Mahouse Brewing company - Hopburst IPA; Honey Pilsner

The Madhouse Brewing Company is in Newton, Iowa.

Hopburts IPA - This beer was released on May 12, 2011 and I am trying it on May 13, 2011.  It is 7.2% ABV and pours a glowing orange-brown-copper-amber and a touch of ruby, with a quarter inch of rapidly dissipating head that leaves little to no lacing.  The aroma is hop, fruit forward with tropical fruit, melon, a touch of pine and slightly sweet, strong tea with lemon.  There is also a bit of spicy rye-like malt.  The taste is sweet, but not disproportionately so, nowhere near cloying.  There is a ton of melon and cantalopue and some tropical fruit.  There is the slightest bit of pine, and just a touch of the tea with lemon that is more apparent in the aroma.  There is also a bit of the spicy rye-like malt that shows up in the aroma and provides balance.  The mouthfeel is round and smooth but could stand a little more carbonation. If you like a very melony, tropical fruit type of hop forward IPA, then definitely try to get a taste of this.  Delicious and a hopheads delight!

According to the bottle:  Hopbursting is a relatively new brewing technique in which the vast majority of hops are added to the kettle late in the boil in order to achieve enhanced extraction of hop components (i.e. Hopbursting gives you tons of hop flavor and aroma).

Honey Pilsner - This is made with Iowa honey from the Ebert Honey Company apiary.  This 5.0% ABV beer pours honey golden with a half inch of pure white foam that leaves light lacing down the glass.  The aroma is slightly sweet, a touch of honey, lots of clover, a bit of yeast banana ester, over a smooth and malty grain.  The taste is clover, yeast banana ester and a touch of citrus.  The mouthfeel is flat, this needs a lot more carbonation.  This would make an interesting yeasty Belgian-style beer, perhaps a saison, but it is not at all what I would expect from a pilsner.  It lacked the carbonation, the grain, the "funk" and the crisp finish of a pilsner.  A honey pilsner makes me think it will be a slightly honey-sweet pilsner, and it was not that.  This was a beer fail for me based on how it describes itself.

http://www.madhousebeer.com/