Steamworks Brewing Company call Steam Engine an American style amber lager and whom I am to argue with that? Dark amber/chestnut in colour it’s got an aroma that reminds me of a Dime Bar that has been in your coat pocket for a while and started to get slightly melty. It’s not über-sweet though, there’s a roasted firmness on the nose that steers it away from the sort of sweetness that mentally rots your teeth. There are also hints of vanilla and that chocolaty nuttiness you get with some pralines. All very elegant. A swig from a glass (rather than the can) and it’s soothing and smooth with the aforementioned chocolaty nuttiness leading the charge; there’s a creaminess in the mouthfeel before a crisp biscuity (or cracker-like) bite in the finish, followed by a chocolate liqueur-like sweetness to round things off. Absolutely delicious and it’s its own man — Herold’s dark beer is a different and delicious kettle of Bohemian fish. My first craft beer out of a can and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference in a blind tasting. Right that’s it I’m off down the pub. Happy New Year.
Very interested in the subject of tins v. bottles -- I can't see, logically, why there would be any difference. In the UK, though, cack beers go in tins, nice ones go in bottles, and that's that.
ReplyDeleteYou should stop carrying melty Dime bars round in your coat pockets, though. It's an accident waiting to happen.
Bailey I had the same brewery’s Pale Ale from a can last night and it was delicious, again I could not see the difference but there is a letter in the current All About Beer (Jan issue) that roundly condemns the use of cans for craft beers on the grounds of science, ecology and craft.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of melty Dime Bars one could actually carve out a scale of aromas using various chocolate bars that have been too long in the pocket: a melty Mars Bar for a rich malty brew, a melty Bounty for — I don’t know — a beer with coconut in it, and so on.…
...you could have some kind of Batman - style utility belt filled with melted choccy bars for that purpose...
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