While I did write the introductory post, I really failed in introducing myself. My name is Patrick and I love beer. No really, I love it. Ever since I was 21, I knew the normal party beers weren't for me. While my friends were chugging Coors Light and pounding Lionsheads, I was looking at the beers kept in the coolers in the dark corner of the bar. I didn't care about getting drunk on less than ten bucks. I just wanted to see what the world had to offer. I've never been a regular guy. Some people dance to the beat of their own drums; I want to know why the drum makes noise. To say that the same applies to my love for beer is an understatement. I'm just glad I found the opportunity to create this blog with a great group of friends who love beer too. With that out of they way...
Happy National Lager Day, everybody! If you're in the US (or elsewhere - we won't judge), go ahead and grab your favorite lager. Be it a Pilsner, Bock, Dunkel, Helles, Marzen, or American it's a great day to relax with a beer as storied as a lager.
In the spirit of the holiday, I ventured out to the beer store to restock my supply. Besides finding a beer I've been looking for for a few years now (Dogfish Head's Bitches Brew) and picking up a pack of what is arguably one of the best beers I've ever had (Founder's Breakfast Stout), I also purchased a bottle of Smuttynose Brewing Company's S'Muttonator Doppelbock and a six pack of Brooklyn Brewery's Brooklyn Lager. While I've been waiting for the S'Muttonator to cool down in the fridge, I went ahead and tore into the Brooklyn Lager.
Having taken a tour of Brooklyn Brewery only a few short months ago, I've already had the pleasure of enjoying their Lager. While it's not my favorite beer they've ever produced (that distinction belongs to their
Mary's Maple Porter), it's a solid brew nonetheless.
I went ahead and poured this into a snifter-like glass I had laying around. If you take their brewery tour, they give you a really nice laser-engraved tulip glass to take home with you; I couldn't find mine, but I digress. After the pour, you're left with a short head (less than one centimeter) that dissipates in a rather short period of time. Swirling the beer around leaves a little bit of lacing that just faded almost immediately. I don't know if this is because my glasses aren't as clean as they can be or because of the beer itself, but it's no big deal for me. As far as appearances go, Brooklyn Lager is nothing special. It has a nice golden amber color, but as far beer goes, it's a run-of-the-mill look. If Brooklyn Lager was a t-shirt, it would be a white v-neck T-shirt - not quite as dull as a crew neck, but not wild enough to truly set itself apart from others.
On the olfactory front, I found the aroma of this beer to be quite pleasing. It had a fruity smell with definite floral tones and surprisingly, it persisted. Many beers have the tendency to smell strong on the first sniff and then that's it, but I was pleased to find that the Brooklyn Lager's aroma had some real sticking power. Subsequently, the taste exhibited the same characteristic. Brooklyn describes their Lager as having a "floral hop character" and they were dead on with that. Much like the aroma, there is a fruity and floral mix that's immediately evident, but what I found especially pleasing was a slight bitterness provided by the hops. I'm a hopaholic, so any bitterness is greatly welcomed. While nowhere near IPA or other similar Pale Ale levels, the bitterness in the Brooklyn Lager was strong enough to properly complement the floral tones in the beer.
On the whole, Brooklyn Lager is a solid beer. It's not the greatest beer I've ever had, but it's certainly far from the worst. The guys and gals at the Brooklyn Brewery are a dedicated bunch with a real knack for brewing and their Brooklyn Lager is testament to that. On National Lager Day, I say go out and try the Brooklyn Lager if you can. It's affordable, local (well, a short ride away for me), and best of all, it's an all-around good beer.
The first beer out of the 6 pack gave me this incredible head (not pictured) that remained through the entire beer. Every other beer I've poured has had a much smaller head that has dissipated rather quickly. The aroma of this beer is incredibly strong once you pop the cap, and stays true for the initial sips. As you can see this beer in very dark, and has almost no transparency. For being such a dark beer you figure it would leave that Guinness-like heavy feeling in your mouth but the beer is incredibly smooth. It leaves a creamy (Creamy Dark... makes sense) feeling that falls somewhere between a light beer and a Guinness. (Marissa's note: While I normally steer clear of thick, dark beers, I surprisingly appreciated this one. It gave me that overall fullness feeling I expected, but was still smooth and satisfying enough to enjoyed without feeling like I'm going to end up with a giant beer belly.)
