Beer Run Blog

Wynkoop Brewing rolled out its politically themed maibock around the time the Democratic National Convention pulled into Denver, hoping wisely to capitalize on Barack Obama's popularity. It went away afterward, but on Monday the LoDo institution pulled out yet another batch of it to celebrate Obama's inauguration.

For those unfamiliar, the Obamanator doesn't have the tough body of one might associate with a beer that rhymes with, say, The Terminator. Instead, it's an amber-golden lager with a semi-sweet malt body. Maibocks typically are made in the spring, and this definitely has the lighter feel of a warmer season to it.

The color, aroma and taste, while true to its German style, also remind one of a heavier, sweeter blonde ale (which makes one wonder if they were thinking of another Democratic presidential candidate when they first brewed this). It is lightly carbonated with a slight caramel backtaste to it. This is by no means a world-shatterer or a beer that will bring change to this country. But it goes down easily enough to hide its higher-than-normal alcohol content.

The brewery, in case anyone was wondering, doesn't have any big plans for the inauguration, other than to have it on the television and to make sure its presidentially themed beer is flowing. Surprisingly, other breweries, such as CB & Potts and Gordon Biersch, have been sending out e-mails advertising their openness as if this was a championship football game. But beer and presidential politics will flow together tomorrow - a tradition that I'm sure would make past presidents and beer lovers like Ulysses Grant happy to hear.