Unibroue Raftman - Whiskey Malt Beer, It's...Different

This is what the Unibroue website says regarding the 'legend' of Raftman:

"Unibroue commemorates the legendary courage of the lumberjacks and log drivers of yesteryear. During their long months away from home, these hardworking men would get together and settle their differences over beer and whiskey, which are both made with malted barley. Unibroue had a great idea when it decided to bring the two together!"

Warning Lumberjacks: Do not drink and log-roll

I know Unibroue is Canadian, but that's still a cheesy idea, eh? I'm looking forward to their next beer celebrating the lives of entrepreneurial Fur Trappers and brave soldiers who battled the redman during the Beaver Wars in the 1600's. Hmm. Still, my expectations were high because I love whiskey. Whiskey, whiskey whiskey. What the lumberjacks 'settled their differences over' is what we kids now call a 'boilermaker,' named after Purdue University (*citation needed). It's a shot of whiskey dropped into or tossed back with a pint of beer. It's perfect for celebrations, becoming newly single, funerals or Thursday Nights.

Poured, the Raftman appears as an amber ale and tastes like one initially. But I couldn't get around this aftertaste. Eck is all I could muster. I don't know how to even describe the taste. I looked online and surprisingly, there are only a few who agree with me. To my aghast, it's rated fairly well. Still, every sip produced a cringe and pairing it with food wouldn't change my negative attitude.

Out of the three Uni beers tasted thus far, two of them have been busts. I will leave final judgment out until tasting the final beer, but as David suggested in the Ephemere post, I'm pretty certain that Unibroue packaged the four beer Variety Pack - sold in Trader Joe's - because they couldn't successfully sell them individually. Maybe Raftman sells really well with Axemen, but consider yourself warned: TRANSFORMERS 2 rating.