by Brian Wall
Ahh, St. Patrick’s Day. There are fewer days on the calendar year that are more perfectly suited for enjoying a beer. New Year’s, your birthday and Fourth of July come to mind as better days but St. Pat’s is definitely in those rankings if not at the top of the list. While there were quite a few beers drank on this day, none being green because I don’t drink poor beer that requires green coloring, the one that definitely stands out is Lakewood Brewing Company’s Antigoon’s Revenge.
Lakewood Brewing Company has a focus on Belgian style beers and Antigoon’s Revenge is no exception to this rule. Antigoon’s Revenge is a limited release Belgian-style golden ale from their Legendary Series. Most Belgian ales are very light in hop flavor and can be slightly sweet or spicy depending on the malts and yeast used in the brewing process. The Belgian ales that I have personally tasted have a slight spicy flavor from the yeast strains used.
This beer breaks the barriers of the expected Belgian golden ales niche. The color poured a beautiful golden color with a nice carbonation level. The scent suggested a slight smoky touch to the malt with the slightest hint of peach.
The label does point out that cherry wood smoked malt is used and it is noticeable in the scent. Flavor is an explosion of smoky malt flavors with a sweetness pushing through the smoke flavor. The finish is clean and leaves no noticeable aftertaste. As the beer warmed a bit during the sampling, the flavors remained throughout. The alcohol level rings in at a strong 12.4% but there is no noticeable alcohol burn or bite.
Overall, this beer is a good sipping beer to fully enjoy the flavors of malt sweetness and smokiness. The label has food pairing suggestions but I did not try the suggestions this go around, perhaps on another tasting. While most Belgian beers are fairly light in flavor, this beer places itself in another circle completely. Smoke beers are uncommon and the malt sweetness definitely accentuate well. Great job Lakewood.
On a different note; for those of you that remember the Crème Brulee Stout, I tried a “Beer Milkshake” made with Haagen Dazs Vanilla ice cream. The glass was filled with three spoonful’s of the ice cream and four ounces of beer. After stirring strongly to not lessen the carbonation, more beer was added to balance out the glass properly.
The “beershake” was not overly sweet, scented of vanilla and was just slightly beer-bitter. The overall drink was excellent and I strongly recommend trying it to those interested enough to do it. Slàinte.
Lakewood rep Michael Burke was in studio with me for Feast for your Ears Radio- great product and great company!