Year of New Beer: Smoke That Shizz, Burn 'Em Brewing/Four Father's Brewing (IN)

Written By: Dion on 01/02/2017

Taking a look at this label, one would assume that this is just a train wreck. Imperial smoked blonde ale? With honey? Anyway, into the glass it goes with a voluminous cap of foam, where it releases notes of clove, coriander, sweet grains, and an overall Belgian yeast character. Only with warmth do I get a bit of smoke, and I'm not so sure what's there isn't more just the power of suggestion. On the tongue, the spices are joined by a decent honey sweetness and a slightly herbal hop bite that quickly fades behind the breadiness of the yeast. In the end, this actually turns out to be a pretty solid beer. It's just not a smoked beer, which probably would've ruined it. Instead it presents more as a hoppy Belgian pale ale, and that's not such a bad thing.