Maui Brewing Company - Wee Heavy Strong Ale

Despite being among beers with more out-there concepts, this hefty Scottish-style ale is so on point and satisfying. Exceptional focus on dark fruit and caramel, sweet breadiness, and vibrant chocolate notes, this is both earthy and spicy, with well-expressed malty roundness.

Maui’s limited-release Wee Heavy Strong Ale pours a deep cola-brown color with golden edges, capped by light-tan foam that shows solid retention and lacing. Nice head formation here, despite the ABV. Generous aromatics of sweet caramel and dark fruits leading: dates, plums, subtle cherries. Exceptional maltiness: lightly warming with a fruity hint of alcohol, and just exceptional fruit and spices throughout.

First taste brings a full-bodied impact, with vibrant carbonation keeping this super drinkable. Wee Heavy Strong Ale leads with generous fruit impact: cherry, currants, dates, plus touches of cherry-cola and some vinous alcohol warmth from the 11% ABV. Nicely tempered with a surprisingly smooth profile. One of the things that’s exciting about all four of these beers is their malt complexity, and Maui’s take on Wee Heavy delivers to the utmost: massive malts, complex fruity layers, and just a hugely approachable profile that delivers again and again.

Allowing this to warm up a bit brings increasing peppery and toasty phenolic notes, which provide welcome bitterness. This is so impressively smooth for the number of malt layers present and the ABV. Impactful and exceptionally tasty, this strong ale’s built to satisfy a variety of palates on a lot of levels. Finishes with fruit and spice, all nicely balanced.

While drinking quite nicely right now, this should age smoothly for six months or more. It’s already got some subtle caramelization and sherry notes throughout, but should keep a clear balance for some cellaring time. The impact of red fruit and caramel have us looking to spicy sausage pizza with caramelized onions, or barbecued pork—with this beer’s slight residual sweetness managing the heat.