Vienna Style Lager
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Beer Geek Stats
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- Style:
- Lager - Vienna
Ranked #16 - ABV:
- 5.3%
- Score:
- 85
Ranked #28,451 - Avg:
- 3.8 | pDev: 9.47%
- Reviews:
- 208
- Ratings:
- From:
- Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
- California, United States
- Avail:
- Rotating/Seasonal
- Wants
- 56
- Gots
- 162
SCORE
85
Very Good
85
Very Good
Notes:
Vienna-style beers are among the world’s first light-colored lagers and were on the brink of extinction until American craft brewers helped revive the style; it’s a good thing they did. These delicate and extremely balanced amber beers rely on semi-sweet and bready malt flavors but walk a fine line with both malt and hop character shouldering equal weight. Our take on the style features whole-cone European hops, which add to the dry finish.
Reviews: 208
| Ratings: 929
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Reviews by drews240:
drews240 from Rhode Island
4.03/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Aug 10, 2016
4.03/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Aug 10, 2016
More User Reviews:
CASK1 from Florida
3.97/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from bottle to pilsner glass.
L - Beautiful amber color with brilliant lager clarity. Fluffy off-white head fell fairly quickly.
S - Moderate levels of bread crust and toast. Hints of melanoidin sweetness. No hint of hops in the aroma.
T - Similar to aroma, but more intense. Nice biscuity, toasty malt with melanoidin complexity. Moderate hop bitterness offsets the malt and makes this beer very drinkable. Hint of spicy hop flavor adds to the complexity.
F - Medium bodied, but crisp and dry makes this easy to drink several of. Carbonation level is spot on.
O - More breweries need to make this style. Tasty and easy drinking. Can't wait until it's actually fall to enjoy more of this one.
Aug 09, 2015
3.97/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from bottle to pilsner glass.
L - Beautiful amber color with brilliant lager clarity. Fluffy off-white head fell fairly quickly.
S - Moderate levels of bread crust and toast. Hints of melanoidin sweetness. No hint of hops in the aroma.
T - Similar to aroma, but more intense. Nice biscuity, toasty malt with melanoidin complexity. Moderate hop bitterness offsets the malt and makes this beer very drinkable. Hint of spicy hop flavor adds to the complexity.
F - Medium bodied, but crisp and dry makes this easy to drink several of. Carbonation level is spot on.
O - More breweries need to make this style. Tasty and easy drinking. Can't wait until it's actually fall to enjoy more of this one.
Aug 09, 2015
Jeffreysan from Maryland
4.41/5 rDev +16.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
12 oz bottle, poured into a pint glass
Appearance: Pours a beautiful, golden, amber color with a quarter of a finger of white-colored head that quickly dissolved away into a thin lacing of foam that completely covered the top of the beer.
Aroma: Nice aromas of bready, toasted malt, imparting aromas of freshly baked French baguettes or English muffins. There are also aromas of caramel, black pepper, and a touch of floral, piney, citrusy, hops. Really, really, delicious!
Taste: Wow! Delicious! Strong flavors of bready, toasted malt, up front, followed by caramel-like sweetness, black pepper, and a touch of floral, piney, citrusy, hops. Really, really, delicious! Exceptional, actually!
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, crisp and very effervescent as there is a lot of carbonation to tickle the taste buds. With an ABV of 5.3%, there is no alcohol on the palate.
Overall: Wow! What an exceptional American-version of a Vienna lager! One of the best I’ve had in fact. It’s definitely up there with Devil’s Backbone’s Vienna Lager, which is my favorite American-made Vienna Lager. It’s Malty, slightly sweet and beautifully balanced with floral, piney, hops. Sierra Nevada’s knocked this one out of the park!
Jun 20, 2015
4.41/5 rDev +16.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
12 oz bottle, poured into a pint glass
Appearance: Pours a beautiful, golden, amber color with a quarter of a finger of white-colored head that quickly dissolved away into a thin lacing of foam that completely covered the top of the beer.
Aroma: Nice aromas of bready, toasted malt, imparting aromas of freshly baked French baguettes or English muffins. There are also aromas of caramel, black pepper, and a touch of floral, piney, citrusy, hops. Really, really, delicious!
Taste: Wow! Delicious! Strong flavors of bready, toasted malt, up front, followed by caramel-like sweetness, black pepper, and a touch of floral, piney, citrusy, hops. Really, really, delicious! Exceptional, actually!
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, crisp and very effervescent as there is a lot of carbonation to tickle the taste buds. With an ABV of 5.3%, there is no alcohol on the palate.
Overall: Wow! What an exceptional American-version of a Vienna lager! One of the best I’ve had in fact. It’s definitely up there with Devil’s Backbone’s Vienna Lager, which is my favorite American-made Vienna Lager. It’s Malty, slightly sweet and beautifully balanced with floral, piney, hops. Sierra Nevada’s knocked this one out of the park!
