Mad Bishop - DuClaw Brewing Company

chefhatt

Pennsylvania

3.14/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I poured this beer into a pint glass, it has a dark orange colered body with a very small white head that lays down quickly to a thin lace. The smell has a sweet malt aroma to it. The taste has a sweet malty flavor pretty much through, i don't get any hop flavor at all. The mouth feel is nice, well carbonated, roll off the tonuge. Overall this ok, i like my o-fest more on the malt side then sweet.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 04:39:20 | More by chefhatt

xnicknj

Pennsylvania

3.28/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

on tap at perch pub

Pours a clear caramel color with an auburn hue. Crop of beige head dissolves into a collar of film with a few spots of lacing on the glass.

Malty and sweet in the nose with toffee, caramel and bread crust. Hints of dark fruit and toasted grain.

Plenty of malty sweetness up front with toffee and caramel. Toasty with grain, bread crust and syrupy malts. Decent backbone and soft leafy hops toward the finish.

Lighter medium body, well carbonated, crisp and slightly thin on the tongue. A pretty decent American marzen, although there's definitely better, more flavorful options available.

Serving type: on-tap

11-10-2012 21:38:35 | More by xnicknj

happy4hoppybeer

Pennsylvania

2.68/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Deep amber.orange with medium head, dissipating within minutes to a very thin body, minimal head.Ok look, nothing special.

Aromas of grains, faint hops, some breadiness/biscuits, some nuts. Nothing too impressive.

Taste is same as nose, with medium/light body. thin carbonation.Crisp, clean, nothing special or original.

An average American version of the Marzen/Oktoberfest style. German ones are defintley better, but this is OK for American.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 23:32:57 | More by happy4hoppybeer

obywan59

Virginia

3.28/5  rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer is a deep orange, leaning towards amber with a 1 1/2 finger head. light on the carbonation bubbles.

The aroma is citric with dark doughy bread and a touch of molasses.

The taste a bit more nondescript than the nose. Sweet, toasty malt and light citric hops. Lightly bitter in the end.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, Drying on the finish.

An easy drinker. Nothing outstanding, but it has good balance. A decent session beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2012 01:17:40 | More by obywan59

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

2.5/5  rDev -26%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

12 oz bottle into a mug.

Pours a clear copper, with 1 ½ fingers of foamy off-white head. This retains with a thin foaminess, especially on the edges, that leaves back just some light spotty lace. This actually gets pretty dead looking about half way through the glass. The aroma smells sweet and spicy in the nose, with notes of earthy citrus and toast underneath. This has a bit of a plastic or medicinal off-note to it as well, which mostly adheres itself to that sticky combo of toasty sweetness and citrus.

The taste is a little more green feeling with earthy hops, before a big flush of toasted sticky sweetness comes in. This is fairly bitter and a little spicy on the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and softer feeling up front before firming up a little more on the tongue. Unfortunately, the overall carbonation here seems to match that mediocre retention, with this mostly sitting in the mouth with a flat heft at times.

I’ve had this on draft several times over the years but I don’t ever remember this beer being this mediocre before. It just doesn’t pack much crispness to it at all, which leaves the flavors here sitting too loose and the overall feel too thick and chewy. What a shame. It seems like this isn’t translating very well to the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2012 15:09:13 | More by Kegatron

jifigz

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev +3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle poured into a pint glass.

The appearance is pretty typical of style. IT has that nice copper brown transparent color and it is a little lighter in color than some other Oktoberfests. The beer was poured vigorously to generate a nice head that didn't last or linger at all really. The aroma is toasted malts with a little soapiness in it. It smells pretty typical of a Marzen, but the aroma isn't quite as powerful as some others I have had. flavors mimic the smell pretty closely. Rich malty flavor with a mild soapiness that hangs on. The end finishes somewhat dry with a nice toasted malt character that lingers. There is just a hint of bitterness riding the tail of this one. The MF is smooth and medium bodied with an average level of carbonation.

This is a tasty beer. It isn't an excellent beer, but I bought a case of this because I have never had anything from DuClaw before. I'll check out their other options, but if I want an Oktoberfest style lager in the future I will probably turn to something else.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2012 13:37:51 | More by jifigz

ckollias

Maryland

2.78/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Enjoyed this 12oz bottle out of a large snifter glass.

A: Pours a deep orange-mahogany color with a very thin white head that dissipates almost immediately.

S: Musty malty aroma that is a little sweet on the nose.

T: A mild sweet brew with musty malt flavor similar to the aroma. Finished slightly on the dry side.

M: Medium body and medium carbonation.

O: Just an ok brew. Nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2012 21:36:57 | More by ckollias

Dave1999

Virginia

3.9/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a clear dark amber colour with a white head.

The smell was roasted malts and sweet caramel.

The taste was caramel and malts, like the smell it was pretty sweet.

The mouth feel was medium with medium carbonation.

A decent Oktoberfest beer, not great but a tasty enough beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2012 02:06:32 | More by Dave1999

Chaney

District of Columbia

3.23/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served in a Port City tulip.

A: Poured pretty much ruby red, doppelbock-like, with only a slight of white head and a good bit of visible carbonation.

S: Still, doppelbock is the operative word here. Sure, I got some bread on the nose, but I got more beet sugar than anything.

T: Too sweet in my opinion. I know this is personal preference, but I prefer my marzens to have more mothball and less sugar. Despite the bottle marketing-speak, I didn't think this finished cleanly at all. Kind of a palate wrecker actually.

M: Like I said, too sweet and not very drinkable. The carbonation was fine and the lacing minimal.

O: I want my Octoberfests to be Octoberfests and not doppelbocks....

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2012 00:26:57 | More by Chaney

Pencible

Virginia

3.53/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: This poured a clear dark copper with a bit of light tan head.
S: It smelled like lots of rusty copper and roasted barley, with a bit of bready yeast.
T: It tasted like nutty and roasted barley malt, with rusty copper hops and bready malt. It had a clean and mildly bitter aftertaste.
M: It was watery with moderate carbonation. Fairly light body.
D: This was not bad for the style, but nothing special or memorable. Decent beer is about all I can say.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 19:31:06 | More by Pencible

Florida9

Illinois

3.18/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Clear dark amber (really more of a very clear, brown). Forms a very thin off white head that quickly reduces down to virtually nothing. No lacing.

S: Smells incredibly toasty, probably one of the toastiest beers I've ever smelt. Slight sweetness with some malty fruits.

T: Holy shit, I thought the aroma as toasty? Well the flavor is all toast. Lots of toasty malts mixed with some fruity malts as well. Peanuts, caramel, toffee, and sweet toasty malts. Fairly one dimensional and more than a little bit malty. If there are any hops in this beer, I'd never know.

M: Medium bodied with lighter carbonation and a very light bitterness.

O: A rather unimpressive Ofest full of toasty, nutty, and fruity malts. No thanks.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2011 03:33:44 | More by Florida9

portia99

Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle poured into a Brooklyn snifter.

A - Pours a very clear, bright amber color. Three thick fingers of foamy head rests on top of the beer...decent staying power, falls over a minute or two to the surface leaving behind wisps of soapy lacing on the glass.

S - Quite fruity, almost fruit punch-like. Light grassy hops, sugary sweetness, touch of grain, low level bready aromas and light caramel.

T - Malty sweet with some biscuity aspects, quite bready, a bit of toasted malts, clean hop bitterness.

M - Rather high carbonation for the sytle...gives a foamy feel. Body is medium. Nicely balanced between malt and hops...malt just winning out by a little bit.

O - A very bready oktoberfest...well developed malt profile with decent complexity - bread, toasted malts, maltose sweet, biscuity - quite nice. Pretty good American example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2011 18:49:24 | More by portia99

billab914

Virginia

3.65/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into my Dogfish glass. it poured a crystal clear dark amber color that turned almost red in the light. It had a thin and fizzy head to it. I loved the color.

The aroma shows a lot of toasty and grainy malts to it. A decent amount of malty, caramel sweetness comes out in it as well. It's a lot like freshly mashed or spent grains.

The taste also has a mix of toasted, grainy malts and sweeter, caramel notes to it. In the finish I get some balancing bitterness coming through. The grainy, toasted malts are a little strong and overpowering in it, but I kind of like it.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with carbonation being moderate. Overall I enjoyed it a lot. It had a huge grainy, toasty profile that smelled and tasted like freshly mashed grains. It wasn't outstanding in the style, but it was pretty good and had some uniqueness to it as well that I really liked.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2011 22:52:21 | More by billab914

fo5s

District of Columbia

2/5  rDev -40.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

12oz bottle served in a tumbler. No dating on the bottle. Reviewed 10/27.

