Jacqui C. Smith and her artwork return to Brewyard Beer cans with Beautiful Skin. Imperial Brown Lager doesn’t ring a style bell with me but part of the proceeds goes to the Glendale YWCA so that is a great thing.
Colorful Brewyard
Hazy x2 + Lager Too
Firestone Walker’s Lager is getting a label makeover and bigger news, Mind Haze is growing. Now there will be a Double…
The lager label seems old school beer design without the font and the use of the word premium. Plus it has the earthy tones of the barrel-aged beers like the Gin Rickey. As for Hazier, I bet they took their time with it like they did the original so I expect a winner.
Autumnal
Every once in a while, I will get jealous of a beer that someone is enjoying. This is one of those beers…
….I am a big fan of Moonlight beers anyway, but a four-grain lager with a combine on the label? Just take my money.
Chips
Eagle Rock Brewery is not reaching into a bag of tricks for their newest beer. Instead they are reaching into a bag of chips to create a lager that will work well with however you like your chips.
Purist
Another salvo from the health conscious beer camp comes in the form of The Purist from New Belgium. Basically they are verifying the sources of their ingredients starting with Poudre River water down to the farms where they get the hops and barley. Considering how many really good lagers there are out there currently, this seems pegged to those who see the calorie number alone.
In the Arena
Time to feel strong, I think. An Enegren is giving us a Gladiator. A big and burly dopplebock to take our minds off all of the things we are currently fighting. Maybe six crowlers would be better?
Christmas Beer 2019 # 17 – Duclaw Bygone Snowfall
Duclaw goes the lighter road with their snowfall beer of yore, adding juniper and then aging their lager on oak chips. This Maryland brewery also has sent a limited amount of beer out to us in SoCal which is a great Christmas treat.
Book Review – Lager by Mark Dredge
I have already posted about my excitement for this new book about Lager from Mark Dredge and I finally got my package from Powell’s in the mail and dug into it quickly.
And there is a lot to like about the book. Dredge starts with a bang, in Germany with the Reinheitsgebot. But that tone of beer fan then cuts to lager history and that playfulness goes with it to an extent. It is clear there are some aspects of lager that really excite him, like the dive bars of Vietnam where gas tanks hold the beer and other areas where it seems he had to include to complete the story but leaves quickly like China.
This split personality structure stopped me from enjoying the book especially in the latter half which becomes a chapter by chapter tour of various countries and their part in the lager legacy.
I would have liked to have seen a more novella approach. Part 1 being German lagers and the foursome of brewers who started it. Part 2 being the American side of the story. Part 3 Asian influence and then Part 4 could slide into talk of the future. Then Dredge could have really dove in and the anecdotes would have packed more punch.
Overall, there are a lot of golden nuggets of lager knowledge to be found within the pages but the book’s momentum stalls out too many times.
Featured 19.2 Review – Carlsberg Danish Lager
I haven’t had a Carlsberg in a long time but at the price that my local Trader Joe’s was selling them, I couldn’t pass it up. Here is my review of the stovepipe can of the Danish Lager.
Well, technically not a stovepipe, but it is above 16oz even if by just an almost ounce, so I am counting it. Pours super clear. Darker yellow than expected and a lingering foam to it as well. First note is pear. A little dry. A bit sweet close to honey note. Not super grain forward. A bit slick. No snap to it.
Lager – The Book
Browsing the beverages section of the lovely Vroman’s Bookstore one recent day, I saw this on the shelves and snapped a quick pic…
Lager by Dave Carpenter dives into the world of the famous style and gives you history and recipes in one hard-bound book.
Carpenter has the credentials to trust as a “longtime beer and home-brewing writer and the Editor in Chief of Zymurgy magazine.”
Nuggets of wisdom inside the book include:
“Why does lager, not ale, dominate world beer production, despite its comparative difficulty to produce?
Why are certain European styles like Vienna lager more associated with brewing in Mexico than on the Continent?
What does St. Louis have to do with České Budějovice?
What role does lager play in today’s expanding craft beer landscape?”