Apr 10, 2014

Bad Wolf Brewing Sorachi Smash

As I noted on a review of Bad Wolf Brewing’s Citra Saison, the company rotates their available brews pretty darn frequently. From what I’ve experienced thus far on my visits is that they also very rarely bring back a brew once it’s been fully consumed. That means if you’re interested in a particular beer from the brewery, you had better get on your horse and try it out as soon as possible because it certainly won’t last and theres a high probability that it won’t return.

Such was the case with a growler fill of Sorachi Smash that I picked up (and drank) back in early February — I’ve got a long back log of reviews to get through. I believe I caught wind of this 8% ABV (I think) imperial pilsner through the company’s Twitter feed and, being the big fan of the Sorachi Ace hop variety that I am, found time to procure a little of the hazy brew for myself.

If my memory serves me, the beer was also brewed with a single malt variety (pilsner, I’m assuming) as well as the single Sorachi Ace hop. The result is a big beer with a load of hop character and an assertive bitterness, but also one that didn’t quite mesh as well as I had hoped.

Bad Wolf Brewing Sorachi Smash photo

Appearance

Sorachi Smash poured a hazy straw in color with a small cap of white foam that fell smoothly to a thin ring.

Aroma

Light bready malt, distant lemon and lemongrass notes of the hops as well as a touch of spices mingle gently for a rather subtle nose.

Taste

Well, there’s definitely a good amount of the lemony Sorachi Ace here — more so than the nose. There’s also a hint of banana in the background to accompany toasted bread. The hop bite is of a moderate-to-high level and leads directly to a drying finish with a soft touch of warmth. It’s got an assertive hop character for a pilsner.

Overall

Sorachi Smash has an interesting combination of flavors going on here. I like the hop aspect of the beer, but I’m not sure that I worked all that well when all put together. I do like the brewery’s willingness to play around with styles and ingredients even if they don’t fully work out as well as expected — it’s one of the reasons I keep going back for more.

Rating: 3.25/5

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