Lager of the week — Leeds Brewery’s Leodis

This is a dark lager I discovered at the Leeds Brewery Tap last week. This is very much a space based on the American model, light and airy, modern; upstairs the brew-kit stands behind glass, a theatre of beer. In the glass Leodis is as dark as treacle with crimson highlights and topped with a crown of bone-white foam. The nose has a resiny hop character with wisps of smoke, while there are smoky, bitter and dry notes on the palate with some toffee/treacle whispers joining in with the fun. It’s appetising and refreshing. Here’s a conundrum: is it a Dunkel or a Bohemian dark or is it very much its own man, perhaps a British craft dark lager.  A neat little discovery while the modernity of the Tap (along with the interior of the excellent Northbar, which I also visited) demonstrates even more and more that beer is being taken seriously — and in Leodis’ case the same is true for lager. Neat neat neat.