Nah, don't be scared kids.. just a regular beer review here. What we have today is Will Siss's first attempt at homebrew, made in his own home this time. All done on premise in Watertownville, with no outside help other than his co-brewer auntie Michelle. It's supposedly a Smoked Maple Wheat beer.. so let's see what we've got, eh?
I'll give it a 17 SRM or so on the scale.. about a Copper to Deep Copper in color. Clarity is fantastic, there's no haze whatsoever.. newsprint would be readable through this pint glass. There's a trace of visible carbonation in the glass, with tiny bubbles seen rising through the beer, but no real head on it. I've heard smoked malts can have head retention issues, but I've brewed smoked beers myself and didn't have that issue. The cap came off this one with a resounding POP, so I know it's carb'd.. but I suspect another few days in the bottle would have led to more bubbles overall. Aromatics give a faint smokiness, but a distinct, though mild, solvent aroma appears as well. It's a mix of yeasty esters and a drop of paint thiner, but that sounds much harsher on paper than the beer gives in real life. There's no real objection here, from this reviewer. One would suspect a hot ferment, as I've experienced here in my own beers, but conversations with the brewer lead me to believe that's not the issue.. curious. On first sip, I'm actually fairly amazed! The wheat comes right through and the beer blasts through with substantial body and great flavor. No sign of that solvent-y note in the flavor itself.. err.. no, wait, I take that back. This is a real time review, and I'm picking it up just faintly now. and I mean faintly. But the overall flavor of the beer otherwise, quashes it nigh immediately. Again, I'm struck by the really good balance this beer has with flavor, bitterness and carbonation. A bit of an alcohol presence I'm tasting now, alongside what tastes almost vanilla, to me. Wondering what the abv % on this creation is.. stay tuned for an update on that info. About halfway through the glass as I type and bubbles still rising determinedly now, but still no head formation seen even though I'm tossing the glass around. So, there's some issue with foam stability here.. and in a wheat beer, that's mostly hard to do. Wonder what happened there? In any case, I'm towards the end of this beer as I type and I'm ready for another. I know reviews tend to focus on the faults a beer has a lot of the time, but this beer has quite a bit going for it. Fantastic flavor balance between it's various attributes, and a good overall balance in general. I am ready for another, but I have none. I think this would make a fabulous cold weather beer, as it's a little too sweet for a spring or sumer drinker.. but damn, well done! I will not hesitate to drink another when offered. And I *better* be offered another! ;-)
'tis all for now.. carry on!
