12 oz single, no freshness date to be seen (notches missing from the label). Thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to drink this one. Pour is a surprisingly dark one, going beyond even the dark brown that was expecting and taking it to a new level with a close to black, stout like hue. Head is good, rocky and pitted, produces some nice lace with its retention. Smell has some malty goodness, and he beer in terms of the way it looks and smells is certainly promising. However... ...when we taste...
Notes on beers brewed by
Lakefront Brewery, Inc.
White Beer
12 oz single courtesy of Kevin - many thanks. The beer pours with a requisite, hazy lemon pour with a somewhat disappointing head. Retention and lace are lackluster to be honest. The beer does contain all of the character that should be in a Wit, but it seems watery, light and without depth or presence. Slight touches or coriander, and orange peel but it simply isn't enough. The beer does come through with a little bit of citrus acidity, but the whole package is too light by far. Too...
Wheat Monkey
12 oz bottle, many thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this. Pour is a pretty standard, requisite hazed yellow color that looks a tad watery. A few yeast sediment particles that ultimately dissolve to add to the murky, unfiltered nature. It is what it is, meaning it delivers a pretty average, very light, a tad watery body on top of diluted wheat notes in the nose and tastes. It's fine, it acts as a decent thirst quencher. Light grain notes in the aroma and a very, very mildly acidic...
IPA
12 oz single, taken from notes, many thanks to Kevin for the opportunity to try this one. There IS a freshness "strip" on the side of the label, but as is sometimes the case, the notches are missing - frustrating. A hazy orange pour, a sticky white head but a few yeast particles/floaties that I could do without. When the particles settle at the bottom of the glass we see some medium carbonation. The head is nicely retained and the stickiness is always a good sign for a beer like this. Nose has...
Klisch Pilsner Beer
12 oz single, from notes, many thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. Label is slightly different to the one in the BA db where the words Pilsner Beer have simply become "Pilsner". Notched as being bottle in Wk 1, May but no year given, assuming 2010. The pour yields a beer that has a pilsner color (perhaps it's a little more 'yellow'), but unfortunately it comes with a slight haze that substantially detracts from the clarity. Not really what I'm looking for here, and it...
Fixed Gear
22 oz bottle, a recent arrival to the GA market. Pleasing presentation, too. Pour is a very nice garnet color with the standard, requite white head that sits atop the beer. Good clarity and appropriate carbonation. To me, one of the most important things about the style is that it has some nice clarity, and this beer works well in that regard. Nose is fairly neutral but the tastes are better. I'm always looking for a dry finish with the Reds and this beer delivers that. There is some sweeter...
Big Easy Imperial Maibock
12oz, $1.35 single from Green's on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. Honey colored body with a nice white head but it lacks much retention or lace. Nose is surprisingly sharp with a sweet and sour elements and seems quite alcoholic - a bit odd. The tastes break-in with typical-for-the-style, musty yeast notes and some light funk which is the way that the sour bitterness sometimes manifests itself. Pretty straightforward with alcohol below the advertised 7.1%.
Oktoberfest Lager Beer
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour gives a medium, dull-copper body but the level of carbonation and general "liveliness" is somewhat below average. Nose and tastes reveal a certain malt sweetness as expected, but at the same time fail to deliver the typical, malt-punch that I need from my O'fest. The beer drinks decidedly flat as well which is a bit of problem for me. Tasted a bit like one might expect a "rough round the edges" homebrew in the style would come out. Looking for...
Pumpkin Lager Beer
$1.50 for the 12 oz single from Green's, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a bright orange affair with a slight cloudy character and some haze. A few floaties too. Head is a simple, 1/4 inch affair with decent retention but a lack of any lace. Aroma has an odd lemony nature about it which I would not normally associate with a pumpkin beer. Not nasty, but a little odd. "Tastes" hit the nose first and the manifest themselves in the mouth with a slightly strange, acidic peach like note. Finish has a...
Bridge Burner Special Reserve Ale
Mildly amusing story. It's 01/31/09 and the day of the Atlanta Cask Ale tasting. I decide to pop into Green's on Ponce to do some "pre-cask purchasing" and I see this, 22oz bomber perched on a pile of cases, all alone. I knew that this was not in GA at the time, so I was naturally interested and picked it up. Taking it to the register they had terrible trouble locating it in the sysytem; basically it wasn't there. This precipitated 'phonecalls to Adam who was not at the store. Eventually they...
New Grist Sorghum Beer
12 oz bottle as a single from Total Wine, Kennesaw, GA, USA. Pours a distinctly urine colored body with zero head and zero lace. Nose is a fruity alcohol with the emphasis on an acidic cider like angle. Drinks in a similar fashion to the nose with trat acidity and a distinct, fresh, crisp grren apple like taste. Odd aftertaste completes the package. Not bad, but it really goes to prove it isn't possible to make good beer without the correct ingredients. Nobody's "fault" as such, just a fact of...
Fuel Cafe (Coffee Flavored Stout)
12 oz bottle as a single from Total Wine in Kennesaw, GA, USA. Dark brown, almost black pour with a thin film of froth on the surface of the body but no lace in the glass. Instant Coffee nose (Nescafe) but a thin body a little lactose taste backing the whole thing up. Some bitterness in the finish. Ends dry. Certainly coffee based, but it gets lost a bit in the mix. To compete in this league you need to be much higher ABV, and probably a limited release. There is no reason why this couldn't be...
Organic ESB
Ahhh...an American ESB that fits largely into the ESB category - a nice surprise! 12oz single from Total Wine in Kennesaw, GA, USA. Notched as being bottled in the first week in Feb. Reasonable to assume that this is Feb '08 (since Total Wine seems to have a decent turnover), but you never know! Good, standard color for the style (pleasing) with copper and dark orange hues, and a good initial head, however, any lasting head and lacing are disappointing thus reducing the ultimate potential of...