Day #2 of 365 Days of Beer - 2009 Troegs Mad Elf

Welcome back for Day #2 of the 365 Days of Beer challenge. Today I bring to you one of my favorite beers. Today I bring to you:

Beer Name - 2009 Troegs Mad Elf (Harrisburg, PA)

Serving Type - 12oz Bottle served in a snifter (crystal to make you jealous)

Style - Ale brewed with Cherry and Honey

Availability - November Release

"Why put 2009 in front of the beer name AJ?" Well that answer is easy. I have found that Mad Elf ages REALLY well, so I want to make a note of which year I'm reviewing. To be completely honest with you, for the last two years 2008 / 2009, I have found that drinking Mad Elf fresh is a bit disappointing. Now don't get me wrong, it's still a tasty beer, but having a 2008 Mad Elf right now is much more flavorful than drinking a fresh 2009.

Pouring this beer into a snifter (my recommended vessel) will allow the aroma of the cherries and honey to consolidate into your nose and give you a wonderful bouquet. The pour itself is pretty flat producing little to no head in the glass which leads to little to no lacing on the glass.

This is another beer that you don't want to drink super cold. Store at cellaring temperature (about 52-55 degrees) and pop in the fridge 5 mins before you're ready to drink one. If you're drinking a fresh bottle, in this case 2009, the beer drinks "hot" (a highly noticeable flavor of alcohol) as the beer clocks in at 11% ABV. With aging, the alcohol is not as noticeable and leads to a more smooth drinking experience.

The overall flavor of Mad Elf is outstanding. The cherries and honey are definitely the star of the beer and are very noticeable in the flavor. The aftertaste will also leave you with malt and a hint of a Belgian style flavoring. As with the last beer, as the beer warms up, the flavors become more pronounced.

The biggest problem with Mad Elf is the availability. The brewery only produces a set # of cases per year and the allocation to distributors gets a bit crazy (some places only get 2 cases, bigger places could only get maybe 6 if they're lucky). Fortunately each year of release Troegs has upped their production #s and it seems to be more widely available. I for one usually get 2 cases a year (one for drinking and the other for aging), which leads to Mad Elf availability all year long. You can all be jealous of me again. =)

Final Thoughts - The drinkability of Mad Elf from a flavor standpoint is fantastic. I personally could drink it all night long. The drinkability from an alcohol standpoint is BAD ... I repeat ... BAD!!! With the 11% ABV I wouldn't recommend having more than 1 of these if you're driving. If at home, I really wouldn't go beyond 3 in one session.