Tag Archives: Lager

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August Schell Brewing Co. Releases One Five Five – Red Lager to Celebrate 155 Years of Brewing Tradition

Have you heard of August Schell Brewing? They are the new kids on the block. August Schell started making beer at home in his garage and all his friends loved the beer they tried…  I’m kidding. Anyone that is a beer fan in Minnesota should be familiar with Schell’s and their long history of brewing tradition. Owned and operated by the Marti family, they are six generations deep into the brewing boom. They were crafting beer before term “craft beer” was a thing. The second-oldest family owned brewery in America, August Schell Brewing, is celebrating their heritage the best way they know how, releasing a new beer.

Schells one five five

 

One Five Five is Red Lager with full caramel flavor, medium body, and a very crisp hoppy finish. If you like a full malt profile, and fancy yourself a fan of hops, this beer is for you. According to Schell’s Brewer Dave Berg, the beer is dry hopped with equal amounts of American Cascade and German Mandarina Bavaria hops, giving it a pleasant little kick of hop-btterness at the end.

Abv: 5%
IBUs: 35
Malt: 2-row, Munich, Victory, Crystal 60, Crystal 80, Crystal 120
Hops: Cascade, Mandarina Bavaria
Availability: Year Round

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Surly Brewing Debuts #Merica! Pre–Prohibition American Lager

#merica!

Surly Brewing is debuting a new beer at the D4’th of July birthday bash show with Dillinger Four this Saturday at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis. Surly thought a new summer beer was the perfect way to toast both birthdays at one great event. More Surly beers will also be on tap.

Doublewhiskeycokenoice from Dillinger Four on Myspace.

#MERICA! is a true ‘Merican beer – a pre–Prohibition American Lager with soft hops aromatics (probably Cluster) that is brewed with flaked corn, giving it a light–bodied subtle fresh corn flavor, 6% ABV. A summer beer perfect for celebrating ‘Merica and 21 years of D4.

Dillinger Four

It is unknown if #Merica! will be one-off, draft only, or appear in cans at some point. Let’s hope they drop the cheeky hashtag from the name and put it in cans. Personally, I would have gone with the traditional ‘Murica! spelling. But you know those Surly guys, always breaking from tradition.

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Grain Belt – Putting the American in American Lager

The August Schell Brewing Co. has launched a new Grain Belt marketing campaign featuring the phrase, “We are the American in American Lager.” The goal for the new campaign is to evoke the pride and spirit of loyal Grain Belt drinkers.
color_letterhead1Schell’s has invited Grain Belt Facebook fans to share pictures and stories of themselves enjoying the hobbies, passions and experiences that make them proud to be American. To enter the contest you need to share your distinctly American experience (with a Grain Belt beer, of course) to the contest event on the Grain Belt Facebook page.

A new topic will be highlight each month. April’s theme is American restoration. Think of of something like your head under the hood of your ’55 Chevy and a cold Grain Belt on the fender.

At the end of every month a winner will be chosen, and featured in a Grain Belt ad along with their project. A Grain Belt product, your name ,and hometown will also be used in the winning advertisement. The winner will receive a large commemorative Marti family signed printed version of the ad.
GBOutdoorsmenAd.1

Newsfeed, Review

Four Senses Working Overtime: Omission Lager and Pale Ale

I’m nervous writing this article because although I love beer and trying new beers, I’ve never written about beer for public eyes. I babble about it occasionally on my own blog, but this is my first “formal” “review.” I’m nervous because when I describe beer to others, I say things like “this stout has that yeasty flavor I don’t like” or “this IPA definitely has that Americany taste to it.” I know there are better terms for these things. Yeast to a beer geek means the ingredient in the brew. “Yeasty” to me means a flavor like the bread riser. I should probably just say “bready.” I’ve heard beer smarties say that. They probably mean what I mean.

This is a longwinded way of letting you know that I am not a professional and that you should go easy on me. I don’t know what Andy was thinking when he thrust these two bottles at me and said, “Write about this beer!” You’ve been warned.

Omission Lager

Omission Lager

I cracked the lager first not only because I was engaging in the traditional light-to-dark progression, but also because I like pale ales better than I like lagers, so I figured I’d save my preferred for second.

I am civilized, so I poured the Omission Lager into a glass and it was, as you’d expect, yellow. The thin head fizzed up energetically and dissipated just as quickly. It left a clingy ring of remnant bubbles around the girth of the glass and a circle of suds on the surface.

