Vienna Gold
Cambridge Brewing Company

Pours a light amber gold with an initial pillow head that leaves very nice lacing. Smell is malty, slight fruit undertones. taste is a balance of malt and hops...has some lager-like qualities.. Mouthfeel is balanced with a smooth qaulaity as well as a dry finish. Very easy to quaff and have mor ethan one.

About $12 from the brewpub. Growler

A: Pours a bright golden color with an initial half finger cream colored head that fades but has a bit of retention. Some bubbles making their way to the top. Nice lace left on the side of the pint glass.
S: Aromas of sweet spicy pine laden hops with a slight malty background. Not to overpowering.
T: Tastes of dry piney hops hit first with a follow up burst of bready, grassy malt that leaves a nice dry aftertaste. A weird twang thats followed by a slight bitterness. Hops and malt work very well together.
M & D: Good mouthfeel, creamy as it coats the mouth with decent carbonation levels. Dry aftertaste and a slight bitterness. Goes down very smooth making it a very drinkable beer. Definately a good offering from Cambridge--would like to try it on tap.

Enjoyed on-tap at the brewpub with my lunch on March 10. Not sure what style this is but it is a damn fine beer. Descirption said it was brewed using a Vienna lager grain bill and a kolsch yeast. Described as a "hybrid."

Poured crystal clear gold with just a bit of lacing--all layered up on top of each previous sup. Nose was mild... very "green." Slightly grainy and malty. Very understated.

Flavor was kind of all over the place but not. Almost rye-ish. Got a strong tone of the kolsch yeast (fast becoming one of my favorite flavors in a beer). Even a bit wheaty. Toasted malts, more like crackers than bread. Hops were just present enough to let you know they were there. Dry and light with just a slight crisp touch in the finish. Could enjoy a growler or two of this beer without a second thought.

served on cask, dry-hopped with Saaz

A slightly hazy honey gold, with a generous dollop of off-white cream on top. Leaves nice ladders all the way down.

Powerful, fresh hop scent, like being buried in bales of green leafy cones.

Creamy texture.

Toasty, bready malt with piney hops and lots of resin.

Okay, this kind Saaz I like.

Hazy gold, superbly laced white head, fully lasting after 30 minutes. Strong Saaz nose, floral and lemony. As clean as it gets. The melting between the Vienna malts and hops is remarkable to say the least. Grassy rosewater. Very appealing. Grainy malty palate, VERY malty, but unfortunately not my favourite variety. The bitterness is very solid, balancing. Now I know my friends all liked it even more than me, but I’m with them on the brewing efforts part. It’s just unfortunate that this wasn’t a dortmunder with the almost exact same recipe using all pils malt instead, because I would have given out the big marks on that. I just don’t enjoy the grainy Vienna as much as the biscuity and charming chewy pils types. Marvellous April beer, a little hidden treasure some will say.

This was on tap at Bukowski’s in Cambridge today. It poured a clear, dark gold color with a thick white head. Good carbonation was indicated by champagne bubbles rising to renew the head. As it receded the beer developed a good lace. The smell has a little yeast dough quality, mild sweet malt and a light citrus. The flavor has an apple character with a little caramel. Bright hop bitterness, a little orange. Slick mouth feel good drinkability.

Sampled at the brewpub on tap.

This ale-lager hybrid (ale yeast but fermented at the lowest temperature possible for this yeast) poured a clear, golden-amber color with creamy, white foam that left some lace. The smell was very modest but some malt could be detected. The taste had a nice floral hop character, well balanced with malt. There was a good hoppy aftertaste with a hint of citrus. This tasted very much like a lager. The mouthfeel was smooth and hoppy, with medium body and medium carbonation, and was well balanced. This beer was very drinkable and was good with food.

Although this particular representation of the Vienna style is more reminiscent (IMHO) of a Pilsner than Marzen, this is truly a wonderful brew. While it was cold and rainy when I entered CBC for a BA meeting, and I saw all the full pints of Porters, Scotch Ales and Stouts at the table, I wanted to start light and work my way up. This deep golden brew possesses more body than meets the eye. Topped by a rapidly dissipating white head with thin clinging lace. The aroma of Saaz hops, herbal malt and hint of alcohol rising up, lasts a while. The sharp edged bitterness softens and blends with the lightly sweet malt into a highly quaffable beer.

Just had this at CBC...

Golden color, slight head, no lace while drinking.

Smooth, floral flavor...not as crisp a mouthfeel as I would like, but a good representation of the style by a US brewer. Thankfully this beer had plenty of body.

I would probably try this again, but I tend to like German versions of this style more than the US versions.

pat

Some more notes re-reviewed: Had this at another restaurant last night. Found the smell to be quite bready. Only other adjectives I would add to the taste is that the taste was slightly bready and sweet. Doesn't finish that dryly.

Beautiful bright amber color with a lacy head. The aroma presented an abundance of buttery character. The first taste uncovers a slight malty sweetness which is complimented toward the middle and bottom of the glass by a grassy tea-like hoppiness. I have never had its like. This is a very nice brew to finish the night with. Not too filling after a meal and without a strong lingering finish.

First try of this new CBC offering.... Checks in as Bier #200 for me... Nice medium-to-dark golden color, with a small fine head and some lace. Had a floral-hoppy nose, with some mild sweetness showing through. Real good body, and real pleasant smoothness!! Good balance of malt (semi-sweet start, grainy) and hops (tasty, spicy, lingering finish). Nice job!!

overall: 4.05
appearance: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | mouthfeel: 4.5 | drinkability: 4

200

Damn! This is one hoppy beer! Creamy white head with some awesome head retention going on -- as if poured from nitro, but it's not. Smooth mouthfeel. Tightly packed with, what seems like, all the Saaz available from the Czech Rep. Hop profile is spicy, herbal and very raw. Little bit of fruity grape flavour here and there too. Bready, biscuit, grainy ... a mouthful of distinct German malt practically, but not overwhelming or overly sweet. Hops return with some palate stinging action and continue their assualt well into and after the finish.

On tap and served in an American pint tumbler. Brassy golden colour with a thin yet sticky white lace. Grassy toasted malt and spicy hop aroma, the nostrils take in a nose full of aromatics. Moderate to medium body with a biting crispness. Thick lightly toasted graininess goes grassy and the hops run strong with a bitter spiciness that seems to linger forever. Touch of sweetness tries to break things up but both the hops and graininess clash together in a extremely flavourful mix. Big dry grainy, grassy and hoppy finish.