Songbird Maltina Mukaka is a 6% spiced / fruit beer from Brewery Songbird that is part of the winter seasonal lineup and was also released as their first Christmas beer. Maybe you’ve drunk the original Songbird Maltina already but this has been infused with mukaka, which translates to fig. Why they used the word mukaka instead of, say, ichijiku, is unusual but hey, that’s what it is. At the time of writing, it was only available in bottled form only and on tap at their taproom.
Figs and yuzu in this one – released in time for Christmas.
Songbird Maltina Mukaka Aroma and Taste
Brewery Songbird have come a long way in less than 18 months and with Songbird Maltina Mukaka, they took their regular Songbird Maltina beer but added some Christmas spirit to it. It seems to be that when autumn and winter roll around, then figs seem to be everywhere in my little town – we even get small trucks trying to offload them by the station.
Songbird Maltina Mukaka poured out a deep reddish brown colour with minimal head – those bubbles you see around the top of the glass were all that could be teased out of the bottle. The aromas coming off of it were certainly fig-like along with a thick toffee aroma as well, laced with a faint amount of liquorice. Nothing too unpleasant but the promise of Christmas was lacking in this one.
The body from Songbird Maltina was still present with a slight sourness to it; however, the figs brought some sweetness to that sourness. The expected toffee flavour that I had thought would come due to the aroma was significantly lacking as well. It was also lightly carbonated with Songbird Maltina Mukaka reminding me of those brown ales that the local bowls club members would drink back home in the UK. The beer finished off slightly sweet but that flavour quickly dissipated away.
Songbird Maltina Mukaka One Line Review
Adding figs to a beer is nothing new, and with Songbird Maltina Mukaka, Brewery Songbird haven’t taken a bold enough step to make Songbird Maltina any better.
Where to Buy Songbird Maltina Mukaka
Songbird Maltina Mukaka is a limited edition beer. I got my bottle from Liquors Hasegawa though it can be bought at the following places online:
