Chicagoist's Beer of the Week: Haymarket Brewing's Mash Made in Heaven IV

By Karl Klockars in Food on Jul 2, 2011 3:00PM

Ed. Note - My apologies! In the height of the lead-up to the holiday, our beloved BotW got missed yesterday. It will be back to its regularly scheduled time next week. A.T.

I've been on a fruit beer kick of late, from the first Founder's Cerise of the season earlier this week to the exponential amount of canned Shandys I'll be ingesting this weekend, to this week's BotW.

When I heard that Haymarket Brewing had produced a Belgian witbier made with gallons and gallons of peach, I couldn't think of anything better for a day where it's supposed to get to a zillion degrees Fahrenheit. Except for Zima, of course.

Brewed as part of a wedding anniversary tradition (hence the "IV"), this Belgian wheat beer was created with coriander and cardamom as part of the brew, and was then fermented with 70 gallons of peach juice. As such, the result is a brew that looks damn near identical to a mimosa, minus that champagne sparkle but just as gulpably thirst-quenching.

Despite all that peach juice present in the process, the up-front flavors are herbal notes, with the cardamom popping first and foremost. That's followed by a wash of wheaty refreshment, and finally, a nice little zing of gentle peach sweetness and tart. The taste doesn't linger long, but this beer is plenty flavorful.

At 5% ABV, you'll be sweating out the first one by the time you get served the second one, so drink up. Haymarket's "Mash Made in Heaven IV" is Chicagoist's Beer of the Week.

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