Often times when people think about lagers they think about light beers and light beers only.  It’s a common misconception that lagers need to be light.  Some of the greatest lagers out there are often amber (like the Vienna lager), dark brown or ruby (like a doppelbock), or even deep sepia and nearly black (like a schwarzbier).

Vienna lager, referred to as the original amber lager, is an often overlooked style. It’s not as popular as your ipa and isn’t brewed by every craft brewer in America.  The style was developed by a brewer named Anton Dreher in the 1840′s in Germany. Although it was created in Germany, it is no longer a very popular style in Germany or Austria, although it remains popular in Mexico, of all places.  This style was brought to Mexico by Austrian brewers when they emigrated there in the late 1880′s and the style has thrived ever since.

The Vienna lager is a low alcohol beer, typically between 4.5% and 5.5% abv, weighing in at about 25 ibu’s on average.  It is characterized by a soft and elegant malt complexity.  I like this style because it has some bitterness that helps to really dry it out on the finish, but it doesn’t come in nearly as bitter as a German pilsner. It has a richer body than many pilsners and is well balanced, although it typically leans more on the malts than on the hops.

The lager has a rich malt aroma from the loads of Vienna malt that is used (Vienna malt can often make up 100% of the grain bill).  Vienna malt is a kiln dried malt that imparts a noticeably toasty and rich, biscuity flavor to the beer.  It is cured to a slightly higher temperature than a pilsner malt which can give it hints of toffee.  It has a softness and a complexity while retaining a strong malt backbone.

The Vienna lager typically  has no esters and a very clean flavor.  It’s malt complexity is balanced by hops on the finish, but not overwhelmed by them.  You can get some toasted flavors, but there shouldn’t be any roastiness or caramel flavors.  These beers are usually light red to copper in color with great clarity (it is a lager, after all).

So, you’re intrigued now, I see.  I’m sure you’ve had a Vienna lager at some point and not known it.  The most common ones around these parts are Sam Adams Boston Lager and Dos Equis Amber.  Another nice example you can find is Blue Point Toasted Lager from Long Island, NY. You won’t find a ton of other commercial examples, but some small craft breweries are starting to make this style, so keep your eyes open and you might find something great!

source: teslagirl360.blogspot.com

One thing I have learned from beer commercials is that you’ll never see bikini-clad women ordering a Guinness at a beach-side bar. And that is true in real-life as well.  With Spring in full bloom and the warm weather approaching – in most areas, not so much New England – everyone is going to be pushing aside the porters and stouts and reaching for lagers and pale ales. And what will people be ordering at the beach-side bar? Mexican beer you say?  Wrong.  A lot of the darker “Mexican” beers are actually German and Austrian beers; some of the better Mexican beers in this category is Dos Equis Amber Lager and Negra Modelo; for compairson sake, these beers are in the same class as Sam’s Boston Lager.

Just for clarification, not all Mexican beer is of Austrian origin.  For instance, Corona and Tecate are closer to American adjunct lagers due to their use of corn and rice in their grain bill instead of just grain.  This is disappointing because when someone says, “Pick of a sixer of Mexican beer, bra!” they will most likely grab a six pack of watery, flavorless beer.

So, the next time you are at your coastal bar, ask the bartender for a Vienna Lager.  You’ll get a dirty look, but your taste buds will thank you.

Feature: Negra Modelo

Originally brewed by Austrian immigrants in 1926 in Mexico.  5.3 ABV%; it is a dark beer that will pour a two finger head.  Don’t expect too much too much aroma. It is an easy drinking beer; medium body, malty, kind of sweet, and has some citrus.  BeerAdvocate readers give it B-; the Bros gives it a B. I second their rating.

BUT DON’T PUT A LIME OR LEMON IN IT!  DON’T!  NO!

Full Sail Limited Edition Lager (LTD 05)

Full Sail Brewing Company is based out of Hood River, Oregon and has been in business for around 25 years now. They opened up in 1987 and in the year 2007 decided to do something special to celebrate their anniversary. They created the LTD series which stands for Limited Edition. This was to be an ever-changing series that would feature a new lager recipe every year. They are finally up to the 5th version this year and it is a Vienna lager at 5.6%.

It has a clear orange colored pour with very little carbonation.  Pretty much still with a few slight bubbles perhaps.

