Minhas Craft Brewery
Monroe, WI
Available: WI, IN MN
The brewery, founded in 1845, is now owned by the sister and brother team of Manjit and Ravinder Minhas, the youngest brewery owners in the United States.
ABV: 5
ABW: 4
Color: 4.3
Bitterness: 7
Original Gravity: n/a
The name “farmhouse ale” doesn’t seem to necessarily set me up with any expectations, since they are so varied. This one is yeast-hazed infused. A minimal head with a questioning acid aroma. To be or not to be? That is my question. Overall character is sour. Dry and lively. Minimal malt and hop characters emerge. Lacks complexity and depth. Perhaps a good start for a flavored fruit infusion. I cannot tell a lie: not one of my “go to” beers. You may nor may not agree, but it is what it is.
If the Orlando Blonde lacks citrus, it is compensated for in this tart and tangy ale. They say you should ‘think of lemons’ when you want to make your mouth water. Alternatively, take a sniff of this slightly hazy yellow creation, with its thick, sticky, lemony aroma. In the mouth there’s a grainy boiled candy background note but it’s citrus that leads the way, only winding down in the bittersweet, gently hoppy finish. As sharp as a sorbet, and perhaps—well chilled—capable of the same palate-cleansing work during a beer banquet.
Author of the New Complete Joy of Homebrewing, founder of the Great American Beer Festival and a Beer Examiner at www.examiner.com, Papazian is a leading voice in beer and brewing.
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and one of Britain's best-known beer writers.
