Pennsylvania Brewing Co. PENNdemonium
Pennsylvania Brewing is one of those companies that just keeps moving up the chart of brewers whose products I will go out of my way to find. After enjoying their Penn Weizen and Penn Dark, I was pretty geeked out to see this bottle of PENNdemonium sitting all by itself on the store shelf. Knowing absolutely nothing about it, I had to rethink my previous beer selections in order to fit it in — beer budgets suck.
Since the bottle’s label states that I’ve “been warned,” I figured it would be best to do a bit of research. Why was I being warned? Would the beer ultimately be my demise? Sadly, no. As a Maibock, PENNdemonium’s warning must be due to its higher than average alcohol (10% ABV) for the style. So while it may not be my end, the beer very well could make me feel like it should be the next morning.
Appearance
PENNdemonium pours a nice gold in color with red hues. The head faded pretty quickly.
Aroma
I was surprised by the amount of malt in the aroma. There’s the hop presence of a Maibock styled beer, but was pleased with the malty nose as well. The beer also has a pleasant sweetness that’s a bit more subtle than the heat from the alcohol. I also got a few hints of fruity citrus in the aroma, as well.
Taste
The malt characteristic is the first to hit your mouth. Its presence dominates the hop and sweetness that’s also there. The heat from the alcohol is rather tame compared to how it came across in the aroma. There’s a pleasant tartness in the finish.
Overall
While I was quite subdued during the tasting, I can see the PENNdemonium as the cause for a few folks letting loose after enjoying a couple of these. It’s a sweet, malty beer that packs plenty of punch.
Rating: 3.5/5