On tap at Kitchen & Beer Bar, crisply dry aluminum cleared flagship lager bests less efficient competition. Soft-toned creamy froth gives way to salty corn-dried barley husk, kolsch-like champagne sparkle, grassy Hallertau hop herbage and murky floral daubs above delicate honeyed biscuit base.
On tap at Taphouse 15, dry Mexican-styled lager from Jersey. Dry brown tea musk guards wavered rye-dried caraway, waddleseed and fennel caress and dewy brown leaf moisture as spritzy lemon spicing fades quick and sweet agave snips barely register above gluey cardboard Vienna malting.
Sessionable “no nonsense” golden straw cleared dry lager with corn-flaked cereal graining reaching honeyed dough bottom as salty lemon-spiced herbage stays relegated.
On tap at Ambulance, limited soft-toned summer ’23 moderation deemed a ‘slightly hoppy’ Czech lager retains murky yellow fruiting and musky Saaz-hopped pilsner malting. Bottom-fermenting Belgian lager yeast awakens citric phenol hop esters.
Clover-honeyed Uke lager relies on malt liquorish corn sugaring, molasses breaded treacle and sticky wheat gluten to create idiosyncratic mix. Mild grassy hop astringency provides mild bittering.
Brusque German lager with grain breaded pilsner malting anchoring lemon-dried grapefruit tartness, hay-like straw wheat astringency and raw-honeyed floral herbage. Mannered, simple and underwhelmingly satisfying.
On tap at Kitchen & Beer Bar, ‘nuanced, classic and simple’ German-styled lager brings musky lemon souring, grassy Noble hop herbage and mild floral spicing to fresh-baked French breading. Raw grained rusticity emboldens its bottom end.
Quintessential semi-dry Okinawan lager maintains richer rice-grained thrust than most lighter bodied canned/bottled Jap draughts. Lemony floral-spiced orange peel whim and sourdough restraint also separate Orion’s lager from Asahi-Sapporo-Kirin competitors, but corn-dried pilsner malting countering muted hop musk beneath the surface will appeal to less discriminating mainstreamers.
Clean gold-cleared rice lager (circa 2022) with zesty lemon spritz flinging thru pilsner-malted toasted French bread spine depleted somewhat by cardboard base that disrupts pasty rice sweetness.
On tap at Ambulance, thin aluminum yellowed lager lets implied rusticity take hold as dry hay-like barnyard musk and musty herbal restraint retain light earthen acridity securing mild lemon peel zesting above delicate whole grain breading.
On tap at Plank Pizza, stylishly robust lager retains dry raw-grained rusticity, herbal perfumed lemon musk and leafy hop astringency.
On tap at Jealous Monk, crisply easygoing Baja-inspired Mexican lager places sea-salted lime zesting next to peppery agave perfuming in dry corn malt setting.
