Too Dumb To Be Evil
Against The Grain Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 ounce can into dimpled mug; no can dating, but is a recent release. Pours hazy medium orange/amber color with a 1 finger fairly dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, melon, lemon/orange peel, light pepper, pine, honey, light caramel/nuttiness, toasted bread, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/tropical/earthy hops and moderate bready malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, melon, lemon/orange peel, light pepper, pine, honey, light caramel/nuttiness, toasted bread, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Moderate pine/citrus peel/spicy/grassy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, melon, lemon/orange rind, pepper, pine, honey, toasted bread, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/tropical/earthy hops and moderate bready malt flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance, and no lingering hop astringency after the finish. Moderate dryness from bitterness, increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/grainy/sticky, and lightly resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Very clean on lager flavors, with zero yeast notes present. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5.9%. Overall this is a nice hoppy festbier style. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/tropical/earthy hops and moderate bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink. Fairly aggressive on hops but not overdone; with a nice malt backbone. A nicely enjoyable offering.

A: Pours a very hazy medium to dark golden orange honey in color with moderate amounts of active visible carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass and moderate copper colored highlights. The beer has a two finger tall dense foamy beige head that reduces to a large patch of mottled medium thick film covering the entire surface of the beer and a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to heavy amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of toasted + bready + caramel malts with a light amount of caramel sweetness. That is followed by light to moderate aromas of citrus/grapefruit zest, spicy, and herbal hops.

T: Upfront there are slightly heavier than moderate flavors of toasted + bready + caramel malts with a light amount of caramel sweetness. That is followed by moderate flavors of citrus/grapefruit zest, spicy, and herbal hops which impart a light to moderate amount of lingering bitterness.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Hints of dryness in the finish.

O: This is an enjoyable beer but definitely mislabeled as a Fest Lager... more of a hybrid of an IPA/IPL and a Festbier. Alcohol is well hidden and the hop profile is enjoyable.

 

Smooth, drinkable and malty- that's what they want us to think about marzen bier. But when the Against the Grain brewers team up with Three Floyds, they have other expectations in mind.

Their collaborative beer, Too Dumb To Be Evil pours with a deeper amber than the expected golden hues, yet laces with the classic creamy off white foam that's appealing to the eye. Its scent is toasty, nutty, soft and caramelly even with those curious scents of citrus, tropics and herbs wafting gently behind. Bready, caramelly, honey-like and soft with cashew, the beer's taste stars out sweet and gentle.

As its malty drift ebbs and flows across the middle palate, its sweetness relaxes and its hop influence gears more toward contemporary pale ale. Grapefruit, melon, lemon drop, orange and pineapple caress the tastebuds while the bitterness of fresh cut grass, muddled herbs and soft pine trend much more pacific northwest than bavaria.

Medium bodied but trending light, crisp and spicy, the beer quickly favors the taste of pale ale as its finish forgoes the elegance of pilsner malt or the delicacy of hops for a highly Americanized taste that quickly looses its malt base. Trailing with herbal hop bitterness, its citrus linger is sharp, pithy and peely.

Tasted in a Spiegelau lager glass and a Rastal Teku glass from a 1 pt can on December 30, 2016. The label says "hopped up, but malty." It's definitely hopped up, but it lacks the sweet malt characteristics of a true fest bier.