Maelstrom
Elysian Brewing Company

 

 

 

Bottle.
Appearance: Orange. Slight haze. Medium head. Nice, persistent lacing.
Smell: Orange peel. Malted grain.
Taste: bitter orange peel. Bitter hops that linger.
Mouthfeel: medium high carbonation. Medium body.
Overall: bitter (not the good kind). Not a beer I would drink again.

 

 

 

 

Poured this fruit beer from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. Poured a cloudy orange color, produces a thick cream colored head - good retention and a nice amount of lacing left behind. The aroma consisted of pale malt, citrus, and blood orange. Light in body, crisp, refreshing- nice amount of pale malt- sweet citrus flavor- excellent dose of oranges. Overall, if your looking for a light flavorful summer beer, try this offering. Would make an excellent session beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle opened on 2.22.13
Number 8 in the series

A - Pours a cloudy light orange with a foamy two inch cream-colored head with good retention.

S - Hoppy sweet candy and citrus, oranges mostly.

T - Very light and floral, orange and citrusy.

D - Light bodied with good carbonation.

O -Light floral and fluffy citrus.

 

 

First had: on tap at City Tap House, Philly, PA

Poured an orange-amber color, massively cloudy to the point of opacity, with a small white, bubbly head that sank to a thin layer and left a bit of lacing on the glass. As promised, lots of citrus in the nose, with a bit of pale malt sweetness in the background. Huge blast of orange pith in the taste, fairly juicy, but mostly bitter, distant pale malts once again pushed into the background, as the citrus was clearly in command. Light-medium body, crisp and flavorful, but very pithy...good if that's your thing, bad if it's not. I enjoyed it.

 

Nice yellow-orange body with a thick, creamy white head; lots of sticky lacing and rings down my glass. Very strong orange-citrus aroma; very floral; somewhat piney. Taste exudes typical double IPA characteristics: hoppy bitterness; a decent malt backbone (slight caramel and biscuit undertones) with a gentle overarching orange presence. Mouthfeel was good if a little watery.

So far, this is one of the better, more approachable beer of Elysian's Apocalypse Series in my opinion. Yeah, they focused on blood orange with this one, and it seems to work out really well in an IPA setting.

 

 

Appearance is a hazy orange supporting a creamy head that subsides, but still available leaving fair lace. Aroma has a sweetness with the orange peel almost like a creamsicle with good whif of the hops. Taste has a big citric orange sweetness countered with a balance from the big hops. Mouthfeel is medium with good carbonatrion. A very nice enjoyable stronge ale.

 

 

 

I bought a bomber of Maelstrom Blood Orange Ale at the Swamp Tavern. #8 in the 12 beers of the apocalypse series. Poured into a pint glass.

Pours a cloudy pale orange color, with a modest white head. It looks a little like pineapple juice.

Smell is a decidedly citrus aroma, orange peel for sure, maybe a lemon blossom scent,

Taste is also predictably citrus., pink grapefruit and lemon, maybe a bitter orange flavor. There is a hint of grain flavor and a mild bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, slightly cloying, and a mildly bitter aftertaste.

Overall a nice brew. There have been some distribution problems with this 12 beers of the apocalypse series. I didn't get this one until late October, it would have been great on Labor Day weekend.

 

22 oz bomber poured into an Elysian pint glass. Thanks to 5000 for sending me both.

The beer pours a slightly hazy golden orange color with a white head. The aroma is heavy on the fruit. I get a lot of orange and grapefruit notes, which I assume comes from the blood oranges. I also get a little bit of biscuit malt in the aroma.

The flavor is similar. I get some tartness and a hint of bitterness up front. Once again there is a lot of orange and grapefruit notes, as well as a hint of lemon. I get some biscuit malt and just the slightest hint of sweetness in the flavor. A very fruity, citrusy beer that goes down very easily.

Thin to medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

 

 

Served in straight pint glass. Poured a cloudy orange-yellow color with about a half-inch of white head that had low retention and moderate lacing.

