Homebrew Review- Muckney Brewing

For the second time, Dave at Muckney Brewing and I exchanged some beers and I was excited to have such a plethora of their homebrews along with some commercial offerings. I had high expectations this time around, since their beers were so well crafted and delicious the first time around. The offerings were much more extensive this time, and aside from the key needed to decipher the squiggly markings on the caps of the bottles (complete with commercial labels still attached:), I was eager to crack open the stash.
But as Dave said... they care more about what goes inside the bottle. That is evident, I've drank about half the beers he sent, and they are all very well crafted. I love the fact that it seems they do two versions of certain beers, which is a fun way to tweak a recipe and see what would happen if you added something different. The four I'm going to review are; Rising Sun Oiwai Ginger Peach Red Ale, Saison Du Muqunee, Ides of March Imperial Stout, and Ides of March Quercas Borealis.


Rising Sun Oiwai Ginger Peach Red Ale: Last time around I reviewed the excellent and unique Ginger Sesame Red Ale. A very interesting and tasty beer. This time, Dave sent me it along with this version, which uses apricots to create a peach presence. It pours a dark brown with ruby red hues and a foamy white head. Musty and malty aromas at first with some nice fruity aromas as well. Apricoty and peachy with some nice ginger present. A great mouthfeel, creamy with some dryness and spiceness. There is some faint ginger in the finish, but hardly noticeable. This is a very complex beer with some great flavors going on. It has some wonderful aromas and is very hard to categorize, but above all it is very drinkable. Outside the box, as I've come to expect, but accessible and unique.

Saison Du Muqnee: This saison pours a beautiful light golden yellow with a thin white head. Nice musty, yeasty, spicy aromas with some citrus present. Sweet and malty at first, but finishes dry with some lingering sweetness and citrus flavors. Great mouthfeel, fizzy yet creamy in the finish. It has a crisp finish that makes it really refereshing. I could drink a lot of these on a hot day. The complex aromas are spot on for a saison and there are some nice funky-yeasty flavors mixed in with the spiciness and sweetness. A great version of a saison.

Ides of March RIS: I'm not the biggest fan of Imperial stouts. I've come to appreciate them, and there are a few I like, but for the most part they aren't a beer I drink often. Muckney's however, is one I could drink on a regular basis. This pours a jet black with a thin tan head. Wonderful aromas of molasses, black pepper, coffee and roasted malt. Creamy and smooth at first with some nice milk chocolate that is quickly replaced by some bitter hops and a peppery bite. It has the perfect mouthfeel of an RIS, and in the finish is an excellent lingering licorice flavor that really enhances the beer. Just an outstanding RIS.

Ides of March Quercas Borealis:
This version of the IoM was aged on wood chips soaked in Wild Turkey bourbon. This too pours a jet black with the same thin tan head. At first there are some nice coffee, chocolate, and pepper aromas, but finished with a slight bourbon aroma. The flavors at first are typical of an RIS, chocolate, molasses, bitterness, and coffee. But the flavors that follow are what make the Quercas stand out; some nice woody-smokey-oaky flavors and it finishes with some nice licorice in the finish. Smooth and more sweet than bitter, the QB has some great flavors going on. I love the woodiness in the beer as well as the wonderful licorice finish that lingers, but isn't overwhelming or overpowering by any means. Excellent!

I look forward to the rest of the beers sent to me by Muckney. Once again they come through with some great, well balanced and unique beers.
Dave can also feel good, after the collapse of his Nittany Lions, he gets to watch his Stillers in the Super Bowl!

I'll hopefully post some more reviews of some commercial beer this week. Also El Jefe helped me brew and bottle on Friday, brewing a Cherry Stout and bottling El Oso. More to come on that.

Salud!
Bearded Brewer