This week we are drinking Madagascar Vanilla Cream Ale by WellBeing Brewing. Cream Ales are tricky because they always seem different, and you never know what you’ll get outside of the initial description in the name, i.e., vanilla. Cream Ale is the American in-between of a lager and an English Pale Ale. With this knowledge in hand, it is expected to drink like a lager but holds its own in the flavor category like an ale. Let’s see if that’s true this time around.
How Does It Pour?
Upon cracking the can, you can immediately smell the vanilla, which mixes with a sweet note that I can’t quite put my finger on right away. As I pour it, the lager style seems evident as the color is a dull yellow, and the aroma of sweetness comes into the air even more than before. That’s when it hits me; this sweetness comes from corn. Further research into the background of the American Cream Ale reveals that it is brewed with corn. Combined with the lighter malts and vanilla, that makes for an excellent dessert beer I’m excited to dive into.
How Does It Taste?
The first taste reveals another uncommon aspect of this cream ale: cream. Well, not cream, exactly, but the sweetness of the vanilla is amplified by a nice hint of lactose that complements every flavor in the glass, and when the flavors meet the aroma and the ease of drinking, it bottoms up, baby! WellBeing describes this delicious and tasty treat as a dessert beer, but its sweetness is mild enough to crack open another one without feeling sick to my stomach like the morning after Halloween. Candy, amiright?
Untappd gives Madagascar Vanilla Cream Ale by WellBeing Brewing a 3.7 out of 5, but as far as an excellent cream ale in the NA space, I would pop that up to a 4.3. So let’s get crazy and have some sweet fun with this limited-edition lad before it’s gone!
#ADDTOCART WELLBEING BREWING
NA BEERS & 90s: Sober Curator Justin Lamb is dedicated to tasting great (and sometimes not so great) NA beers and showcasing his amazing collection of memorabilia from the ’80s & ’90s. His beer mug is full, there’s just no booze in it.