The aroma is….not that great actually.  Kind of like soured grain and cardboard with a bit of caramel malts to fill in the backbone.  Not to thrilled so far.

Flavor is a bit better than the nose, but only by a small margin.  Flavor is dry and grainy with some bitter malts and a touch of salt to finish it off.  Kind of bitter but not much.

Eh, not really feeling this one guys.  Sorry!

Cheers!

Thanks to @fnbarrett on the Twitter for this beer. This is brewed in the style of the Vienna Lager. It’s a style that I’m not all that familiar with. The beer features 2-row, Crystal 60L, and Ashburne Mild malts with Mt. Hood, and US Magnum hops.

Stats:
Vienna Lager. 4.9% ABV. 16 IBUs. Iowa.

Amber in color and holds an alright head.

Nose is fairly typical of an amber type of style. It brings some sweetness and a lot of caramel, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. It’s got this almost crème brule thing going on.

Mouthfeel’s decent. On the lighter side, but still has some body. Nice drinkability.

Nice brown sugar flavor, honey, and vanilla on the finish.

This is a very straight forward beer, the flavor doesn’t change much, but it doesn’t get hollow and it’s a damn easy drinker. 86 points.

On to the beer….

Rahr & Sons Buffalo Butt

The story behind the name on this beer is reported to be from 3 ranching brothers who were sharing a beer together, when one of the brothers remarked that an ice-cold beer was the only thing that allowed him to forget about the daily sight of a Buffalo’s….butt.  A brewmaster who overheard the conversation loved the name, and there you have it!

This beer is classified as a Vienna Lager and boasts 4.7% ABV.

This beer pours a very clear, light orange color with a tall white head.  The picture shows it to be a bit darker than it actually was.  Thankfully it is nowhere NEAR the color of a buffalo’s……butt.

It has a fairly standard bready sweetness aroma of caramel malts.   It also has a soft floral touch of gentle hops that I am beginning to associate with Rahr beers.  I wonder if they have a house strain of yeast.

The flavor is very bready and grainy, with a light sweetness that touches near the end of the swallow.  It has a fairly refreshing quality that is nice and tasty.  It also has a bit of a bitter flavor that pushes through the finish.  On tap I remember this being more pronounced, so I’m definitely recommending the bottled version more.

Cheers!

• Brew – Sam Adam’s Boston Lager 4.8% ABV, 355ml
• Brewer - Boston Beer Company
• Style – Vienna Lager
• Country – Massachusetts, United States
• Purchased – LCBO

I picked this up from the mixed basket at the LCBO.  You know the one.  It has all lonely and lost beers in it for $2 bucks a piece.

About the Beer – It poured a lovely orangish colour with a great head.  The aroma was sweet with hints of caramel and flowers.  The flavour is very clean with sweetness up front and some hoppy bitterness and grains in the finish.

Would I Drink it Again? – Sure, this is one easy drinking beer.

Here it is.  The flagship beer that started it all for Samuel Adams back in 1984 when Jim Koch started up his craft brewery.  This was the first recipe that he used and I’m not sure it has changed as much in these 26 years.  This beer will be the first lager that I have reviewed, so I should briefly touch on the differences between lagers and ales.  Actually, I will make it very brief as I can probably write enough on this subject to lend it’s own post eventually.  So I’ll leave that for another time.  I had to pause my movie to knock out this review, so let’s get right to it!

This beer is classified as a Vienna Lager, which is usually darker and more flavorful than it’s pale cousin.  They can often times resemble Oktoberfests, although that style has a classification all it’s own, by being malty and amber colored.  Vienna’s are so named due to the development of the style around the area of Vienna, Austria.  Several great composers lived in Vienna, such as Mozart and Haydn, and I bet they all drank Samuel Adams beer.  That is not up for debate either. 

This beer should be properly served out of a lager glass, and my lager glass totally kicks glass.

The beer pours a light to burnt orange color with a frothy white head.  The wide lip of this glass lends itself to a fantastic forming head, which I so eloquently demonstrated in pouring this beer.  Even after sitting for awhile, the head is still present and lots of carbonation bubbles are streaming up from the bottom of the glass.  A little light in color, but nonetheless very pretty to look at.

The aroma is first up heavy malts and grain, with a fair bit of hopped backbone.  Lagers of this style are not typically known for their hop concentration, but the Boston Lager is a bit of an exception here.  This particular beer also smells a bit dusty, but only in the slightest.  Best before May 2011 so it’s still good.

Flavor is bready and malty, with a bit of dry bitterness towards the end.  This bitterness is drawn from the hops which are more felt than tasted.  There is certainly no lack of flavor here, which Samuel Adams usually prides themselves on.  The finish is also fairly dry and leaves a light bitter touch on the tongue.  Hops can be tasted after the swallow. 

4.9% ABV.  Certainly sessionable and was made to be that way, but it would go better with a meal rather than a drink all it’s own.  The bitterness on the finish may be distasteful to some, but given a chance, this beer is well made and has merits of it’s own.

Cheers!

Appearance is pale brown with great clarity. Little carbonation visible. A thick 1 inch head developed with minor lacing. Head retention is good.

The aroma is of pungent American hops that are slightly toasted and nutty.

The taste is crisp and clean with a good mouthfeel. Quite carbonated in the mouth.

Initial flavors are of mild malt that give way to dominating bold hops. Bitterness is lingering and satisfying.

Excellent beer and strongly recommended.

Rating:

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Quick Review Scores:

Samuel Adams Boston Lager is probably one of the most important craft beers ever made. Why? Because there were only a handful of micro breweries even around at the time this beer came out. Amstel Light was pretty much considered a craft beer because it was imported. The major breweries almost finished the extinction of any American beers with flavor. Almost, until a few brave souls decided to stand their ground and offer flavor to their fellow beer drinkers. A few individuals put their money where their mouth was to bring back flavorful beers. These fine folks had guts, dedication, and were probably drunk when they came up with this idea. Let’s see; no money, no advertising budget, the grip of the beer superpowers looming over you, and they still opened their breweries. These people have balls, but what do we think of this ‘iconic’ brew? 

Date Tested:

9-15-2010 

Type of Glass:

English Pub Glass 

Overall Score:

Soupy- 79 out of 100 (Excellent)

Pablo- 77 out of 100 (Excellent) 

Tasting Notes:

We would have used a pewter cup, but we didn’t have any. So, pouring this beer into our glass we notice a great copper color. Some might say that the color may be leaning toward the red side. You get a medium head that is white in color. The clarity is flawless by the way. What else would you expect from an obsessive group of brewers who just seem to do things right?

The aroma of beer fills your nostrils with a nice malty, sweetness that mixes in with a little bread. You also get some light grassy scents as you smell. The aroma is fairly light and invites the beer drinker to take a sip. 

Hops Rating:

3 out of 10 (Where’s the Hops?) 

As you take a sip you notice a nice bready flavor to the beer. There is also a bit of grain on the tongue as well. We noticed a very nice richness as well, but it was very light. The hops are very subtle and are not involved much in the beer other than giving it some backbone. The ease of drinking this beer can get some people in trouble. There is a complexity to this beer, but it doesn’t overwhelm the palate. It’s hard to believe that a beer that brought back the American Craft Beer scene has a lot of European influences. This average alcohol beer will not knock you out of your shoes, but will provide any beer drinker with plenty of flavor. The Sam Adams Boston Lager will please most beer drinkers. 

The body is medium- light. The beer is mostly balanced, but will lean toward the malty side. 

The true test of a good beer is how long it stays around. Some beers can come on quick, but fade as time goes on. Sam Adams is a beer that helped start the American beer revolution, and continues to be a great example of the Boston (Vienna) lager style. This beer continues to bring people to the dark side of beer drinking, and is a great ambassador for beer. If it has been awhile since you’ve had one, go out a buy some. We had forgotten this particular beer over time, but it is worth going back and enjoying. Sometimes you need to refresh your taste buds of where you came from to know where you are going. 

Would you buy this beer? Yes 

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Great Lakes Brewing Company Eliot Ness Amber Lager

Quick Review Scores:

Rat-A-Tat, Rat-A-Tat. Get down Eliot they’re shooting at you. Geeze, you’ve really pissed these guys off. What the hell did you do this time? Oh yeah, you thought prohibition was a good idea. Not to mention all of those barrels you broke open enforcing the law. All of that booze flowing down the drain, what a waste. I should shoot you myself Eliot. I guess I’ll let Capone get the job done instead. What do the Beer Loons think of a beer named after one of America’s best law men? Here’s what we thought: 

Date Tested:

9-15-2010 

Type of Glass:

English Pub Glass 

Overall Score:

Soupy- 83 out of 100 (Excellent)

Pablo- 85 out of 100 (Excellent) 

Tasting Notes:

As we pour this beer in the glass you immediately notice a nice red color to the beer. Then you get a stiff, ivory head to top it off. This is a good way to start, we thought. 

The hops are light and have a grassy smell to them. They are more in the background of this beer. The aroma also brings with it some sweetness, bread, and a touch of alcohol bite. Nothing any good beer drinker would find to be an issue. 

Hops Rating:

4 out of 10 (Somewhat Hoppy)

A sip of this beer will have your tongue noticing sweetness without being cloying. The beer has a nice rich, bread flavor to it. There is a smoothness to the beer which by all accounts has little to do with Eliot Ness. Eliot was a brass tacks type of guy, but this beer will leave you with wanting more. You do notice the alcohol, which is 6.2% ABV in this beer. That is enough to give the beer drinker a little alcohol kick. Again, nothing that will overpower, but it works well with this style. 

The body is medium, but Pablo thought it might lean toward the heavy side. The beer is fairly balanced, but would lean more toward the malty side. 

This is a great beer for the fall. Yes, you can drink it anytime, but the extra alcohol kick warms you up a bit. Plus, the malt flavors work well with some heartier foods. Don’t hesitate to pick up this beer to drink with chili, a good stew, or hearty bread. Even though Eliot might have been a bit of a grump doesn’t mean this beer is. Enjoy one today. 

Would you buy this beer? Yes 

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The Brooklyn Brewery’s flagship beer is the Brooklyn Lager, an award winning Vienna Style lager brewed traditionally as would have been done in 1890. It is available at almost all LCBO locations all year round, and is distributed all across the United States and is beginning to float across the globe.

This is all for very good reason too; Brooklyn has brought back to us a fantastic example of the Vienna Lager, a purely refreshing, versatile and meaty beer which fits many situations all too perfectly. The Brooklyn Lager is 5.2% abv and generally sells in six packs of standard 355ml bottles bearing the original green Brooklyn logo. Strickly it should be classified as an American Amber, rather than a Vienna Lager; it is brewed as a Vienna-Style lager, then is dry hopped.

It pours smooth and cleanly raising a fluffy white head about one and a half inches above the pale amber red beer. It shines with bronze and golden rays peering through the beer exposing life and carbonation pouring up in it. The nose is very clean and crisp with light caramel, soft dry fruit and a very floral hop aroma. It has a touch of malt and bitter shinning though in the scent showing a freshness and drinkability. Overall is displays a dry and crisp nose that is both appetizing and seemingly very smooth.

Drinking the Brooklyn Lager really just relaxing. Benefiting from cold Lager maturation, this beer is exceptionally smooth and elegant. It flows gracefully into your mouth bringing fresh lightly tart floral hops which excite your tongue and cheeks. Slowely crisp and warming malts show themselves at the true heart of this beer bringing light biscuit, soft caramel and still a bouquet of floral hops.

The mouth is very clean and dry creating a quenching, but also satisfying beer. Its body is slightly lush, but also very crisp. Moderate carbonation cleans up the beer nicely and proves its ability to remain flavorful, yet totally civilized.

Its very clean and simple on your palate because it has a perfect balance of ripe fresh flavors. It has been dry hoped as a Vienna Lager would showing light citrus and pine with supreme balance and softness. This brings a huge refreshing and quenching characteristic to the beer, and combined with the smoothness and overall creamy texture of the beer it is very drinkable and well suited for any occation.

The Brooklyn Lager is excellent with barbecue, steak, roast chicken, pesto, fish and chips, cheddar, and really almost anything savory. Serve it right out of the fridge in a pint glass, and enjoy!

Pouring with a lot of light tan head that develops late in the pour this is a chestnut brown colored lager that I found only somewhat inviting visually. The scent is citrusy,  somewhat sappy, transitioning to a flavor that is very mild until you hit the aftertaste. The original finish was dry with a significant roasted nut flavor, think more the open fire variety instead of the roasted peanut. This flavor lingered awhile, which I found pleasant, then before fading transformed into what I would describe as  roasted pumpkin seed. I am not a big fan of pumpkin seeds, but on a first try the flavor was more intriguing and different, than unpleasant. However as the beer aired and warmed the pumpkin seed flavor got stronger at which point I just wanted to have it end. Even though I like pumpkin ale as a whole, this one was nothing like it, (it wasn’t supposed to be) where pumpkin ale is like a sweet pumpkin pie this beer has more of a bite. I really like the label but the beer I will skip from now on.

