Last time, I wrote about MoonRidge's Below the Dam and noted that I had brought a mixed six pack of their brews home with me from the brewpub up on Cornell. The next beer in line for tasting is Rollercoaster, a "maple bock dark lager".
The brewmaster at MoonRidge sure loves sweet, sticky stuff as there were 3 or 4 beers on tap when I was there that had honey in them. Rollercoaster wasn't on tap and my craft beer nerd instincts told me that this brew was likely a winter (being a bock) or spring (that's when maple syrup is made) beer and so not overly fresh which has been a problem for me with MoonRidge beers. In addition, MoonRidge is a very small operation. Did they have the capacity to lager a beer properly?
I made up those excuses and probably more to boot to not grab a Rollercoaster despite it being right up my strasse. A dark beer. A lager. With maple syrup, a very tasty Wisconsin flavor addition. I threw caution to the wind and grabbed a bottle.
When it came to tasting it, I had low expectations, truth be known. I was certainly hoping for it to be a real gustatory treat but wasn't going to bet my house on it. Quite aside from freshness issues, lagers from small breweries that brew mostly ales is very much a hit or miss proposition with misses being much more common, from my experience. But hope springs eternal.
My mug was graced with a good, light tan head. The frothy foam had what I think of as an average lifespan. The liquid was a gorgeous dark amber, not unlike maple syrup, and clear which allowed me to see some bubbles running upwards. The aroma was very nice with some maple, caramel, and a faint grassy scent hiding behind all the sweetness.
It was well-fizzed with a medium body that leaned a bit to the light side. Maple and caramel were up front but I didn't find the beer cloying. That fizz no doubt helped out here. I tasted a very faint smokiness, a little roasty grain, and some welcome grassy/herbal hops which surely abetted the hops in keeping the sweetness in check.
The sweet flavors faded as I swallowed leaving a hoppiness that had become more herbal tasting to provide a modicum of bitterness and dryness. Through it all, a hint of dark chocolate poked its slightly bitter head out.
My expectations were totally upended - this was a good beer. Perhaps on the homebrew writ large side, but tasty nonetheless. I appreciated that the sweetness was not overpowering yet the caramelized, woody, vanillay flavor of the maple syrup was out front. I've had maple beers that are sticky, cloying messes that seemed to have been brewed by Mrs. Butterworth as well as those that have so little maple syrup in them, that you'd never know it was an ingredient if the label didn't say so and even then I didn't believe it. Rollercoaster hit that sweet spot (pun intended) right in the middle.
Junk food pairing: You can't go wrong with pizza flavored fare and MoonRidge brews. Ergo, I recommend Pizza Pringles to accompany your Rollercoaster.
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