A- cap pops off extremely loud (louder than many corks) and gives way to some gushing, emptying the neck of the bottle. Pours with a massive, light brown head that fills 2/3 of the glass. Body is rich copper with a hint of ruby. Slightly hazy.

S- A busy mess - notes of apple or cider.

T- metallic, oxidized malty. Syrupy, almost tastes like malt extract? Yeasty, in a bad way. Cidery. Can't tell if this is infected already or not, but it seems headed in that direction.

M- sticky and overcarbonated.

O- after 2 sips I thought "I can finish this, it's not a drainpour, but it's not awful". After 2 more sips it gave me the shivers and promptly went down the drain.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2011 03:29:02 | More by fo5s

jlindros

Massachusetts

2.63/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a way overcarbonated and almost infected looking fizzy bubbly head that fades pretty quickly after rising 3+ fingers very quickly after pouring only 2/3 of the bottle into my large snifter glass. The beer is a hazy ruby red colored.

Nose is loaded with sweet things, plenty of reddish caramel malts, maybe a hint of munich malt, plenty of syrupy aromas as well, caramel, candy syrup, and a bit of malt extract. No real hops either.

Taste is similar, starting with plenty of malts, reddish malts, caramel, red candy syrup, syrupy flavors, malt extract, etc. Then a bit of an earthy infection like flavor, not funky just bad yeast like an infection is starting but not sure. Tons of carbonation like my sip is just foam that I'm trying to taste. A bit almost oxidized as well. A slight bitterness comes out on the finish with a slight earthy hop and sticky syrupy mouth. And absolutely no lager flavors. The burps (and there are plenty of em with that much carb) bring a stale earthy hop and bad infected yeast.

Mouth... I can't really tell the body much but its about medium bodied and the carbonation is... well lets just say its like Mumbai or Shanghai in population density of bubbles. Way too much. Also sticky mouth.

Bleh, I think this is a drain pour. Very syrupy, semi sweet, lots of candy and syrups, no real hops until the stale earthy hop finish. Also either infection or just done horribly wrong, like lagered at a horrible temperature, not sure but a bad yeast flavor. Just wrong.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2011 00:26:29 | More by jlindros

womencantsail

California

2.55/5  rDev -24.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Thanks for sharing this, Bobby.

A: The beer pours a clear light amber color with a finger of off-white head.

S: Slightly metallic on the aroma and overall very bland. A light nuttiness as well as a bit of stale bread and toffee. Really not very pleasant.

T: The flavor has sort of a spoiled nut flavor to it. A little bit of garbage in there too. Some toffee and bready malt flavor, a little bit of yeast, and some apple esters.

M: Medium bodied with low to medium carbonation.

O: Not what I was expecting from an Oktoberfest.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2011 22:59:04 | More by womencantsail

Minkybut

Virginia

2.9/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I poured this average beer into my tumbler at 45 degrees. The beer poured a really pretty copper colored beer but it had a really lax head that was not around very long. The beer was smelly and not in a good way either. Thee beer was not terrible but I most likely will not buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2011 17:02:32 | More by Minkybut

oline73

Maryland

3.05/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle into a standard pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a slightly cloudy reddish brown with two fingers of soda like head that leaves a ring around the edge of the glass.

Smell: Sweet and malty with a strong smell of cherries.

Taste: Thank goodness it isn't as sweet as it smells. Very malty, and the cherry from the smell is still here. The sweetness continues throughout, and a bitterness shows up at the end of each sip.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a lot of carbonation and a dry finish.

Overall: I would have liked this to be a little more delicate. Not bad, but there are other options I prefer.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2011 02:45:40 | More by oline73

stephenjmoore

Maryland

3.45/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A- Amber/Copper in color, light tan head that quickly disappears, very little lacing. Classic marzen look.

S- Malt up front, notes of bread and maybe some citrus fruit.

T- Crisp and dry. Malty with a little bit of citrusy sweetness at the end.

M- Rather light and somewhat dry. Very little carbonation.

O- For the marzen style, this one is pretty good, but does not really stand out. The label is pretty neat and I am usually impressed with DuClaw's offerings, but Mad Bishop kind if blends in with the other pretty good marzens.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2011 01:45:31 | More by stephenjmoore

Cavery

California

1.6/5  rDev -52.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Given as an extra from a generous trader, cheers! Cracked it after work, just wanting to try and start enjoying my weekend.

poured into a Stone Nonic.

