Archive for the 'Moylan’s' category
Moylan’s “Moylander” IIPA
Another brew from Moylan’s! These guys have been on the top of my list for newly discovered breweries in the past few months. I’ve had a couple of their beers, and each time the product has surpassed my expectations. I was especially entranced with their Hopsickle IIIPA that I reviewed recently. Frankly, I think it’ll be impossible for this beer to surpass those impressions, but anything close will still be very good.
The Moylander pours a deep golden that isn’t necessarily hazy, but just dense. There isn’t visible debris in the beer, but you can’t necessarily see through the beer. It just seems thick and dense and, most likely, full of goodness. The head of this starts out thick and white, but dwindles quickly to a small coating. In the nose, this is a hop bomb! It’s full of bitter hops with some light malty hints. The hops are a mixture of floral and metallic, and are totally in your face. In the mouth, this beer proves that its bite equals its bark. Again, TONS of hop here. It isn’t necessarily fresh and sticky like some West coast IPAs, but the hop does have some good floral flavors and is super pungent. The bitterness starts at the front of the tongue, peaks around the middle, and begins to dwindle some down the throat, but leaves a mighty persistent aftertaste. The flavor, however, is fairly unilateral, not changing too heavily through the mouth. There is also a decent malt profile here, though the hop nearly buries it. Compared to the Hopsickle, this is actually MORE hoppy in its effect, mainly because the Hopsickle had a much bigger malt contribution to balance it out. So, if you just love big, raw, bitter hops, you’re going to love this. If you want something still huge, but with a bit more balance, then go for the Hopsickle. Either way, you’ll be getting a great beer for your money. Keep ‘em coming, Moylan’s!
Moylan’s “Kilt-Lifter” Scotch Ale
Moylan’s is a brewery that, while not initially blown away by their bottle art or styles, has recently gotten my attention based on outstanding flavor, alone. I recently reviewed their Hopsickle ale, found it fantastic, and have since picked up a bottle of their Double IPA and the Kilt-Lifter. I’m hoping that this beer meets the high bar that has been set!
This ale pours a deep brown with hints of ruby and very little sediment. The head here is lightly caramel, but seems thin and light and dissipates rather quickly. In the nose, I’m sensing tons of rich dark malt, leaning towards a sweeter aroma reminiscent of toffee. The flavor of the Kilt-Lifter is super rich and layered with sweetness. Initially, there is a sharp sweetness on the tongue and an essence of decent alcohol content. On through the mouth, rich toffee flavors and light-chocolatey richness becomes evident in the malt component. In addition to the chocolate/toffee tones, I’m catching some nice fruit tones – mostly dark cherry – that float along in the background to keep the richer flavors from becoming too cloying. While this beer is quite decadent in flavor, the mouthfeel is actually quite light. It washes fairly clean from the mouth, leaving a slight reminiscence of dark fruit on the back of the tongue. All things considered, I’d say this is a pretty killer scotch ale. This is a genre that I’m fond of, and there are lots of good options out there in this genre, but this one certainly stands towards the top of the pack. So far, I’m very impressed with Moylan’s – I can’t wait to try the rest of their wares!
Moylan’s Hopsicle Imperial Ale
Moylan’s – there’s a name I’ve heard around, but I’ve never seen or tried their beers or, really, even heard much about them. However, when I see a beer called “Hopsickle”, I feel like it’s worth my attention. Furthermore, when the folks down at Sam’s Blue Light label it on the shelf with a sign reading, “Yeah, it’s worth it” – well, I guess that’s a pretty blunt indicator that it’s worth my time. So, anyway, I bought one today and I just can’t wait to drink it.
The Hopsickle pours a beautiful deep golden color with lots of dense carbonation and a lightly off-white head that forms spiderwebs down the sides of the glass. The aroma of the beer is super fresh and hoppy. The hops smell sticky and wet with a big does of grapefruit and floral aromas, and it makes you wonder if there really is a hop shortage on or if all that was just an urban legend. In the mouth, this beer is incredible. Granted, we haven’t had a lot of big IPAs around in recent months due to the said ‘hop shortage’ myth, so I could just be out of practice. But, my goodness, this is a deliciously big hop-bomb. It isn’t a terribly complex beer – there are basically two noticeable flavors of hop and malt. But, hey, isn’t that the essence of beer anyway? The hop is huge and sticky and floral and acidic, shocking the tastebuds and shooting straight down the tongue and into the nasal cavity. Frankly, the hops are almost overwhelming, but there is a nice rich malt base that mediates the situation and makes this beer fairly well balanced for one of such prodigious hoppiness. Definitely, it’s a Hopsickle, and it definitely isn’t for bland beer drinkers. But, if you’ve been missing the big IPAs as much as I have, this thing is worth more than nine gold infants. (If you can tell me where that reference is from, I’ll be impressed. But I won’t send you a bottle, so don’t try that mess.)
