Middle Ages Apricot Ale

Brewed by Middle Ages Brewing
Style: Fruit Beer
Syracuse, New York USA

A refreshing and light summer beer, but it lacked the intense apricot that I was expecting, such as in the Pyramid or Bethlehem Brewworks iterations. A little wheat astringency noticable, head fell quickly, slightly sour.

on tap at macgrady’s, huge apricot nose, with some bitter hops, body was a clear gold color with a creamy white head that held for the length of the pint. unfortunately, the aroma didnt translate to the taste, where the apricots became much more subdued by bits of pepper and very bitter hops. the bitterness carries into a harsh dry finish with a lingering bitters well after the beer is gone.

on draft at the brew house: not huge into these unless there more of the lambic style. these were your usual bad fruit additive thin beer. for the girls and the whoosies. no, thanks mate!

Orange gold colour. Fluffy, soap like off white head. Sweet, perfumey, apricot nose. Definately a summer brew. Apricot, thin body, not much in the flavor department, with faintly bitter hops, and a soda like finish. Fruit, yumm

Ok, before I rate this, whoever made up the "Commercial Description" is full of manure. Secondly, I had this on draught in an attempt to "collect" all of the Middle Ages beers. Thirdly, I hate apricot. I think you know where this is going......Pours a transparent slightly darkened michelob light color. Small white head. Aroma is Over the Top apricot...I mean like Over the Top when Sly Stallone throws Terry Funk through the glass doors. Damn, this is a clone of their raspberry wheat. Sadly, it doesnt taste much different, that’s how sweet they both are. Thankfully there is a mild hop presence in the finish. This is the proverbial girlfriend beer...there needs to be more women out there who appreciate a good smack of Cascades.

Murky, cloudy dark golden body. Authentic sour apricot flavor, which is a tad too ashy and dry. This beer would probably be quite good on the hottest of hot summer days. The aroma is bland.

Based on experience with their other beers, I wasn't expecting much from this at all, so I suppose my low standards for this brewery helped me to enjoy this ale a little more - cloudy golden with a huge head (I had to suck the rising foam from the top of the glass several times) - aroma is dominated my, you guessed it, apricots - flavor is quite similar to Magic Hat #9, but lacking much character (not that #9 is great or anything) - only a touch of apricot is evident, and the rest of the flavor is somewhat ho-hum - there is a surprising creaminess, especially in the finish, that makes the beer a bit more enjoyable - decent ale.

A slightly bitter, not that sweet, apricot ale that's somewhat light on the apricot flavor. Try Magic Hat #9 if you want a good apricot ale, or Melbourne Brothers if you want a fantastic one (at $9/bottle, I might add!). Like the rest of Middle Ages' lineup - fairly unremarkable.