Red Racer Temperance
Central City Brewers + Distillers

nothing to really critique here, this is a fabulous lager, probably the best beer i have had from these guys so far. label calls it pre prohibition, but to me it tastes rather modern. one of the prettiest beers to grace my glass in some time, immaculately clear with a lasting near inch of white head and bubbly scurrying to the surface for the duration of the experience, incredibly vibrant and active and pretty, it shines, i love it! the aroma and flavor are nice too, clean on the fermentation, no real lager yeast flavor to it, but its sensationally crisp and dry. the malt is pale and simple too, not even a crackery pils character to it, more like a corn or something, light and fermented down to next to nothing, but it tastes fresh and has just a little mild breadiness to it and some minerals. i can taste the water profile, and i like that in this style where other elements are so minimal. a flash of hop bitterness at the end but well within its limits. rushing carbonation and high level refreshment here, clean and bright and easy drinking and infinite to me in that way. a really well done american lager, not trying to be anything other than itself, one of the best light beers i have had in a long time, and i think it deserves more credit and attention than it is obviously getting here. really refined and professional, i thought this was great!

 

 

 

330ml bottle, day 13 of 'The Great White Wonder Adventure Pack', a collaboration between Central City and Parallel 49 to provide a Beer Advent (I can say that, even if they can't) holiday experience. A 'Pre-Prohibition Lager'.

This beer pours a clear, bright pale golden straw colour, with two fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and rather fizzy off-white head, which leaves a bit of cannonball splash aftermath lace around the glass as it quickly dissipates.

It smells of gritty and grainy cereal malt, a bit of earthy lager yeastiness, faint petrol esters, overripe lemon peel, and some plain leafy, weedy, and hay-like hop bitters. The taste is bready and crackery pale malt, dead yeast, some lemon/lime acerbic fruitiness, ethereal gasohol, and more understated leafy, earthy, and grassy green hoppiness.

The carbonation is adequate in its quotidian frothiness, the body a decent medium weight, and generally smooth, nothing really existing here that might be cause for concern. It finishes trending dry, the malt faltering, while the hops and yeast keep on truckin'.

Overall - so, compared to the few other lagers that I've had that were made to early 20th century specifications, this seems to line up well enough. It also possesses a few none too subtle nods to German pilseners, which would make sense, right? Drinkable, but easy to forget.