Mayflower Alden

The Stats
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.0%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.17/5
- RateBeer: 3.87/5

"Named after the cooper on board the Mayflower, Alden is a double IPA hopped with a hefty dose of aromatic varieties, including Chinook, Citra and Mosaic."

Pours a moderately hazy light orange with two fingers of bright white head.

Grapefruit slices and blood orange on the aroma with hints of resin.

Sweeter fruity notes up front which remind me mostly of peaches and other stone fruit. Grapefruit is back, but with a nice amount of acidity along with a tiny bit of lemon zest. On the transition there's a similar taste to the Daily Ration as I get plenty of bitterness and something similar to a pale malt breadiness which carries over to the finish as it ends dry, but clean.

Mouthfeel is pretty spot-on for a big 8.0% IPA. It's full without weighing down your palate and has no alcohol presence. A crisp, clean finish is a nice change of pace to big DIPA's. The bitter finish might turn off rookies, but hop heads will surely enjoy it.

I don't have much to say about Alden, but the limited number of words I am able to muster are high in praise. Tons of bitterness with resin which are synonymous with bigger IPA's are here for the taking, but also a bouquet of fruit makes the drinkability lean towards the higher end of the spectrum. Nearly perfect mouthfeel and a clean, refreshing finish make this one of the easier-drinking DIPA's in Massachusetts while offering more than enough flavor to satisfy your taste buds.

Rating
8.5/10

Mayflower Uncharted

The Stats
Style: American Wild Ale
ABV: ???
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.99/5
- RateBeer: N/A

I believe this marks the first "Brewery Only" release from Mayflower Brewing out of Plymouth, MA. They are well-known in Massachusetts and I've been satisfied with most of their offerings and can't really name a bad one. Mayflower has brewed a wide range of styles, but this Wild Ale sounds special. The base beer is a Saison which is then put in red wine barrels with bacteria strains Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus and aged for 15 months. This was a very limited release and I think only two barrels were filled which allowed just a two bottle limit at the brewery.

Pours a mostly transparent, but slightly hazy dark orange. Tons of carbonation coming off the bottom of the glass and it had about three fingers of pure white, fizzy head that disappeared immediately.

Aroma has a lot of tart funk, some grape juice, sawdust and oak with green apple.

Lots of breadiness and tartness on the taste. Some underlying red grape and vinous notes bring a fruity component to a sour ale. There's a sweet flavor I can't quite put my finger on, but the closest thing I can compare it too is caramel or toffee. It's not odd in any way, but I didn't see it coming from a brew like this. If the base saison contributes anything it is some barnyard funk and sawdust, but they are obscured by the bacteria and red wine characters.

The abv of this beer is unavailable, but the feel is fuller than a lot of other wild ales or saison's I've had. It's not syrupy and unpleasant, but it's definitely not light by any means. Whatever the alcohol content is, you can't taste it at all. The tartness is actually nice and refreshing without being too mouth-puckering.

Uncharted took time and care to make and the efforts have produced a good wild ale with plenty of tart qualities, red wine influence, and unexpected sweetness. Throw in some subtle fruits and funk and this has plenty of complexity to satisfy sour lovers.

Rating
8.1/10

Mayflower Daily Ration

The Stats
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 4.50%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.53/5
- RateBeer: N/A

The newest offering from Mayflower Brewing is a sessionable pale ale coming in at a miniscule 4.50% and brewed with Cascade, Centennial, and Mandarina Bavaria hops.

Pours a hazy, pale yellow with plenty of carbonation and a finger of bright, white, fluffy head.

Interesting aroma of yeast, sawdust, and grass.

For such a low abv beer, this is surprisingly bitter. The bitterness hits the front of my tongue with a thud and grassy hops dominate throughout. Fruits are hard to find, but the biggest one I pick up is acidic lemon or lemon peel. Pale malt is also abundant as is a surprising tartness and some wheat. For such a small beer, it packs in a diverse range of flavors.

Only listed at 4.50%, this drinks heavier than its abv would lead you to believe, but is still nice and light-bodied. The random assortment of flavors surprisingly don't create any lingering unpleasantness. Remarkably, this finishes as dry as a Double IPA.

Beers with an unconventional mixture of flavors tend to be a turn-off, but I think Daily Ration still retains high drinkability despite an unusual combination of hops, yeast, and a freshly-cut lawn. The smell and initial sip had me tentative, but as you continue to drink you get used to, and enjoy, the complexity of this pale ale.

Rating
8.0/10