Lager

When it comes to craft beer the word Lager is looked on as a bad or dirty word. That can be so do to BMC (Bud Miller Coors) for brewing such bad or weak tasting beers. But I don’t think that lager is such a foul word. I have had some great lagers and this Samuel Smith Pure Brewed Organic Lager, 5.0% ABV, is what a BMC/lager beer should taste like. Samuel Smith an English brewery has some of the best beers in the world. This lager is no different. Samuel Smith Lager pours a bright golden color with a pure white foamy head that says for a nice while and makes very nice lacing. There is tons of light streaming through the glass with tons of little carbonation bubbles. This is a beautiful look lager beer. The aroma on this English lager is bready from the malted barely used. I also found a cracker like scent among the bready aroma. The taste is not far off from the nice aroma; I found it bready up front and a little teeny sweetness toward the end. The flavors on this lager are crisp, sharp, light, and refreshing. The mouthfeel is light and refreshing, and has a clean crisp bready like finish. The aftertaste is a tad bit sweeter than the start but fades out rather quickly. I think this is Samuel Smith Pure Brewed Organic Lager is how a BMC should taste. Forget adding SO much water to the darn lager. This Samuel Smith beer is getting A+ from me. This is a an excellently brewed lager, and a great example of how a lager is supposed to be. I have yet to have a bad Samuel Smith beer! All of the beers that they brew are just as excellent as the last. This Organic Lager is something I would have over and over again, and it’s good that is 5.0% ABV. I highly recommend trying this lager, so go and see how great this beer is! Cheers Please enjoy responsibly!

Founders Brewing Co. Solid Gold Premium Lager, 4.4% ABV and 20 IBUs is a relatively new beer from the Grand Rapids, Michigan brewer, and is part of a wave of craft lagers hitting the market recently. Solid Gold Premium Lager a canned beer that pours a clear golden hue with a fine two fingers white head that slowly creeps into somewhat nice lacing in the glass giving your nose crisp aromas of midwestern grains with a little faint hop note that lead a taste of light refreshing crisp flavor of light malts with a bit hop a hoppy corn note towards the back of your tongue with a nice crisp refreshing gain like finish that followed by a faintly hoppy yet crisp aftertaste all with a light mouthfeel. This is a quite easy drinking beer. You can sit and have several with out wrecking your palette. But I have had lagers that’s are a bit better, so Founders Brewing Co. Solid Gold Premium Lager receives a C+. It’s slightly better than just average and it’s no Budweiser, Miller, or Coors beer. It’s definitely a craft lager. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Happy Cinco De Mayo! We have this Mikkeller Brewing San Diego Drinco De Mayo Mexican Style Lager, 4.8% ABV. Mikkeller Brewing has several breweries around the world originating in Denmark. Drinco De Mayo pours a clear golden color with a foamy two and a half finger white head that’s slow fading into nice lacing giving off corn and grain aromas with slight hop scents with a faint dry cracker like note as well that come together in a flavor or corn and grains with a hoppy semi-sweet bitterness in the middle and slightly hitting the back of your tongue with a nice crisp finish and a clean and light yet slight bitter aftertaste with a light mouthfeel. I didn’t find Mikkeller Brewing San Diego Drinco De Mayo Mexican Style Lager to be the best it was average, getting a C. Good effort from Mikkeller Brewing San Diego. You could have a few of these no problem but I don’t think I would come back to this Mexican Style Lager. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

I had Hi-Wire Brewing Hi-Wire Lager a little while back at a friends house and I thought to myself that I should review this beer. I recently picked up Hi-Wire Lager at my local Harris Teeter grocery store. Hi-Wire Lager is brewed with light Pilsen malt & German hops that pours a bright yellow color with a bright two finger slowly fading white head with sweet aromas of Pilsen malts and a light grain note that is accompanied by a taste of a sweet malt flavor of light crispy grains that finish with a light crisp sweetness with a sweet bread like aftertaste  that doesn’t stick around to long with a light mouth feel that is refreshing and smooth. When I first had this lager a while back it was great and still after having  Hi-Wire Brewing Hi-Wire Lager it’s still good, getting an A. Hi-Wire Lager is a great craft lager and one that is very sessionable with ease of dinking. I highly recommend you try Hi-Wire Brewing Hi-Wire Lager and buy many it’s that good! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

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!