I bought a bottle of Founder’s Mosaic Promise, you see, and was reminded again that today’s beer geeks seem to be more hopheads than real beer aficionados. Not that Mosaic Promise is a bad beer mind you; it’s not, in fact it’s rather a good one. It’s just that this beer held out a lot of well, promise to be a malty showcase as well as a hoppy one. Here’s why I say this, from the label:
Mosaic Promise showcases two unique ingredients: Mosaic hops and Golden Promise malt. The versatility of the hop’s pleasing aroma and flavor characteristics and the traditional barley’s depth of flavor comprise this clean, rich, golden beer. We can brew complex beers with the best of them, but we recognize that there is also beauty in simplicity.
So let’s go into those two ingredients. Mosaic hops, as you likely know, are a relatively modern variety highly prized for their tropical fruity notes. Golden Promise malt is heavily used in English and Scottish beers, and a fair number of American ones, too. It can impart a crisp, biscuity malt flavor to a beer. So, the balance of the two sounded enticing indeed.
The finished beer has an alcohol content of 5.5% by volume with 50 IBUs. My sample was bottled on 04/01/16 and I drank it on Sunday, July 3rd. Founders says this is a seasonal beer sold April through September. It runs $9.49 a six-pack in these parts, not a bad price in today’s beer market.
Founders Mosaic Promise pours to a pale orange color with a light creamy head and a distinctly Mosaic-hoppy pineapple and passion fruit nose. Taking a sip, the beer doesn’t have much malt up front (and that’s a shame) but the hops are readily apparent, very tropical fruity as in the nose with the same pineapple and passion fruit notes. The malts are touted but there just are not enough of them here for me, and while I like the showcasing of the hops, the beer is one dimensional. In a SMASH (Single Malt and Single Hop) beer like this, I want both elements to be featured in equal proportion. But that’s me.
All in all, this American Pale Ale finishes with a refreshing bitterness and went surprisingly well with barbecue chicken. Would I buy it again? I would. I may be a malt maven, but I do love hops, too after all.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft