Lager

I pick up Deschutes Brewery Pacific Wonderland Lager, 5.5% ABV and 40 IBUs at my local grocery store in a make your own six-pack. Pacific Wonderland Lager is a dry-hopped lager with Mandarina Bavaria Hops and pours a hazy bright yellow with a tow bring bright white head that slowly falls into itself giving off bitter lemon aromas with a hoppy note the is faint at best, and you get a hoppy/bitter lemon flavor that is faintly dry with some almost none existent sweetness with a dry bitter lemon finish and a similar lemon aftertaste that linger a little with a lighter mouthfeel. This was slightly better than average, so a C+ from me. I like it a little at some points while drinking this Pacific Wonderland Lager and I also didn’t like it at the other points as well. I found the hoppy notes trying to take over the lemon flavor which made for a weird flavor in your mouth but it fades rapidly and a lager flavor came int to play on the back of the mouth which helped. I don’t recommend this Deschutes Brewery Pacific Wonderland Pacific Wonderland lager and I probably won’t come back to this beer soon. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!    

I first heard of Cabarrus Brewing Co. 600 Ale, 4.9% ABV in the local Charlotte newspaper earlier this year. The beer celebrates the history of the Charlotte Motor Speedway and was originally brewed in Concordfor the two NASCAR spring races, The All-Star, and the Coke-Cola 600 which are both in May, and this 600 Ale (a golden ale) was only available at Charlotte Motor Speedway until I saw it on the shelf at Total Wine here. 600 Ale is brewed with 2 Row Barley, Munich and wheat malts from America’s heartland and Herkules Hops. 600 Ale pours a clear crisp gold color with a bright white half a finger head that quickly fades way giving off a semi-sweet corn aroma with a very faint wheat note and has a clean semi-sweet corn/wheat flavor with a brightness to it with a nice clean refreshing smooth finish and a light sweet aftertaste all with a light easy drinking mouthfeel. This beer is definitely a beer that you can drink throughout a NASCAR race. It’s easy drinking and sessionable. Cabarrus Brewing Co. 600 Ale is a B+. It’s good and refreshing with just enough flavor. If you can find 600 Ale I recommend that you try it! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!       

Victory Brewing Company Home Grown New American Lager, 4.8% ABV came to me from a wonder Brewpublik delivery recently. Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown Pennsylvania brews Home Grown with American Whole Flower Hops. Home Grown pours a yellow/gold color with one finger quickly fading fizzy white head giving off floral aromas with slight yet faint hoppy juicy notes that give you floral flavors with some slight hoppy faint notes with tropical juiciness with a nice juicy slight topical finish that leads to an aftertaste of slight lemon with a medium almost full mouthfeel. This was certainly a different take on an American Lager. It’s good, I give Victory Brewing Company Home Grown New American Lager an A-. This is good but a little much on the floral side for a large. But overall was something that I will go back to and one I recommend that you should try. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!     

Saranac F.X. Matt’s Haus Lager, 4.9% ABV I acquired form Brewpublik recently. This is the beer that the founder of the Saranac/Matt brewery brewed for the employees to enjoy after work. This Haus Lager was first brewed in 1878. Haus lager pours a golden yellow color with a two and a half finger white fluffy head with great retention that leaves behind great white lacing throughout the pint glass. There is a fine aroma of cracker, sweetness with some watery grain notes that all come together in a flavor or cracker sweetness with touches of some grains and has a smooth sweet finish with a semi-cracker aftertaste all with a fuller mouthfeel. This is a great take on a lager beer, I say it is an A- and comes close to my favorite lager Samuel Smiths Organic Lager. Lager beers a look upon has bad and something craft beer drinkers/geeks should not try. Well no I don’t believe that at all. I actually enjoy a nice well-brewed lager and if a brewer/brewery can brew a great lager then that shows me that they are a great brewery/brewer, nothing to hide mistakes behind in a lager. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!      

Craft beer drinkers tend to think that Lagers aren’t good and this may have some thing to with non-craft beers like Bud, Miller, Coors, etc… But I think that if you can brew a great Lager beer that is the true sign of a good brewer. Unlike a dark beer, there aren’t any bold flavors for the mistakes of the beer to hind behind, plus I enjoy a good lager. Here I have Smaltz Brewing Company in Clifton Park New York, Slingshot Craft American Lager, 5.3% ABV. Slingshot pours a golden yellow color with a one finger white head that fades rather quick but does give off slightly sweet aromas with some little fruit notes with some faint corn. Tates is much like you’d expect from a lager with slight sweetness like some light mixed fruit, there is a slight crispness with a very faint hop not on the back of the mouth. Slingshot finishes smooth with a subtle sweet note and has a refreshing after taste with a touch of a corn like sweetness. The mouth feel is light on Slingshot and overall this is an A- beer. Slingshot is a great craft lager but I think the sweetness needs to be toned down a notch and it would be even tastier. But I really enjoy it and I highly recommend this beer. It is an easy smooth drinking beer. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly! 

I have been posting mostly IPA beer reviews recently so I thought of not reviewing that style for a bit so here I  have Stillwater-Artisanal Yacht Dry-Hopped Session Lager, 4.2% ABV. I pick this up at Good Bottle Co. here in Charlotte. Thanks to them for having this and a great selection of craft beers. Check them out, www.goodbottleco.com. Yacht pours a golden yellow color with a big fluffy three finger white head with great retention, leaving be beautiful lacing with a faint earth hop note on the nose, and some crisp malts, grains, and a slight semi-sweetness. Taste is light, slightly hoppy at first with some crispness and semi-sweetness with a touch of a slight bitter note on the end. The finish is slightly crisp with a little hoppy note then leaves a hoppy yet sweet and crisp after taste. Yacht is an interesting take on a lager beer, the hops here don’t over power the rest of the flavors on this beer. So with that said I give Stillwater-Artisanal Yacht Dry-Hopped Session Lager an A-. The hops add another layer to an other wise one side style of beer, and work well here, and the low ABV add another plus to the beer making Yacht easy to drink as well as crisp. This is a good beer and one that you should try, and go over to the Good Bottle Co. and pick up some. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!