Mielcromina
An American style Pale Ale molded to suit the not-so-secret ingredient; honey from Ería de Valles apiaries. So many honey beers are simply bad – like someone took a random beer and squirted some honey into it. Thank goodness that isn’t the case here.
Like other good examples of the style (Dogfish Head‘s Midas Touch or Twisted Pine‘s Westbound Braggot) it seems the honey was added twice in this beer. First in the boil kettle as part of the fermentable sugar bill, and again later post-boil to preserve the aromatic Ería de Valles honey has won so many awards for. The result is simply put: very good. I am personally not a fan of honey beers, but this could change my mind.
Style Guidelines
- Color: Gold (07 SRM)
- Standard: Very light to black depending on underlying style (1-100(2-200 EBC) SRM)
- Clarity: Some chill haze
- Standard: Clear to hazy is acceptable
- Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Sweet malt flavors underneath the honey
- Standard: Varies depending on intention of brewer
- Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Light hop flavor. Floral hops blend well with the honey notes.
- Standard: Very low to very high
- Perceived Bitterness: Low to medium and in harmony with the sweetness from the honey (20 IBUs)
- Standard: Very low to very high (1-100 IBUs)
- Fermentation Characteristics: Honey is forward but not overpowering.
- Standard:
- Body: Medium
- Standard: Varies with underlying style
Tasting Notes
It would be really easy to make a completely one dimensional honey beer – many have done so. Fortunately, that is not the case here. The flowery hops, the malt choices, they are all balanced with the honey, to create something that is very nice. The honey is an integral part of the beer, not an after thought.