Once I removed the decorative copper-colored wrapper, I was greeted by an over powering smell of malt.  Not sweet malt.  But a malt liquor-esque malt.  Subtle hints of lime and salt hide in the nose.

They aren’t kidding when they call this a dark beer.  The beer pours with a dark brown body, with copper tinges hiding along the sides of the glass.  The head is a thick cream color, but it resides quickly. Leaving only traces amounts of foam on the head of the beer.

Initially, I thought malt liquor.  But it’s far better then that.  Negra Modelo is surprisingly light in flavor (considering the darkness of the brew) and goes down rather smooth.  The taste is reminiscent of many macro-lagers, but with faint traces of sweetness and lime.  The mouthfeel is also very light, with very little bitterness or dryness.

Negra Modelo is one of the better ‘cervezas’ available on the market.  Although the style is similar to many of the American macro-brews, it contains just enough flavor to be an acceptable party beverage.  Not a beer that I’d put into my regular rotation, but one that’s slightly better than its counterparts.

Overall: 3 out of 10

As a VIENNA LAGER: 6.5 out of 10

What I do know is Schells currently ranks as the 25th largest brewery in the country based on 2008 sales volume, just behind a few notables like Bell’s, Goose Island and Anchor. When I look for Schells, I usually pick up one of their sampler packs to get a bit of variety, and truth be told, not all of their stuff has blown me away. But really, what brewer always does? 

Adjuncts or not, as a privately held family-run operation for nearly 150 years putting out what in my opinion is very solid stuff (like their MaiFest I really enjoyed earlier this spring or their very tasty Stout), I think Schells deserves a serious look as one of the best regional breweries in the country.

FireBrick is one of those Schells offerings that I see most of the year, and ignorantly take for granted. You don’t find a great number of Vienna Lagers around, unless of course you count the ubiquitous Sam Adams Boston Lager (which I have somewhat of a hard time classifying in this category given its overtly hoppy nose), or maybe even Dos Equis and Negra Modelo (the style has flourished in Mexico since the late 1800′s thanks to Austrian brewer immigrants). But FireBrick is in a different ballpark altogether.

Apparently named after the red bricks that line Schell’s old boilers at the brewery (I need to get down to New Ulm for a tour at some point), the beer pours a very rich, amberish coloring with a two finger head that leaves a lingering lace on the glass. Nice Vienna and Munich maltiness in the aroma, bready and toasted with caramel notes coming through. A pleasing, sweet maltiness in the taste, with a medium mouthfeel. Not nearly as hopped up as Boston Lager, but you do get a slight bite in the finish from the Vanguard, Chinook and Hallertau they use. A very enjoyable and refreshing beer. 

Rating: B+

Thus, the theme for this Sunday night dinner, where a group of us gather to cook and eat a good meal together to start out our week, was Southeast Asia. It was a fun theme with Vietnamese spring rolls, skewered pork meatballs with peanut sauce, grilled shrimp with jicama and mango salad, cold tofu with cilantro and sambal, pan-fried pompano (a whole fish – head and all) served with a shallot and hot pepper relish commonly served with food in Indonesia. It was all cooled down with a refreshing yogurt with honey and mint, and some fresh tropical fruit served with mango ice cream and coconut jello.

The beverage of choice when having such a meal with the vibrant and exotic flavors of the east? The most obvious option is having one of the Asian beers (which are typically light American lagers): Sapporo, Asahi, Singha, Tsingtao, Tiger, etc.. The subtle flavor of these beers allows the natural flavors of the food to be the main attraction. Also, since these beers are typically served cold, it helps to cool the palate, and the high carbonation of the beers lifts away the spicy oils that tenaciously cling onto the tastebuds. Another type of beer that works well is Mexican beers (typically Vienna lagers) because of the same qualities with the additional sweetness of the malt profile. Again, there aren’t too many flavors in these beers to compete with the exciting flavors of the foods. Interestingly, the foods of Mexico also tend to be spicy and the climate hot. Coincidence? I think not. This meal was just what I needed after spending a long, hot day baking in the sun and then cooking in a hot kitchen. I felt great afterwards and even slept soundly in my warm bed.

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