Boom Island Silvius Pale Ale

Boom Island Silvius Pale Ale, Boom Island Brewing Company, minneapolis, Minnesota. Alc by Vol. 5.5%.

Once again, I'll look at the front of the label now, and the back later. What do they say frontwise? This: "Inspired by a mythical, giant-killing soldier, we're tempted to say this gold medal winning pale ale will slay you with it's palate-boggling depth of flavors and surprisingly dry finish. But we're not big on wordplay or swordplay. So we'll just let Silvius speak for itself."

Well, speak, boy, speak!

First, what does he look like? High carbonation, clouding the glass, darkish amber coloring, under a dotted off-white, lace-leaver of a head. Nice start.

Aroma: hops and malt, with a hit of spice. Funky Belgian yeast shows it's stripes. Just what I'm looking for in a Belgian pale ale. A brace of fruit, apple and peach, with raisins and a drizzle of caramel for dessert, and a dusting of spice.

Taste: soft, smooth, fruity and malty. Just enough hops to keep it interesting, but not enough to make it interesting enough. Lean-bodied, short finish, easy-drinking. Lacks the promise felt in the nose. If I were Clara Peller or Walter Mondale, I'd be either dead of maybe dead, nobody's really sure. And I'd ask where some beef is, a metaphor for discovering a void of body and character. I'm not a brewer, so I can't trot out technical terms about attenuation and mashing, but this one does not have much happening after the first swallow. Gets a little funky/wild/sour on the tongue further in, but there's not the promised depth. Malt is meager compared to spice.

Let's peek at "The Skinny on Silvius":
"Aroma: toasted malt backbone.

Appearance: light copper color. Full creamy white head.

Flavor: Light hop bitterness, melds nicely with malty biscuit and toastiness paired with light peppery spiciness. Finish is medium to dry with malt flavor returning slightly.

Overall impression: Toasted maltiness comes across just right. Wonderfully nice brew!"

Again, I'll say it. It's in their best interests to remove the "Overall impression" part. Why would a brewer offer their  "impression" that they made a "wonderfully nice brew"?

But, I'm not here to toss words at words. My skinny on it is that it just needs more, not a lot more, just enough. You can drink it, but it just doesn't deliver in the flavor department. "Nice", but not "wonderfully."