Welcome to the fourth night of our Cinco de Mayo tasting! For the next five nights, we will be tasting 25 different Lager beers from around the United States and the rest of the world, doing five beers a night!
So, please, go get your favorite beverage, sit down, kick back and enjoy as we do our tasting!
Our first beer is…
BEER: Ruekeller Helles (Helles-style Lager)
BREWERY: The Bruery – Placentia, CA
ABV: 5.2%
MATT: 3.75/5
DANIELLE: 3.5/5
LOOK: Gold and slightly hazy
SCENT: Wheat, honey, corn, bubble gum
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Slightly thick mouthfeel with a bit of body to it. This is a Lager which is mostly sweet and doesn’t really present you with a traditional Lager flavor. It tastes more like a Hefeweizen — though without the wheat.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: Very reminiscent of New Belgium’s line of beers (without that weird, earthy “dirt” aftertaste they’ve employed in their mixed 12-packs), this is a nice beer, full of body — though I hesitate to call it a Lager and it’s odd that some beers put a label on themselves, only to deliver something else entirely. There’s a bubble gum sweetness to it, like a hefe, and you barely get the wheat. It doesn’t really come across like a Lager. Still, it’s a good beer.
BEER: El Cerrito (Mexican Style Lager)
BREWERY: Temblor Brewing Company – Bakersfield, CA
ABV: 4.75%
MATT: 3.25/5
DANIELLE: 3.25/5
LOOK: Gold and slightly hazy
SCENT: Pine, lime
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Strangely sour with lime citrus notes and some hops and wheat on the back end.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: This is a beer which doesn’t advertise the lime flavor — but delivers it. The flavoring is mostly sour lime with wheat on the back end and almost tastes anti-septic at times. The wheat on the back end (and generous carbonation) save it.
BEER: La Cañada del Diablo (Lager Especial)
BREWERY: Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company – San Carlos, CA
ABV: 4.7%
MATT: 3.75/5
DANIELLE: 3.5/5
LOOK: Gold and slightly hazy
SCENT: Honey, bubblegum
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Bubblegum and wheat with good carbonation
FINAL REFLECTIONS: This is much like the first beer (though not as earthy) but, again, I would hesitate to call it a Lager. This tastes more like a Hefe with the addition of the bubblegum-like/peach like flavoring and the heavy wheat. It’s still crisp and refreshing and a good drinker.
BEER: Lo Cali Hoppy Lager
BREWERY: Belching Beaver Brewery – San Diego, CA
ABV: 4.2%
MATT: 1/5
DANIELLE: 0.5/5
LOOK: Pale gold, crystal clear
SCENT: Pine and hops
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Pine, slight hops, and some wheat on the back end.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: This beer is nearly flavorless, as if somebody spiked nearly-flat tonic water with lime and handed it to you. The dry, eating-cereal-out-of-the-box, high-carbonation finish does not help. Our apologies to Belching Beaver…but this is, without a doubt, one of the worst beers we have ever had or featured.
BEER: Del Valle Mexican Lager
BREWERY: San Fernando Brewing Company – San Fernando, CA
ABV: 4.3%
MATT: 3.5/5
DANIELLE: 3.5/5
LOOK: Pale gold, slight haze
SCENT: Honey, corn
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: More like a lager — though, anything would taste like a lager after the last beer. Wheat, honey on the back end. Dry finish and good carbonation.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: Pretty good, typical lager, featuring a nice profile of wheat, with honey on the dry finish. Not bad.
FINAL THOUGHTS: A decent tasting with the god-awful Lo Cali nearly sinking the entire thing. Thankfully, we will never have to taste anything like that again…we hope.
HEAR OUR FINAL THOUGHTS!:
TOMORROW: We go on to our final night, celebrating Cinco de Mayo! Join us!