Taking into account its ‘sell by’ date was overdue by December ’04, possibly deterring mediocre Czech lagers’ chances, its butterscotch tingle and oily popcorn backdrop form musty yeast-soured center. Brisk Saaz hops enliven minor citric zest.
(ZARAGOZANA) AMBAR PALE LAGER
Carbolic toasted lager with minor fruited grain bitterness, grassy hop fizz, and cheap honeyed malt surge flushed out by watery plainness, metallic spell, and deadened wood tones. Soapy dank finish wanes.
ZAMBEZI LAGER
Puffy white-headed pale lager with carbolic overload retains pungent malt waft and sour yeast astringency similar to Dutch brews such as Heineken. Soft, buttery, and mildly creamy, but murky hops, washed-out barley, and soapy finish compromise cornmeal sweetness.
ZAGORKA LAGER
Lighter, simpler and less musky than most similarly styled Czech brews, lean Bulgarian lager relies on gentle barley, maize, and rice backbone to constrain sugary cereal graining contrasting mildly acidic herbal hop bitterness. Diacetyl finish veils gummy malt cloying.
(YUKSOM) INDIA SPECIAL QUALITY LAGER
Basic easygoing straw-cleared lager suspends expectant smoked wood aromatics abruptly, leaving sweet cola-like fizz and honeyed cereal malting to absorb minor peppery tingle mingling popcorn finish. Skip.
YUENGLING TRADITIONAL LAGER
Dusky apple waft, frisky carbolic fizz, and sweet barley mouthfeel capture front end of smoothly bitter lager. Chewy toffee malts consume crisply hopped finish augmented by cherry drop tartness. Just a little coarse around the metallic edges.
YUENGLING PORTER
Frothily creamed brown-headed swamp-scented port with powdered cocoa dryness, caramelized mocha splendor, roasted barley-nut surge and maple oatiness deepened by pine-embittered licorice-licked prune-soured black coffee finish. Mired only by oily coffee grain bottom.
(YUENGLING) LORD CHESTERFIELD ALE
Interesting blonde-hazed white-headed dry-grained pilsner-styled India Pale Ale uses old fashion country hops to embitter roasted barleymalt sweetness, setting firm foundation. Despite undefined sour fruiting, muted nuttiness, and soapy finish, compares favorably to Labatt’s ales (or similar mountain-watered Canadian refreshments).
YUENGLING LIGHT
Differs from Yuengling’s lager by losing most of its yeast sinew and barley sweetness for processed faux-grain rigidity and acidic phenol drop-off.
YUENGLING LAGER
Subtle toasted hop bitterness and chalky barley-scotched malting barely distinguish this from Yuengling’s better, more consistent, Traditional Lager. I believe I drank this prior to Yuengling’s 2000 marketing push.
YUENGLING BLACK & TAN
Dry-hopped black malt bitterness chafes dark-roast barley essence, but chalky mocha spunk damages tepid B & T. Problem may be it’s too drab and superficial while lacking expected dried fruiting and black chocolate creaminess for its lofty class.
YOUNG’S WINTER WARMER DARK SEASONAL ALE
Less interesting 2009 version falters early. Funky fertilizer-wafted reddish-browned winter ale lacks seasonal floral spicing and persuasive grain-malt blend. Reserved barley-roasted nuttiness dissolves into tepid caramel chocolate finish. Major disappointment from an otherwise great brewer.