Smuttynose Maibock

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

In short: An extra-refreshing juicy maibock. Excellent execution in simplicity
How: Bottle 22oz, fresh. on the “Stone-Bourbon-Barrel-RIS-Hype-And-Disappointment” tasting session with the Montreal crew
The look: Cloudy orange body with a medium white head
In long: Lots of grainy cereals, light caramel and soft honey, citrus and orange juice and fresh grass. A light tartness. Lively carbonation and very pleasant mouthfeel. Wow! Nothing fancy, but this is an extra-refreshing strong lager that can be enjoyed by the full pint, and many of them. An unexpected surprise to me. Coming into this tasting I never thought a Smuttynose Lager would come out on top of the Stone Bourbon Barrel RIS. That’s like a piss-drunk hare beating a hare on speed in a screwed-up psychedelic La Fontaine’s Fable. Now what the fuck am I talking about?!?!

22 oz. Golden orange pour with a fine cream colored head. Good lacing. Clean toasty nose, light hops - weird chardonnay type component. Great fresh flavor. Tangerine, lemon candy, stone fruit. Smooth bitter finish. Doughy? A nice beer, one that I could session (dangerously) around the BBQ or at the beach.

Pours a murky orange amber with no head. Smells of malt and caramel and honey. Flavor of alcohol and orange rind. Medium full body, low carbonation. Light bitter finish. Not bad. Syrupy sweet with honey. Good for the style I suppose, but not my favorite.

Pours a bright, slightly hazy golden amber with a dense one finger head that dissipates fairly quickly leaving no lacing. The smell is wonderfully sweet with caramel malts, apples, yeast and some very mild citrus hops. First taste is of the super sweet sugar which gives way to the malt background before finishing with the citrus hops. There are also some spices present in the finish. It’s medium bodied and smooth with good carbonation, almost syrupy, but not quite. This is one of the better Maibocks I’ve had and I’m once again impressed by a Smuttynose brew. Nice!

Bottle from shigadeyo. Clear copper color with an average frothy off-white head that mostly lasting with good lacing. Moderate roasted malt aroma. Medium body with a sticky texture and lively carbonation. Medium sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. My expectations where met.

22 oz bomber, 2008 edition. Pours a hazy gold color with a 1/2" head. Nose is malts, yeast & pine. Flavor is a nice balance of malt & hops with a slight belgian yeasty flavor, spicey.

hazy golden pour, off white, healthy head. malt assault in the nose, spicy. sweet malts, faint hops noticeable and appropriate. alcohol is present but not unpleasant, very warming. Flavors of sweet candy malt and burnt sugars, some dough. finish is warming and sticky..MMm its spring time and smuttynose is there to welcome it in.

Man, I thought I rated this - thanks to my better half for sharing this, then - lightly hazy golden beer, with a sticky, soapy, lasting head - the aroma is peppery and zesty up front, but some floral character and a honey sweetness develop underneath that, along with some earthy hops - a tad bit sweet at first - honey almost overwhelms the palate, but a lightly bitter herbal and floral flavor comes up from behind that, followed by spicy hops, and eventually, some alcohol warmth that lasts through the finish, so the overall sensation of drinking the beer is of a progressive warming feeling - if I were a more poetic and sappy person, I’d say this reminds me on the gradual coming of spring - but I am not that kind of person, so thankfully I would never put something that silly in a beer rating.