Honest Lager
Walkerville Brewery

Honest LagerHonest Lager
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From:
Walkerville Brewery
 
Ontario, Canada
Style:
Märzen
Ranked #237
ABV:
5%
Score:
85
Ranked #21,604
Avg:
3.7 | pDev: 8.65%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
23
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 08, 2023
Added:
Dec 10, 2012
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  2
The deep copper colour hints to the caramelized bread-like taste of this lager, brewed in accordance with the Oktoberfest beer style.

Richly toasted imported malts are presented as the centerpiece of this brew, while German and American hops are revealed but subdued.

The easy drinking character of this beer is attributed to it's medium body, fine noble hop bitterness, and clean finish.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by hotsudge:
Photo of hotsudge
Rated by hotsudge from Canada (ON)

3/5  rDev -18.9%

Jun 01, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.77 by RalphStanley34 from French Polynesia

Jul 08, 2023
Photo of Tony787
Reviewed by Tony787 from Canada (ON)

4.62/5  rDev +24.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
I love this beer bought at lcbo last one on shelf .very nice smell and taste and the head stays in the glass as you drink it amazing frothy head
Craft lager very good at 5.3%
Cheers
Jul 27, 2020
Photo of pootz
Reviewed by pootz from Canada (ON)

3.44/5  rDev -7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Can - pours a clear amber with a smallish white cap...light aromas of toasted bread, grassiness, some earthiness...Flavor is bready, toasty, some nut-like tones, carmel but not sweet....clean dry finish with a hop kiss at the end...decent rendition of a Marzen...much closer to a Vienna...good summer drink
Aug 07, 2018
 
Rated: 3.69 by 4ster from Canada (ON)

Apr 18, 2018
 
Rated: 3.72 by andrenaline from Canada (ON)

Dec 10, 2016
Photo of Pmicdee
Reviewed by Pmicdee from Canada (ON)

3.77/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a nice clear gold colour with a midsized white head. Corny and grainy and sweet on the nose and taste. A bit of hops and yeasty notes on the taste. Nicely carbonated
July 31 2022
Oct 08, 2016
Photo of taxandbeerguy
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)

3.32/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
Served cold into a pint glass and purchased for under $3cdn.

Appearance - dark gold coloured capped with three quarters of a finger of white head. Good clarity and plenty of carbonation. Modest head retention and minimal lacing

Smell - grainy with some corn like sweetness. Not a lot else but nose is sufficiently robust.

Taste - rather like the nose, on the sweet end of things but a finish bitterness kick addstha. dimension. A little earthy to close.

Mouthfeel - well carbonated, light bodied and super dry finish.

Overall - a fine beer that is worth a try however to me not as enjoyable as the 456 marzen from Neustadt which I also recently sampled.
Aug 31, 2016
 
Rated: 4.05 by Boo-urns from Canada (ON)

Aug 03, 2016
 
Rated: 3.23 by Molson2000 from Canada (ON)

May 12, 2016
 
Rated: 3.69 by Bf_89 from Canada (ON)

May 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.65 by Rukeli76 from Canada (ON)

Mar 09, 2016
 
Rated: 3.49 by Electros from Canada (ON)

Feb 27, 2016
 
Rated: 3.71 by OneTuffPony from Canada (ON)

Jan 31, 2016
Photo of headlessparrot
Reviewed by headlessparrot from Canada (ON)

3.63/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
I have often wished that marzens were more widely available year-round. Good thing my hometown brewery actually offers a marzen as its flagship.

Pours an amber-copper hybrid, capped by a single finger of head. Decent lacing. Smell is biscuity, caramel, doughy, and noble hops--green, vegetal. Taste is much the same but a bit marred by a yeasty, musty sharpness. Carbonation is a touch high, body feels a bit heavy.

It's no German version, but it ain't bad for a local craft producer. Clean up the flavour a bit, taste-wise, and it would be right up there.
Dec 30, 2015
Photo of thehyperduck
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)

3.84/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Tallboy picked up at a London-area LCBO; coded '5260' and listed at 5.3%. It's nice to see more and more of these smaller regional breweries getting a few of their products onto the shelves. Served well-chilled.

Pours a crystal-clear golden-orange hue, capped off with one finger of somewhat creamy looking, bone-white head. It fades away with two or three minutes, depositing a modest ring of lacing and a narrow collar of foam. Yeah, this is more-or-less what a märzen should look like, and the aroma is pretty spot-on too - it includes a combination of Vienna and pale, bready malt sweetness, with some lighter caramelized sugar notes. Wisps of grassy, floral hops also come through a bit more clearly as the glass warms up.

A tasty amber-style lager that leans toward the sweet side. Clean, bready, pale malt graininess and Vienna malt caramelized sweetness are the primary features - at least through to the very back end, where you get a sort of weedy, grassy, kinda-floral hop bitterness. Lightly sweet and vaguely nutty in the aftertaste, like a honey-oat bread crust. Light-medium in body, with a smooth, satisfying feel on the palate. The carbonation levels started off with a moderately assertive bite, but softened up by the midpoint of the glass. Extremely drinkable for the style - the sort of thing you'll want to buy in multiples of two.

Final Grade: 3.84, a B+. Walkerville's Honest Lager is honestly a pretty good märzen / amber-type lager, and anyone who can appreciate those sorts of beers should consider this to be a worthwhile pick-up. I could probably nitpick and scrutinize this one more closely, but I am just liking it way too much to care to bother. As a Sarnia resident, the fact that this beer is available in London and yet not locally makes me a little sad - damn you, Lake St. Clair, being in the way and such.
Oct 04, 2015
 
Rated: 3.83 by BeerBikeRepeat from Canada (ON)

May 08, 2015
 
Rated: 3.52 by DrJay from Texas

Dec 27, 2014
Photo of runbirddrinkbeer
Reviewed by runbirddrinkbeer from Florida

3.94/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served on tap at the Seacliffe tavern, leamington. Very appealing appearance with coppery color and decent head. Caramel malt predominates the aroma. Exceptional taste and light years better than other mass produced lagers. Overall as good a lager as I have had in years. Recommended.
May 04, 2013
 
Rated: 3.98 by RedAleMan from Canada (ON)

Feb 03, 2013
Honest Lager from Walkerville Brewery
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 23 ratings