Um. The first sip of an ale shouldn’t make you wonder what the heck you just put in your mouth.

It hits the palate with an unusual sweet and sour double whammy, finished by a low key malt taste that is so smooth that it might be completely missed if you’re not looking for it. The aftertaste is like a long, distant beerish echo, pleasant but so removed it’s like a ghost haunting an old cave.

Every sip hits the same way. Very odd.

It’s an ale, yes, but the closest thing it reminds me of is a mead my fiancée had me try a few weeks back. This traditional Flemish brown ale, top fermented, Champaign corked, has a distinct honey sweetness. It’s not unpleasant. It’s rather good. But…

See, I have a sweet tooth. No denying that. But for an ale, this is too sweet for my tastes, so that’s very sweet, my friends. I found it cloying. So as good as this stuff is, and despite it being rated a world-class champion, it’s not making the Holy Grail scale.

I’m happy to have tried it, but I won’t be going back for another.

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