Beer Review- Muckney Brewing Homebrew

In a first for me, I'll be reviewing some homebrew that is not my own. In addition to the variety of Pennsylvania beers I got from Dave at Muckney Brewing, I also got four bottles of their homebrew. I was very curious and excited to try their beers since I read their blog and think their brews sound really interesting. The four beers I got were: Dark and Mysterious Cinnamon Porter, Rising Sun Ginger-Sesame Red Ale, Batch 11 Dark IPA, and Heavy Hefe Wheat Ale. I was really impressed by their beers, here's the rundown:

Rising Sun Ginger-Sesame Red Ale: To be honest I didn't know what to think about this beer when I read the name. I've had ginger in beer before that was totally overpowering, and sesame(?), not something I would think to put in a beer. Very intriguing...This was the first bottle of Muckney homebrew I opened and I was blown away! What a totally unique beer that was also very easy to drink and and really accessible for such a unique combination. The beer pours a cloudy brownish red with a creamy white head. At first there is an aroma of sesame with some sweetness of ginger. Totally surprised by the taste! Its slightly sweet and malty with a roasty sesame presence that is there in the finish, but not overwhelming at all. The more you drink, the more the ginger reveals itself in a sweet underlying flavor, nicely balanced with the sesame and the malty body. This beer would be great with asian food (surprise), and is just a great drinking beer. I was really impressed on how well they were able to balance the flavors in this beer. When I think of "extreme" or creative beers, I think its very easy to go over the top, and this beer is just a perfectly balanced beer. It is unique and original, yet easy to drink and something I could easily drink as a session beer. Outstanding!


Dark and Mysterious Cinnamon Porter- This was the beer I was most interested in drinking because I've been curious about adding some spices to a porter. I had even posted a question on their blog about this beer long before I had any communication with Dave. He had warned me that they added 12 sticks of cinnamon instead of the intended 3 sticks. The beer pours a dark chocolate brown with a two finger off-white head. Holy cinnamon! Right away you are hit with the smell of cinnamon, in fact its really present. To be honest, I found the cinnamon too overpowering. It dominates the flavor and its hard to get to the porter. There is some roasty-chocolatey flavors of the porter, but the aroma and much of the flavor is really dominated by cinammon. Based on how well the rest of their beers are so well balanced, I think it would be really good with less cinnamon.

Batch 11 Dark IPA- Dave told me this beer was based off of a Stone Brewing Company beer, but unfortunately I don't have access to Stone beers, so I have no frame of reference. This was another very impressive beer from Muckney. It pours a dark brown with some redish hues and a thick two finger off white head. There is a really nice piney hop aroma in the nose. Its highly carbonated, almost fizzy and that gives it a really crisp finish. There is a great hop bitterness balanced well against a sweet, malty body. The hops are really the focal point of this beer, as there is a wonderful hoppy flavor, clean hop finish, but a nice bitterness one would expect with an IPA. Just a great drinking beer, if you've ever wondered what a IPA would be like if it looked like a porter, this would be it. Another beer I could drink on a regular basis.


Heavy Hefe Wheat Ale- From the sound of it, this is a big hefeweizen, not sure on the specifics like alcohol content, but I'm assuming it is higher than an average hefe. Heavy Hefe pours a cloudy golden orangish color with a thin, lacy white head. There is a strong clove, banana aroma that you'd excpect from a hefeweizen. It is a sweet, candy like taste right away with hints of clove, banana and a little yeasty tartness. There is a creamy mouthfeel, almost "milkshake" like. It lacks some crispness, but that might be attributed to the "heavy" portion, maybe a lot of body from the higher abv. There is a great sweetness with just a slight tartness, and right at the finish there is a little spiciness as it goes down. A great beer, I found myself wanting another one of these right away. I would put this up there with some of the best hefeweizen's I've ever had. Yet another excellent beer!

It was great trying some homebrew, especially ones that were so creative and unique. I was really impressed with the beers and think they have a great perspective on brewing. Each one of these beers was unlike something I've had before. The Dark IPA was the closest to a commerical brew, but unique itself. I'm excited to do some exchanges in the future because I'd love to try some more of their well crafted, unique beers.

I plan on reviewing Surly Bitter Brewer this week, and maybe my thoughts on a couple other beers I've been drinking.
Salud!
The Bearded Brewer