A: Woody cherry brown body with some light colored, semi-transparent white foams with a rapidly diminishing head. The bubbles burst with a fury that makes it seem more like a perrier that's been violently poured. I'm left looking at a rather shirley temple looking flat brew.

S: Smell is ripe with the smell of old nuts, spent cooking oils, grease, and other unpleasantness. Something immediately seems off in the nose where german malts don't seem to be the predominant character. Certainly an almost animal fat smell dominates the nose.

T: Yup, rotten peanut oils with a heaping dose of pork fat and butters. The breadiness of the malt blends in to create this really awful moldy pretzel bread flavor that makes me want to slap my head with both hands just so I can distract my taste buds from the pain of ingesting. This is really gross, a new low for me in compromised beers. I'm reminded of my infected bottle of key lime Pie from Shorts.

M: it's carbonated, not a bad feel. Medium body with some fairly violent bursting bubble carbonation. Obviously it's hard to focus on given the oily nature of the finish, and buttery tones in the flavor. Very wet throughout. Lots of olive oil feels in the finish.

O: This might be a mad bishop, but I'm a mad drinker. This is truly not the way you want to start your session off, and most certainly not a way to have a first beer from a brewery. I'll reserve my final say about the quality control of the beers for another time, but it is always disappointing to open what seems to be a compromised bottle. I'll give another Duclaws beer a shot, but I'll start off with a tiny sip.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2011 01:05:12 | More by Cavery

dhartogs

Virginia

4/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Increasingly I have been strating further and further from Lagers, maybe it's just me. But I bought a bottle of this and really enjoyed it, one of the better Octoberfests I've had this year. Maybe because it was so fresh, had no bitterness and was very nicely balanced with the malts nice amber color, not much head, not much of an aroma, but just a really solid drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2011 14:25:00 | More by dhartogs

CuriousMonk

Virginia

3.6/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at the brewery in MD. Pours clear amber with a small, fizzy white head, low retention with light lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (bread, cookie, caramel, toasted, nutty), light hops (earthy, herbal), and average esters (apple/pear) with notes of plum and dates. Flavor is heavy malt (bread, cookie, caramel, toasted), average hops (earthy, herbal), and average esters (apple/pear) with notes of dates; clean lager character. Medium body and carbonation, low warmth and creaminess with a sweet finish.

Serving type: on-tap

02-23-2011 14:55:23 | More by CuriousMonk

slvrmon82

Delaware

4.38/5  rDev +29.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Wow. I just want to say that this is by far one of the best mall breweries I have ever had. They have a location in Hanover, MD at a mall. It is great. I was very skeptical after being to a number of different "chain mall breweries" So glad we stopped in. The mad Bishop just came out last Thursday and we were luck enough to enjoy a pint with lunch the other day. Pours a deep golden, red. Little bit of haze. Very nice smell. Very aromatic spice and malt. Extremely sweet and spicy at first with a very powerful malt behind it that finishes rather quickly. Mouthfeel is a little creamier than I expected. It was my favorite of the day. I could have drank probably 4 of these. Very nice job and will be back again soon.

Serving type: on-tap

10-22-2008 21:35:58 | More by slvrmon82

hdofu

Maryland

4.03/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A reddish orange, with a thin white head. Sweet and spicy, taste and malt. This ones not too complicated which is not a bad thing all the time. This one simply tastes good has a medium body and fairly good drinkability. It goes excellent with a ultimate grilled cheese sandwich.

Serving type: on-tap

10-21-2008 00:50:33 | More by hdofu

barleywinebrewer

New Hampshire

3.03/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

highly touted based on the huge sign at the front door, table topper and insert to the menu. I thought it would be a nice second beer while at the pub.

A - Reddish / brown with a thin off white head.
S - sweet caramel malts and not much else.
T - Similar to the nose but with an underlying yeast note. Not as clean a lager finish as I was hoping.
M - medium bodied, medium carbonated, sweet and clean finish.
D - Nice enough but a bit out of it's element when paired with the jambalaya.

A pleasant enough beer but not one I'd hype as was done at the restaurant. That said, it must work for their customer base as the special pint glass promotion sold out a couple of days into the release according to the waitress.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2007 14:20:45 | More by barleywinebrewer