Nepo Mucen X Pinta: Viva Sliwa
Key Stats:
Brewery: Nepo Mucen X Pinta
Beer Name: Viva Sliwa
Country: Poland
Style: 27A - Historical Beer: Piwo Grodziskie with smoked plums
ABV: 3.9%
Viva Sliwa by Nepo Mucen X Pinta
Aroma - 3/12
Moderate-high wood smokiness dominates. Low hop aroma detected, almost none. Low maltiness to support the smoke. No acidity. Clean aroma with no detectable esters, including plum aroma. The aroma is one-dimensional and overpowering.
Appearance - 1/3
Almost clear, deep gold with a somewhat persistent creamy off-white head. The plum may have added the slight opacity.
Flavour - 12/20
Moderate woody smoke dominates the foreground. Moderate-low earthy hop flavours pull through after the smoke. Moderate-low sweetness towards the back of the mouth - resonant of a sweet barbecue. The hop bitterness isn’t immediately evident but it finishes with a bitter kick. The balance is neither malty nor bitter, but more balanced. Low bready notes may be adding to the sweetness. I taste sweet tobacco with low-fruitiness: more pear than plum. The finish is moderately bitter and moderately dry.
Mouthfeel - 2/5
Low carbonation means this beer feels heavier than it is, and packs more ABV than the 3.9% suggests. While it doesn’t hit with alcoholic warmth, it is there. Medium body, not as dry or effervescent as the style demands.
Overall Impressions - 5/10
Once you settle into the moderately heavy smoked aromas and flavours, the beer is decently tasty, albeit quite sweet. The main feedback would be to work on the balance of smoked malt with other malts for a more subtle smokiness. With the addition of smoked plums (as opposed to regular plums), it pushed the beer into Rauchbier territory - so while it’s accounted for, it loses the characteristics of a Gordziskie. Better carbonation, head retention and attenuation would also help elevate this brew from sweet, smokey and fairly heavy to sessionable and spritzy. If plum is a key ingredient, it needs to be more dominant in the flavour, besides sweetness - so look into the amount and brewing process when adding fruit.
