Drank: Bad Bunny Imperial Cream Ale (Alameda Brewing Co.)

By Penelope Bass

The bubblegum-pink wax seal on Alameda's Bad Bunny Easter-themed spring seasonal should have been the tip-off. But the concept of an imperial cream ale was just too interesting to pass up. Cream ales are usually light and crisp—essentially an ale version of a Pilsner—with low alcohol content. Alameda added large quantities of Pilsner malt and candi sugar to Bad Bunny, doubling the alcohol to 8.2 percent in the process. The result is a shockingly sweet beer with no tangible bitterness or complexity beyond hints of peach and nutmeg. It quickly becomes cloying, with the lack of balance making it difficult to get through a full glass. As an experimental seasonal, Bad Bunny is an interesting, if not totally successful, attempt at making an unusual imperial. It'll nestle nicely in an adult Easter basket between a bag of jelly beans and some marshmallow Peeps, but beware of what's inside that pink wax. 

WWeek 2015

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