The aroma was a nice blend of grains and fruit, with just a tickle of hops in the background. On the tongue, the malts were a bit more subdued than the aroma had led me to expect, the orange flavor provided a nice counter-point and the hops were nicely crisp, a bit citrusy with a hint of floral.

The body was pleasantly medium, with a dry and slightly bitter finish. Drinkability was good, although I probably wouldn't have more than one at a time,I would have it again. Overall, a nice brew that didn't really trip my personal trigger, YMMV. Worth trying if you see it.

 

Body is cloudy straw, unfiltered. Poured from the bottle into a Bruery tulip glass half way, allowed to settle, repoured to a full glass. Head was thick and foamy but dissipated to a ring of pancake bubbles with some thick lacing on the glass.

Smells of bready caramel malt, citrus, and hops.

Tastes of bready caramel malt, then a little orange flesh sweetness and then orange rind and hop bitterness. Northwest hop style, seems like some Cascade given the grapefruit in the finish. I am enjoying the fresh orange flavor in this. The orange skin oils and the grapefruit hops combine for a more complex bitterness in the finish. The bitterness keeps coming in between sips, making me desire to take another one.

Body is light despite the cloudiness and carbonation is as well though sufficient to give it a little fizziness.

This is a tasty ale. I am enjoying the fresh orange flavor and the way it ends in a bitter crescendo. The fresh orange flavor helps smooth out the grapefruit bitterness of the Northwest hops. A refreshing ale on its own and food friendly.

 

Poured a thick, cloudy orange with a finger of bright white head. Aroma of caramel, pine, and grapefruit mixed with a touch of orange.

Moderate carbonation and a full, smooth mouthfeel. Nice burst of orange up front followed by grapefruit, caramel, and some fairly assertive pine bitterness on the tail end.

Very nice, orange adds to the hop flavor without throwing off the balance.

Pours out a clouded pumpkin orange color with a finger and a half of light beige frothy sticky head that sticks around for a few minutes and leaves behind some lovely curtains of lacing on the glass. Medium body and carbonation levels, slightly creamy in texture.

Smells like blood oranges as expected, both peel and juice with light herbal and floral hopping used as a framing aroma. Tastes at first of bitter orange peel, transitions into a herbal / dry biscuit malt combo, and finishes with a straightforward grapefruit pith flourish. Thankfully, the flavor is about 30% drier than the sweetness of the nose had led me to expect. Bitterness levels are straddling that blurry grey line in between PA and IPA territory IMHO.

Whatever enjoyment the drinker gets out of this one will primarily depend on how much they like the idea of blood oranges approached from a somewhat drier spectrum than is usually seen with the ingredient. They did a good job keeping the focus narrowed down on mostly citrus peel elements in this one, so I can't really fault it for being somewhat less complex than other IPAS. But on the other hand, even though the blood orange angle does bring something novel to the party, it's sort of a one-trick pony.

1/4 inch lacy white head. Cloudy bright orange color. Light loose sediment. Mild hop mild floral ester orange peel front. Medium light textured slightly creamy orange flavored smooth body. Slightly tangy bitter hint mild hop spice end. Pretty easy to drink. Mild hops and a touch bland. Wierd like all the Apocalypse Series.

Poured from 22oz bomber into a pint glass. This is #8 in Elysian's Beers of the Apocalypse series.

Appearance: medium orange hue with a massively hazy body. Head pours two thick fingers of frothy ivory foam wiht a decent retention and lace. A pretty good looking beer.

Smell: sweet malty base with a citrusy bouquet. The specific fruits are rather nondescript, but the effect is pretty nice.

Taste: quite a citrusy beer indeed. The sweet malt provides a very nice backdrop to the citrusy hops and the actual orange contribution. I admit I was apprehensive going in, but they have shown restraint and the overall effect is pretty successful: this beer is orangey without being over-the-top.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good level of carbonation and concomitant creaminess. I like it.

Overall: this is a pretty good beer; certainly, it's an interesting and rather different one. I like they way they've blended the orange with citrusy hops to make an interesting, piquant brew.