Mishawaka Seven Mules Strong Ale

Brewed by Mishawaka Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Mishawaka, Indiana USA

Bottle courtesy of ucusty: Pours a bright copper bronzed with a large clingy-lacing white head. Aroma of sweet caramel and honey with some graininess and noble hops. Body starts pale malty sugary sweet and slightly earthy bitter with a hint of diacetyl and light fruitiness. Finishes with a peppery bitterness and alcoholic warmth. Reminds me a lot of a malt liquor. Glad to see Mishawaka experimenting with bigger styles, just wish this one was a little more well crafted.

Thanks ucusty. The color was light orange. The head was creamy, thin, and off-white. The flavor was musky, waxy, corny, and alcohol. The palate was thick. The finish was warm.

Thanks ucusty! Pours a light caramel amber with a thin yellowish head. The aroma was interesting, sweet, really subdued, alcohol, some strange sweet smell. The flavor is just flat out awful. Talk about drain pour. I’m not sure I can take more than one sip of this. Very harsh, high alcohol, waxy bitter, cough syrup, rotten grass, just doesnt make sense how something could go this wrong.

Wow. This was a treat. Dark pour color. Not a lot of alcohol found in the taste, which was great. Good hops as well. I found that after a drink, it leaves some dryness in your mouth which makes you take another and another drink. At 10.5% that could be a little dangerous. Loved it. Wonderful.

Pours transparent amber with thick frothy head. Light lacing. Nice citrus/caramel aroma that is similar to a belgian style ale. Very weird, yet interesting flavor. Lots of grapefruit followed by some alcolholic warmth. Very lively. As this warms up it is quite a bit less bitter.

Poured from a 12oz bottle and served in a shaker. This brew poured a clear amber color with a huge, light beige head that faded away very slowly. Some good looing lace was left behind. The aroma consisted of citrus, caramel, and some sweet malts. The flavor was very bitter, but also very light on taste. Notes of sour citrus are followed up by some alcoholic heat. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied with light carbonation. I hope that this was just a bad bottle, otherwise, this beer is just terrible. I never thought I would taste a high-gravity brew that was this lifeless.

Not very dark for a strong ale. Nice hops. Interesting that they call it a summer barleywine, maybe the high alcohol percentage is the reason. I could, however, drink a few of these on a summer day. Bought this bottle in a shop in West Lafayette, IN. Too bad it was the only bottle.

Date: 07/21/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Indy

clear gold, frothy cream colored head, drippy lace, big sweet candy malt aroma, big sticky body, huge sticky sweet malt flavor, only a hint of bitterness for balalnce to keep the sweet from running wild, a hint of alcohol in the finish,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **4