Agave Chili Beer - Maumee Bay Brewing Company

Brenden

Ohio

4/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Being MBBC's newest release and the first ever brewing, and having limited and varied experience with chile beers, I wasn't sure if I'd be getting more of a Rogue chipotle ale or Stone smoked porter w/ chipotle experience. It turns out it's a bit of both, and it shows right off in the appearance. This beer is a muddy dark red color with a touch of bronze or deep copper coming through. A light brown head sits just over a finger tall and has staying power. It drops nice lacing in patches as the beer recedes.
While the full beauty of the peppery heat isn't detectable in the aroma, it does display a nice malty backbone and some cocoa. The agave gives off a hint of a green sort of earthiness under something meaty. The fire-roasting of the peppers shows without imparting a particularly smoky character. There's intrigue here, especially when a ghost of raw cocoa peeks through.
If I had to say, I'd peg this one as an amber, but clearly there was some thinking outside the box on this one. It's billed as MBBC's take on a "Cerveza Pilsner." I can't say I know exactly what that means, but I'm really enjoying what they're doing here. It's unusual, mixing English Crystal malts with cocolate malts and peat-smoked barley; the peat character comes through nicely, making this almost smoky but not, with a very gentle peat earthiness. The peppers impart more flavor than heat, which comes through gently with just a little bite but filling and warming the whole mouth, not just the back of the throat. I really think this works well. There's just a faint hint of raw cocoa that sneaks in. There really is great balance here. Chile beer lovers may desire more heat, but this is a well-brewed, pretty flavorful beer.
The mouthfeel takes me off guard; it's unexpectedly creamy, from first sip to last. The creaminess absolutely flows, and this is one smooth beer. There's a bit of crispness to it as well. The way it flows, though, the velvety texture, is impressive. It's a 4.5 if not for the slickness that's still felt on the roof of the mouth and the tongue moments after each sip.
Another very nice beer from MBBC, and better than the last couple of releases.

Serving type: on-tap

05-09-2012 21:09:52 | More by Brenden

Nick_Foltz

Kentucky

3.75/5  rDev -3.4%

03-12-2013 09:32:40 | More by Nick_Foltz