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Judge's Review: 84 Rating - Huckleberry Cream Ale by Laughing Dog Brewing

October, 2020

Huckleberry Cream Ale

Huckleberry Cream Ale

Idaho
United States
Huckleberry Cream Ale, Laughing Dog Brewing
Description 

We start with our traditional Cream Ale recipe and add huckleberry essence to lend a subtle berry aroma and flavor.

Beverage Profile
ABV: 
4.0%
IBUs: 
9
Malts: 
Crystal, Pale
Hops: 
Galena, Willamette

 

 


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Judges Rating: 
84
Aroma: 
20 / 24
Appearance: 
6 / 6
Flavor: 
34 / 40
Mouthfeel: 
9 / 10
Overall Impression: 
15 / 20

Huckleberry Cream Ale by Laughing Dog Brewing is a fruit “cream ale” with huckleberry and was judged as a Fruit Beer (29A). The first thing to notice in this beer is the big, fruity character. For the record, you might be asking yourself, “what is a huckleberry?” Basically, a huckleberry is a blueberry. I’m sure the blueberry purists are screaming into their pint glasses right now, but I’m sticking with that. If you pick up a glass of this beer and smell it, you will surely agree with me. Blueberry aroma practically crawls out of the glass. There is also a slightly perfumy quality as well, hinting at rose water, almost a little soapy. The beer is very clear, just a bit darker than straw, but paler than copper. A light ring of bubbles clings to the side of my glass, replacing itself with a steady supply of releasing carbon dioxide. The flavor, like the aroma, has a very big blueberry fruit quality with a light malt sweetness providing some balance to the fruit. There is a slightly tangy quality that picks up in the middle of the palate and follows through with a lingering, slightly soapy character. Again, as in the aroma, this quality, though quite subtle, is a bit distracting. Perhaps this is a result of fruit pith from the huckleberry, or maybe some vegetal or woody debris hopped a ride. Beneath the fruit is a cream ale with a little more malt backbone that lends some sweetness to the flavor, but no discernible hops flavor or bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied and characterized by a slight carbonic bite from the gas. There is also a light astringency, either from grain or the fruit. This is a genuinely interesting beer with a bold fruit character, and a light and refreshing quality. The aroma and flavor characteristics include some offsetting features, but those were relatively minor, and possibly an unavoidable side-effect of the huckleberry (the blueberry’s tart cousin).

 

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