Charlatan - Maplewood Brewery & Distillery

    Step right up folks, step right up! Here we have a magnificent potion of potency - a wonderfully divine draught - a breathtakingly benevolent brew! Guaranteed to cure such maladies as a lack of lust for life, forlorn feelings of forgotteness, and of course, being burdened by boredom! One taste of this masterful brew and you too can find the very same bacchanalian bliss that I, myself, enjoy! Yes, you may be wondering why I would share such a secret with you rather than keep it all to myself. Well, you see, I have found that true joy only remains pleasant when you share it with others! That's why today, I offer you all the chance to purchase (why, only at cost for ingredients of course!) this magnificent medicine. Be sure to buy now! I would hate to have you miss out on this beguilingly beneficial bargain! Tonight only, for tomorrow I must be on my way to share this wonder with others!

    Charlatan is an American Pale Ale brewed by Maplewood Brewery & Distillery in Chicago, Illinois. Maplewood is another brewery that is literally within walking distance from my home, but for some reason it never occurred to me to review one of their beers! One thing I find very cool about Maplewood Brewery & Distillery is that they are very transparent as to what is in their beer. Every one of their cans shows the grain and hop bill for that specific beer. It is for this reason that I can confidently say that Charlatan is brewed with a mix of barley and wheat alongside Warrior, Simcoe, Centennial, and Citra hops.

    Charlatan pours a luminous, hazy golden orange. A healthy inch or two of off-white, fluffy foam tops the beer and laces nicely the entire way down. My first thought was that this beer looks a bit like orange juice!

But he seemed so trustworthy!

    Well, it looks like juice, and it smells an awful lot like tropical fruit juice! Strong, sweet scents of mango, passionfruit, orange, and grapefruit greet your nose as you bring the glass to your mouth. There is also an earthy, grassy smell in the beer - similar to the smell of hay. The smells together give the beer a sweet, juicy, and almost floral aroma.

    Maplewood's APA is somewhere between light and medium bodied, with a medium level of carbonation. The beer's mouthfeel is slightly oily, but finishes mostly dry. And yes, as was said, this is a pretty potent potion at 6.1% ABV.

    Well, it looked similar to fruit juice, it smelled similar to fruit juice, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it tastes a bit like fruit juice! Again, sweet flavors of tropical fruits, orange, pineapple, grapefruit, and passionfruit dominate the flavor. The grassy notes from the beer's aroma are also present in its flavor, as well as notes of subdued, resiny pine. Caramel and biscuit flavors from the malt balance the more acidic and bitter fruit flavors quite well.

    While I mentioned juice repeatedly, I should specify that Charlatan definitely still tastes like a beer. The fruity flavors remain hop-tasting, creating a very enjoyable APA. I really enjoyed these flavors but felt like it might be a little too far on the "tastes more like juice than beer" side. Nonetheless, Charlatan is very tasty, and would be quite nice on a hot day on a patio. Trust me, I tried it.

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