Lakefront Cattail Ale

Brewed by Lakefront Brewery
Style: Mild Ale
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA

This is either a really bad or really strange take on a mild ale. Pale, cloudy golden in appearance, thick white head. Beer smells malty and fruity. The fruity scent is that of Smarties brand candy? Yes, Smarties candy or perhaps Sweetarts candy? Either way, leaves a strange fruity and tart flavor mixed with the unmistakable stab of artificial sugar. Aside from the candy sourness of this ale, I taste citric notes and grasses, along with a taste reminiscent of lemon iced tea. I can’t say that the odd flavor isn’t due to the "special strain of California Ale Yeast" used to brew this ale, but either way, it’s not very enjoyable.

Bottle poured a clear golden amber with a small diminishing ivory head. Aromas of bread, straw and a hint of fruit. Palate was light bodied and crisp. Flavors of bread and a mild fruitiness with a crisp clean finish. This would be a great summer session beer.

Pours yellow with fluffy white head. Nose is straw-like and a bit grassy. Flavor has some hint of malt sweetness, however it is overcome by a strong presence of diacetyl. Not much going on here.

Golden in color, Little aroma... Maybe some herbs and wheat. Organic tasting, mixed with a tiny hint of fruit and watery wheat.

It was yellow and orange in color with a small diminishing head. Both the smell and taste were sour. I did not like this beer.

head dimished quickly with no lacing. this ale had a strange smell, slightly sweet and maybe on the skunk side. taste didn’t get any better with a sweet, stale citrus dominance. i’ve had worse, just has been awhile.

Pours golden amber with white head that lingers. Aroma of hops and barley with a bitter scent... almost urine-like. Over carbonation detracts from the flavor, but I detected minor hoppiness and some citrus and unfortunately not much else.

(12 oz bottles: Obtained in trades with footbalm and hopdog, thanks Eric and Steve!) The first bottle I opened showed a fair amount of tart apple, so I figured I should open the other bottle and compare the two just in case the first was bad. Well, the second bottle still has a mild tart apple flavor, but it’s less prominent, so I’ll rate this bottle. Behind the tart apple and citrus is, well, actually, not much. It’s not malty, not grainy, not hoppy or bitter, and only just a tad bit of sweet fruit shows through. I can’t begin to imagine where the caramel maltiness could be hiding, but it’s surely not in either of these two bottles of beer. In the nose, again, I’m getting tart apples and citrus. Very light on the palate, like sour carbonated water, especially in the short finish. It’s kind of a hazy pale gold color, but the whitish head barely rises above a filmy layer and quickly dissipates without even leaving even a trace of lacing on the glass. Honestly, I don’t know what this beer is supposed to be, but I’ve tried two bottles and I won’t try a third. There really is nothing redeeming about this beer.