Holiday beers are awesome. About ten come to mind immediately, several with confusing Belgian names, ridiculous label art, and flavors which possess palate annihilating capabilities incomprehensible to modern science. One however, - primarily due to affordability and my present location - comes to mind above all: Tröegs Brewing Company - Mad Elf. Considering the vast number of quests I've gone on, distributors I've hassled, and bartenders I've whined to incessantly over the past two and a half months in regard to this beer, I would feel amiss not reviewing it, even though it's more than a month after Christmas. It would seem to take all of the holiday spirit out of this festive time of year, not unlike Christmas music and commercials that begin playing in mid-October. This however, is one aspect of the holiday season that I don't mind being thrust at me en masse months before and after the actual event it commemorates.Mad Elf is hardly the best holiday beer. Don't get me wrong. But there's something alluring about this beer. I was introduced to it randomly at a local bar on a slow night. The bartender was kind enough - after a ten minute discussion about IPAs that I'm sure would have made both my roommate and mother cringe and state "Oh not again" - to offer me a free sample glass to get my opinion. It took him a bit to get the head to go down at first, but it subsided relatively quickly revealing the dark, almost ruby color of the beer itself. After examining it, smell, appearance, etc., I took my first of what would be several tastes of Mad Elf.
Mad Elf is categorized as a Strong Dark Belgian-style Ale. For reasons that I'll get to in future posts (more than likely regarding Brewery Ommegang's Three Philosophers or North Coast Brewery's Old Stock Ale), I'm going to set that classification aside. I'll let this beer be its own beast. Regardless, it isn't a terrible idea to put it in a tulip glass (particularly helpful when your local bar has a "Mad Elf tulip glass night."
The smell is of cherry, spices, and honey. Not too distinctive from other Holiday themed Belgian-styled beers. All other senses aside, it's the taste that truly sells this beer. It's sweet, it's smooth, and there are no hints of alcohol. I know I've already mentioned the "alcohol thing" but I have to bring it up again; this beer is 11%ABV. At that point, when you can't taste the alcohol and we're not drinking a barley wine, it's worth mentioning. The cherries and honey hit you right from the get-go, followed by the spices. The spices however, aren't the main event by any means -as they often are in Belgian Holiday ales.
There are a couple of downsides, one with positive connotations for the producers, the other...well, it depends. The ABV is worth paying attention to. As the beer is smooth and sweet, the temptation is to drink it quickly simply to have more of it. This beer is the proverbial "ticking time bomb": you might feel fine drinking several of them (as it also isn't terribly filling), but in about an hour you'll realize that you drank several of them. Imagine that feeling after Thanksgiving dinner where all you want to do is take a long nap. The other issue is that this beer can disappear quickly, especially outside of the Harrisburg area. By the time I got home on Christmas break - nearly two weeks before Christmas - it was next to impossible to find it. The word was that within the span of about a week, calls were coming in nearly five to six per hour requesting this beer. They simply couldn't keep it on the shelves.
While certainly not the greatest of holiday beers, Mad Elf has a seemingly endless appeal for all who have tasted it. Therefore, in conclusion dear readers: act quickly, drink safely, and enjoy the tastes of the holiday season.
Tröegs Mad Elf - ****/***** (4 out of 5 stars)
Image accessed at: http://www.realbeer.com/blog/images/20081223-madelf2.jpg
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