Any time I see the words “Lager” and “Beer” in the same sentence, I get excited! Last week when I saw those two words together on a Samuel Smith label I got REALLY EXCITED!!! Wow, a historic UK brewer of fine ales crossing the tracks and brewing a Lager… I am impressed!
Well the label doesn’t say anything about Yorkshire Squares, so I’m guessing to make this one happen, there “might” be a closed fermentation tank. Maybe not. Pilsner Urquell, the Austrian Trumer and the former Anchor Brewery in San Francisco all have (or had) open fermentation. I wonder if the fellas at Samuel Smith are going down that road? Dunno.
One thing I do know is this is a fine beer. Now I have to say, even though this is definitely a Lager, it has a lot of Ale characteristics, notably some esters poking through and a mouthfeel not usually experienced on most Lagers. At 5.0% ABV, the hopping is about 20 IBU or so I’d guess, not hoppy really, just a good balanced presentation.
The one thing that does crack me up is the “Organic” malt and “Organic” hops used. Hey, aren’t all living things “Organic” when you get right down to it. Heck, “I’m Organic”!!! Anytime I see the word “Organic” my lights, bells and whistles go off!! I had a friend of mine that used to pick up vegetables down in Mexico. They’d blade off one area and pile up some veggies off to the side marked “Organic”. The other was the regular production. Well, it was the same veggies, just being sold as “Organic”…. Suckers!
So anytime I see “Organic,” my general feeling is it is “feel-good” sort of rhetoric – whether real or not is anyone’s guess. The food supply chains are full of trickery, so if it makes you feel good by spending 20-50% more for organic, I have a three-tier brewery to sell ya! Cheers!... hmmmmm Lager….. Prost!