I have well established my weakness for off-brand beers, lesser known breweries and small regional labels. I've found another one of these while on vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Haffenreffer Private Stock Malt Liquor from Latrobe, Pa.
Private Stock pours into a hazy golden corn like body with a fairly typical foamy head. There are very noticeable floral, apple juice aromas flowing from this brew. The first sip is a surprising taste, much like cider, which returns with subsequent sips. This is a very sweet brew rather than the often dominant hops flavors more common in malt liquors. It is probably too sweet for most but I find it is a refreshing change from my usual drink selections. I'm sure that Private Stock is brewed with a blend of corn, rice, wheat and barley malts but they have a good recipe.
The Private Stock slogan is, "Malt Liquor with the import taste," and it does taste much like a hefeweizen. I can't really give Private Stock a very high rating since it is so unlike beer styles traditionally on my drink menu. But, I can give Private Stock a 3 out of 5 pints.
I also found some funny Photoshop work while searching for Private Stock images on the entree-net. Other Private Stock fans would have you believe that it is enjoyed by Sean Connery
and Christopher Walken.
I haven't done any malt liquors since the college days. The additional alcohol level seems unnecessary, and the lower quality (generally) of the distillation will almost certainly give me a headache. Even if I only have one. Since headaches are no fun, and I hate sweet - I'll give this a pass... even for the mighty famous 'Haff'. Keep reviewin', I'll keep reading. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI only occasionally drink malt liquor when I find odd ones. This is sure to be the last shwill I review for a while since I have plenty of quality beers to cover in the weeks to come.
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