Mackinaw Brewing Beadles Best Bitter

Brewed by Mackinaw Brewing Company
Style: Bitter
Traverse City, Michigan USA

On tap at the brewery. Cloudy dark brown with small off-white head. Aroma is medium dry with floral hops. Medium sweet flavor with some grain presence, medium hops bitterness, some nuttiness, pretty clean tasting. Medium to light with real active carbonation. One of the better of their mainstay beers.

This one was such a disappointment. Not even bitter. Not crisp. Complex hop and malt character? HAH. Odd sweetness that reminded me strongly of apples. Plain, a really bad bitter imo.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours a somewhat hazy, chesnut amber color with a thin layer of frothy off-white head. A hint of herbal hops mixed with a squeeze of caramel syrup in the nose. Medium bodied, creamy mouthfeel. Minor diacetyl presence noticeable, more in the flavor than in the nose. A bit sweet up front with brown sugar malt flavors, but dries up reasonably well with some unremarkable herbal hop character. The hops have a bit of a dirty, earthy quality. Eliminating the diacetyl would improve this beer to a low average.

Draft sampler at Mackinaw. Poured clear copper with a moderate frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with fair lacing. Average sweet hoppy aroma. Light body with a watery texture. Medium sweet flavor with a light sweet finish of short duration. Average bitter.

The head was mostly diminishing. Copper-amber in color. Pleasant aroma, but not nearly as hoppy as I expected. This was a good beer, but not as bitter as I would have liked, but then again I can’t get enough hops.

Simple, plainclothes malt here completely unadorned with hops. I mean, I searched desperately for any hop action at all and was stymied at every turn.