Troëgs The Mad Elf Ale
The weather forecasters were correct and we actually got a dusting of roughly a foot of snow today. With snow on the ground, and it being the holiday season, I thought I would crack open a “holiday/winter beer”.
In the snifter the beer is a lush ruby red that is perfectly clear. The head is snow white, and very thin, lasting mere seconds before fading to a ring against the glass walls. Even without a head the aromas are quite pronounced with bushels of cherry aroma inundating my nose. The cherry however is wrapped in this exquisite spiced note.
The tip of the tongue tingles with a slight warming sensation but this is quickly swept away by the beer’s cherry flavor. The cherry flavor is a mix of sweet and tart, with a dash of bitter chocolate thrown in for good measure. Before I can dwell too much on these flavors however, the spice notes, originally noticed in the aroma, come and take charge. They do not muscle the cherry flavors out however, they enhance them. The beer finishes slightly syrupy, the rest of the mouthfeel was quite light, and with some hints of rustic, unrefined honey.
Without the spice this would just beer a fruit beer. Granted a some what interesting fruit beer due to the sweet and tart combo, but still a fruit beer. The spice of the beer, which came from the beer’s Belgian yeast strain and was tough to peg down taste wise… some cinnamon, coriander, a few others… is what elevated this beer, and worked so well with the sweet/tart cherry, and bitter chocolate combination. I am not a huge “holiday/winter beer” person. I find most brewers over due the spice or alcohol, by the way The Mad Elf is 11% but you will never notice it in the aroma or taste, in their offerings. This beer however, it should be produced all year.
Categories: Beer Reviews, Troëgs, Winter
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