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OK, this Furthermore outfit is starting to intrigue me. This is the third beer of theirs that I’ve reviewed, and each previous one started out subtle and unassuming before slowly revealing itself to the patient taster as an intricately crafted, unique slant on an otherwise broad style.

Their latest concoction is Makeweight, a beer they taglined as an “ecumenical mash-up.” Get the double entendre? If you don’t, no need to worry. Brewers must have weird senses of humor.

The pour is a solid brown. That’s it. No other descriptors for it. Given the solidness of the brown, it’s no wonder the head is not off-white but a tan mixture of fat air pockets and silky little bubbles. This produces a nose that starts with some spicy phenols giving way to a bit of sourness along with earthy, light chocolate malt, and molasses. None of these individual notes really stand out, and overall the nose is not “loud” at all; it takes some deep sniffing to get at all of them.

Underneath a soft-to-medium mouthfeel I get a quick hop nip at the front, followed by a small hint of sourness over top that subdued, light chocolate note. The finish is surprisingly long given how all the other flavors are so muted, with bits of chocolate and barnyardy sourness lingering for a while but still not jumping out. Overall, the body is pretty light given the color, but in step with the rest of the beer’s low-key flavor profile.

Like Furthermore’s other brews that I’ve tried, Make Weight earns its mugs through understated complexity—no bashing the drinker over the head with giant waves of malt or hops. And, as with the rest of their beers, it pays off to drink this one slowly and savoring and studying each sip. The folks at Furthermore describe this as a “single-batch conflagration of English-, American-, and Belgian-style pales,” but I’m going to go ahead and call this an American take on a Flanders brown ale. A bit less of the estery flavors you’d get with a traditional Flanders brown, with a detectable, if slight, hop presence, just to keep everything subdued.

And, oh yeah, this “subdued” brownie is 8.5 percent alcohol. Pow, right in the kisser.

So Furthermore cranks out another outstanding beer that pushes boundaries without beating on your taste buds. It’ll be interesting to see what new and exciting potions these guys come up with as this brewery matures—and brews it’s own beer. Right now their stuff is contract-brewed in Black River Falls, although a brewery in Spring Green, Wisconsin is in the works. Here’s to hoping they can keep the innovation and quality as high as it is now.

Reviewed by Eddie Glick on March 18, 2008.

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