Altenmünster Maibock

Light golden yellow, sweet, grainy, malty, citrus, honey, slight spice, small grassy hop.

Poured yellow with a decent sized head. Aroma - grain and malt. Sweet and malty with note of grassy hops. Alcohol and some bitterness kick in as it warms.

Bottle from Bevmo. Pours a solid and pure golden hue and has a beautiful white creamy head. My nose detects minor hints of grain malt and grassy hops. The palate is crisp and simple and finished very dry with flavors of alcohol, grass and grain. Simple and relaxed which makes for a easily quaffable beer.

Very tight white head. Lots of carbonation. Golden color. Honey-like aroma. Malt flavor. Not very heavy. In fact, a light body. Nothing I’d go out of my way to buy again. To be honest, the label with the huge horned goat is what caught my eye.

Swing-top 500 ml. bottle, coded lot/freshness date in the bottom center of the back label, sampled in a pilsener glass. L: Clear pale yellowish golden with a frothy lemon chiffon colored head, good head retention, plentiful supply of clingy lace blankets the brim of the glass. The light color of Maibock takes a little time to get use to, but the head and the lacing it leaves behind is just aces. S: Lemon honey and cereal grains are the first aromas I detect, followed by sugary pale malts and woody herbal hops, plus an accompanying soft peppery spiciness at the edges. Maibock is fresh and sweet smelling with the hops given a nice prominence. F: Firmly crisp from the buoyant carbonation and light bodied, this is easily lightest feeling maibock I’ve had in awhile. A little more malty chewiness would be nice, the mouthfeel on Maibock would benefit from some added creamy heftiness. T: Hops are the master in the taste, dominating the malts. Floral, lemony herbs at first, woody in the middle, finishing with a dry cleansing peppery spiciness. More I consume this, the more I am amazed at the dominant role the hops play in the taste. The malts are meekly submissive, honey covered saltine crackers and cereal grains. The malt flavors play an unassuming, backing role, which means the overall taste lacks cohesion and balance. I will say the ABV is well concealed, I wouldn’t have ever guessed the alcohol’s true strength. Only a low grade, peppery warmth in the back of the palate gives it away. D: I recently had the pleasure of consuming two of Wisconsin’s better maibocks, the ones from Capital Brewing and Sprecher Brewing. Altenmünster Maibock suffers in comparison, the weak malt tastes and presence just diminishes this to an average at best maibock, not worth the import price.