Guest Video Review by Tom The Beer Whisperer
So here I go with my first ever taste of a beer from Mother’s Brewing Company of Springfield, Missouri. And, come to think of it, I can’t think of a more interesting brew to start my Mother’s journey with than D’Lila Super Hopped Up Wheat. That’s because D’Lila is an American Wheat ale with a difference, as we’ll soon see.
Mother’s beers are not sold in my area, but I managed to score a bottle through a trade with the ever-gracious Tom Mulvihill, aka Tom the Beer Whisperer. If you’d like to see Tom’s excellent video review of this beer, just click on his image above.
Back to my thoughts on Mother’s D’Lila Super Hopped up Wheat, and why it’s such an interesting beer. I’m going to let Mother’s give you some background from the label before I go any further.
A salute to our founder's grandmother, D'Lila offers a blend of fruit and citrus flavors. Fermented like a traditional wheat beer and hopped like an IPA, Mother's big golden wheat challenges bolder brew lovers, yet lemon and orange peel with bergamot tea make D'Lila a delightfully easy-drinking treat for all.
And there you go. D’Lila is top-fermented like a wheat beer, but it really isn’t completely like a golden wheat; few of those hit 8.8% ABV. It’s not a weizenbock, and although spiced like a Belgian Wit, it’s too strong for that style, and too heavily hopped. OK, at 55 IBUs there are lots of hoppier beers out there, but not a lot of hoppier wheat beers.
Stylistically,
this is closest to a wheat wine, I think, but even then the spice makes a big
difference. So let’s pop the bottle and check it out, shall we?
Mother’s D’Lila Super Hopped Up Wheat pours to a bright orange amber color with
a thick creamy head and a brilliant tea and citrus nose. This is a very
interesting beer, first because the color implies a little more barley malt than
usual for a golden wheat. That’s a requirement, of course, for the higher
alcohol content.
Taking a sip of D’Lila Super Hopped Up Wheat, I get the crackery wheat up front along with just a bit of caramel, quickly followed by the bright citrusy orange and lemon notes. The flowery, herbal aromatic tea chimes in next, and at the last I get some grassy dry hop bitterness, just a tad mind you, but a lot more than the usual wheat beer packs.
What a delicious and refreshing beer! The citrus really helps with that, but I so enjoy the aromatic flavor of the tea working with the hops. You can’t miss the one for the other, and I enjoyed the way they worked in harmony. Still, this is a sipping beer, and though it may not seem as strong as it is, it’s better for leisurely enjoyment than hard quaffing.
Definitely a beer to try, if you never have before. Tom the Beer Whisperer has been known to sing a few bars in his reviews, and after a few Mother's D’Lila Super Hopped Up Wheat you may end up crooning like another famous Tom, Tom Jones.
“My, my, my, D’Lila!
Why, why, why, D’Lila?”
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft