Laughing Dog Huckleberry Cream Ale

Brewed by Laughing Dog Brewing
Style: Fruit Beer
Ponderay, Idaho USA

(bottle into pint glass) Holy fruit!!! Poured with little to no head and was a cloudy, almost murky dark golden color. The first thing that smacks you out of the bottle is the smell of the fruit, almost like a juice. Since I do not know the smell of a huckleberry alone, I was picking up hints of grapes, raisins, plums, and apples throughout at different points in the pour. I was very surprised at the taste, however. It was very creamy in the mouth with a lively carbonation, and the fruit, while very strong, was still met with a nice hoppy bite at the end, reminding you that this was still a beer. Had it with a nice sandwich, and a little off season. This might be a nice refreshing beer for after you finish the lawn on a hot summer day though.

THOUGHTS: There was plenty of beer still apparent. The fruit wasn’t overdone. A decent beer, but nothing too spectacular. A different fruit choice than most, but not a very distinct taste. Could be just about any berry. But the aroma was a little more distinct, smelling lie what I imagine huckleberries must smell and taste like. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a hazy, yellow with an average, fluffy, slightly off-white head that mostly diminished and left virtually no lacing. The aroma was light to moderate malt and maybe some hay, but mostly fruity berries that I guess were huckleberries and also a sour berry aroma. The initial flavor was sour, acidic and lightly sweet; while the finish was was rather sour, acidic and a little bitter with an average to short duration. There was sour berries, sweet berries, hay or straw and bitter fruit. The light to medium body was sort of creamy and then a little dry with lightly fizzy carbonation and a dry and moderately astringent finish.

Bottle. Pours a golden body with a white head. Aroma of fruity ice pops, strawberries, blue berries and fruit punch. A tart melon like sweetness with a ligth pez candy like finish. Kinda like concentrated cotton candy sweetness with a berry like finish. Eh.

Bottle. Pours an average, white, pitted head. Hazy, yellow body. Fruity, funky (slight vinegar) aroma accompanied by a sweet sugar smell. Super sweet, syrupy flavor with some muddled malts. Light-medium body, prickly carbonation with a fairly dry finish. A bit cidery. Overall a fairly underwhelming beer.

Bottle. Hazy golden pour with a tiny-bubbled head. Berrilicious nose but not especially distinctly Huckleberry. A little rubber. Taste is also astringent and lightly rubbery, don’t think this is a bad bottle, dryish with a lemon-funk. Medium body, whole picture is a little like Arbor Mist. And that means meh.

Bottle. Pours golden amber in color with a lively pure white head. The aroma is tart, crisp and fruity. This beer is easy drinking, light in flavor, somewhat fruity, just right for the summer. You get a bit of the berry flavor while still not overpowering the beer. Light in body and crisp, clean in finish.

12 oz bottle from Market of Choice. Pours a clear amber with a small white head. Aroma hefty on huckleberries and some caramel malt. Flavor has a big, sour hit of huckleberries and some mild caramel. Not as tasty as one might hope from a very tasty berry.