Magic Hat Elder Betty

The last of my birthday beers survived longer than I thought it would.  Magic Hat's Elder Betty grabbed my eye because it's a weiss-style beer, which I usually enjoy, and it uses elderberries, and that sounded like an interesting combination:

Vittles:

American Wheat or Rye Beer

5.5% abv

13 IBUs

4 SRM

Elderberries

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 19/25

Taste: 31/40

Mouthfeel: 7/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 7/10

Overall: 77/100

Impression:

On first whiff, I can smell a mild wheat base, a syrupy-sweet berry aroma, and a grassy hop character in the background.  The taste follows much the same, except the berries are more present than I'd like.  About half of the berry presence would've been much more in balance, since it tastes overly sweet the way it is.  I've categorized this beer as an American Wheat Beer, despite the "weiss" on the label, because it uses an American yeast strain, it lacks the clove and banana esters a true hefeweizen should have, and the emphasis is on the added berries, not on the hefe or the weiss.  All of these components come through pretty clearly in the flavor, and calling it a weiss-style beer or a hefeweizen is a little misleading.  The mouthfeel was a little on the thin side, and low levels of carbonation were disappointing, to say the least.

I really haven't been overly thrilled with any of the Magic Hat beers I've had lately.  They used to be one of my go-to brands, back when I first got into craft beers, but either my palate is changing, or their beers are getting worse.

Cheers!