I raised the glass to my nose and had a whiff. As an IPA gal, I was pleased to perceive some hoppiness which gave me hop—I mean hope—for the taste (I told you, lager’s not my style) (nor are good jokes). That was countered by the usual malty, lagery sweetness.

The usual malty, lagery sweetness was present in the taste, as well, but as with the bouquet—oh wait, beer folks refer to that as nose, right?—there was a balance from the other side, so it didn’t have that sort of heavy, thick mouthfeel that to me lagers tend to have. And that lively carbonation tickled my tongue. However, once I got to the aftertaste, it was just a little syrupy and coaty in my mouth.

I suppose I should give the Omission Lager some sort of grade to help guide you further, but because it’s a style of beer I don’t typically seek out, I shall refrain from judging it. But for a low (4.6%) ABV beer it was pretty big on flavor.

Omission Pale Ale

Omission Pale Ale

Pale ales are more in my wheelhouse so I was happy to try this one. Oh geez, now I’ve gone and raised expectations for this part of the article with my poorly-timed use of a cliché. Keep calm and drink on.

Not to worry, I poured the Omission Pal Ale into a different, clean glass. My glassware at home probably isn’t “beer clean” because I only use grocery store dish soap, but I do appreciate the glassware itself. I just read an article which posits the notion that the straight-sided shaker pint glass is actually the worst thing for beer. This is personally devastating because I get an unnatural kick out of drinking beer from a glass that is emblazoned with the same branding as the bottle (or tap) from which it was poured, and most of the ones I have are shakers. But I digress.

I poured the pale ale into a clean glass and was optimistic. The color was a solid amber (perhaps just slightly more so than you’d expect from a pale ale), and a pleasantly creamy, medium-frothy head rose up to the rim of the glass.

I accidentally dipped my nose in the foam, and I smelled medium, pale aley-hoppiness as well as a little bit of sweetness which I might call caramelly. Then I grabbed a napkin and blotted myself.

The beer tasted gently hoppy, as a pale ale should, with some maltiness that wasn’t too sweet or roasty but which did make me think “Americany.” That’s probably due to some particular hop which I can’t even come close to naming. Like the lager, the mouthfeel was pleasantly lively but not too much so. The aftertaste was just a bit bitter but also on the dry side and reasonably clean.

Conclusion

I told you I’d use fancy beer terms in this write-up. Oh, and these beers are gluten-free in all but name and labeling. You’d never know that when you drink them. Well done, Widmer.

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Hop City Brewing – Barking Squirrel

By Andy Giesen

First of all, I must admit I’m not the biggest fan of lagers that ever existed.  It probably has something to do with reminding me of the nasty macros I used to pound down in my younger days, but it’s most definitely a style I find myself shying away from.  I can’t say I hate it, but it’s something that isn’t at the top of my list of favorite kinds of beer.

That said, it’s incredibly easy to get comfortable within a loose boundary and forget about challenges to our norms, so stepping outside that go-to trap always proves to be interesting.  Similarly, the interesting approach Hop City takes to their signature lager doesn’t just step outside the expected parameters of a lager, it flips what an expected lager should be.

For starters, any beer from Canada during this craft beer renaissance tends to arouse interest because we don’t see too many around here.  Considering our northern neighbors are known more for their poutine, hockey, and the Trailer Park Boys than they are for crafting a world class brew, it’s time they step it up and show us what they can do.  Enter Hop City, out of Brampton, Ontario.  Yes, Canada.

Hop City is new to Minnesota within the past few weeks, and their Barking Squirrel is the beer to dip its toe into the growing lake of beer choices.  When poured, the thick caramel head fell slowly into the light copper body and threw off a strong floral aroma alongside the distinct sugar and fruity lager tones.  As it warmed, it became slightly biscuity and spicy.

But the important part: the taste.  Expecting some type of lager with a mouthful of hops, I was surprised by the slight hoppy bitterness take hold before quickly letting the bready character come through.  There is a lingering hop undertone, but it just chills in the background, staying there after the bready flavors disappeared.  Another interesting aspect of the Barking Squirrel is that a touch of caramel and toffee notes poke out as it warms.

Overall, this slightly hoppy lager comes off a bit aggressive, but is undeniably refreshing.  Had I known this is what a lager could be back in my younger days, my love of beer would have blossomed sooner.  It also taught me that, every once in a while, it could be a really healthy thing to try something that would normally be overlooked.