard-sized head of white foam with average to better than average head retention and lacing; moderate to median-strength aroma with some resinous (perhaps a touch of cattiness) and floral character and Mosaic fruitiness (peach, mango, citrus, berry); a flavor that follows with much more intensity; a balancing, solid IPA bitterness that's smooth-not-harsh; and a medium body and gently crisp-then-smooth mouthfeel. To delve deeper then, I'm not sure if this is a Mosaic only beer, or if there's some Simcoe or something else in there, but I'll at least say that I doubt it's 100% because Evan would have used a less expensive bittering hop, and would have probably used that to sell it as well. That said, what I'm really missing is that blueberry note that you sometimes get from Mosaic, although there is a touch of it there in the flavor; and in general an overall brightness, but that also depends on how many hops were used and when. This is double dry hopped though. It's doesn't shine like some Mosaic beers do but the components are there - everything listed in the description of the aroma follows in the flavor. Let's see what other notes I can pick out... some earthiness, some lemon zest, some grass, some pine, some background herbal notes (oregano, thyme, soft rosemary)... and a touch of spiciness but that could be from the alcohol. Any way you cut it it's a pretty complex beer. Back to the appearance, I expect it to be a little hazy if it's dry hopped, and so this is about as close to clear as you can get. The lacing is pretty good as well. I'm not quite sure it's up to scoring a 4.25 but it's close. So what to say overall? I love this beer. It's a straightforward, easy to drink and yet satisfying IPA that's got a lot of character to it. This is my last can out of four, and I'll need to get more, but I've has one after work for the last three nights and it satiated me - I don't feel like I had to have another because I wasn't missing out on anything. At the same time, although there's a lot going on within it I don't feel like I'm tied to it, continually looking for another aroma or flavor, I can just relax with it because it's not so intense that it distracts me from whatever else I'm doing. Worth trying.
Review #6,737