O’Fallon Brewery was founded in 2000 in Missouri and has grown from a small production to one that is now distributing to several states, mostly in the Midwest but they are available in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The beer up for review today is their Daze of Summer which is described on the bottle as a “malt beverage with natural flavor and artificial color.”
The beer pours a color that is hard to describe. It’s on the pink side, but also a dark honey color. It was surprising but interesting. The aroma was one of malt. There was a hint of citrus but I noticed mostly bread and malt. There was a small head of just under a finger that was just off white. You do see some bubbles rising quickly to the surface despite the hazy clarity of the beer.
The first sip was mostly a bubbly malt. The carbonation tickled your tongue and was on a similar level to a soda. There was a citrus note trying to come through but the flavor was malt on that first sip. Given the color of the beer you almost expect a pink lemonade or pink grapefruit flavor but that was lacking in this sip.
As the beer drank and carbonation settled a little more the citrus flavor started to poke through more. The malt flavor was still there and is the first thing you taste but as the beer drank the malt was quickly replaced by citrus. I believe it to be lemon. It is just there enough to be noticed but it doesn’t quite want to poke through. Similar to a ghost it only makes it presence felt when it wants. If I had to say I would definitely place this in the lemon category. As I’m sitting here drinking the beer I get stronger and stronger notes of lemon and citrus. The finish is a bit dry and on the crisp side.
Overall, this is an interesting beer. Can I call it a beer when the bottle says malt beverage? The more I drank it the more I felt like they were leaning towards a pink lemonade radler of sorts. I don’t know it I would put it in radler territory but at just 4.8% ABV it is something you can have during the day while enjoying the summer. It isn’t a bad beer by any means. It was just different. If you pour this beer I suggest letting it sit for a minute. I just wish it did more to stand out from the crowd but it wasn’t bad and I would drink it again, though next time I might try from the bottle.