Jun 20, 2015
CraigP83 from Minnesota
4.34/5 rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Smell is bready and sweet. Goes down super smooth with just a faint spiciness. This was in the SN fall sampler and I can see why, it's delicious and could be an everyday beer when the temps start to drop a bit. Just a touch of caramel stickiness at the end.
Aug 10, 2015
4.34/5 rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Smell is bready and sweet. Goes down super smooth with just a faint spiciness. This was in the SN fall sampler and I can see why, it's delicious and could be an everyday beer when the temps start to drop a bit. Just a touch of caramel stickiness at the end.
Aug 10, 2015
MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota
3.88/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from 12oz bottle into glass, from the Fall Pack. Bottled on '07/25/18 06:36'.
Clear, pale amber colored body. Skiff of head upon pouring disappears quickly and leaves some remnants and a very thin ring, fed by bubbles. No lacing.
Aroma of slightly sweet bready malts. Floral hops add in.
Taste is slightly roasted, bready malts, and slightly spicy, floral hops. Well balanced, with an enveloping flavor profile.
Medium mouth feel, with lager sharpness. Lower carbonation. Drier finish (but that just entices another sip).
Such a beautiful visual presentation of a beer, with a fuller than expected mouth feel, not that much from aroma, but a full mouth experience of balanced and rich flavors. Really a great example of professional brewing.
Aug 19, 2018
3.88/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from 12oz bottle into glass, from the Fall Pack. Bottled on '07/25/18 06:36'.
Clear, pale amber colored body. Skiff of head upon pouring disappears quickly and leaves some remnants and a very thin ring, fed by bubbles. No lacing.
Aroma of slightly sweet bready malts. Floral hops add in.
Taste is slightly roasted, bready malts, and slightly spicy, floral hops. Well balanced, with an enveloping flavor profile.
Medium mouth feel, with lager sharpness. Lower carbonation. Drier finish (but that just entices another sip).
Such a beautiful visual presentation of a beer, with a fuller than expected mouth feel, not that much from aroma, but a full mouth experience of balanced and rich flavors. Really a great example of professional brewing.
Aug 19, 2018
TMoney2591 from Illinois
3.9/5 rDev +2.6%
Served in a tumbler.
This here wedding is winding down, and there's some Sierra Nevada at the hotel. Let's get some, eh? This stuff pours a clear bronze-copper topped by a finger of off-white foam. The nose comprises sweet biscuit malt, light dried honey, a twang of mild sweetgrass, and sweet flowers. The taste brings in more of the same, the relatively mild sweetness of the malt balancing very nicely with the floral, lightly-grassy hops. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a dry-ish finish. Overall, a very strong Vienna lager, one that's far too easy to drink for its own good (or, rather, mine). Quite the pleasant cap to a wonderful day.
Sep 14, 2014
3.9/5 rDev +2.6%
Served in a tumbler.
This here wedding is winding down, and there's some Sierra Nevada at the hotel. Let's get some, eh? This stuff pours a clear bronze-copper topped by a finger of off-white foam. The nose comprises sweet biscuit malt, light dried honey, a twang of mild sweetgrass, and sweet flowers. The taste brings in more of the same, the relatively mild sweetness of the malt balancing very nicely with the floral, lightly-grassy hops. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a dry-ish finish. Overall, a very strong Vienna lager, one that's far too easy to drink for its own good (or, rather, mine). Quite the pleasant cap to a wonderful day.
Sep 14, 2014
Jadjunk from Georgia
3.64/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
"Vienna-style lagers were on the brink of extinction until American craft brewers helped revive the style. It's a good thing they did. These delicate beers lean on light and bready malt flavors, but walk a fine, balanced line with whole-cone European hops contributing a dry finish." Brewed in the style of a German Vienna Lager. Previously available as a taproom exclusive, packaged in 12 oz. bottles exclusively for the Fall variety 12 pack.
Poured from a 12 oz. bottle to a Sierra Nevada pint glass. Served above 52 degrees Fahrenheit.
(Appearance) The beer pours a crisp, frothy head of a biscuity gold-white color over an orange-amber body with very high clarity, mild haze and moderate carbonation. Retention is above average and lacing is light and spotty. 3.5
(Smell) Aromas of docile bready malt, a mild biscuity body form the clean, approachable malt build. Digging deeper, faint notes of earthy, spicy hops produce a simple balance of aroma with mild bitterness, but it's plenty to counter the malt aroma at this stage, which airs to the simpler side of beer. The potency is low. 3.25
(Taste) The flavor is much more thoroughly pronounced over the aroma. Light bready malts and lightly toasted biscuity German malts forms a subtle body, just shy of thin, very drinkable. Finishes with a note of untoasted grain malt acidity and an earthy, slightly spicy hop flavor and bitterness. 3.75
(Mouthfeel) The texture is slick, lightly chewy and medium dry. The carbonation is up front mild but generates a subtle frothiness at the back for a soft but lively mouthfeel. The body is medium for the style, light/medium overall. Balance is very slightly bitter and acidic over sweet. Alcohol presence is very low, and there are no discernible off characters. 4
(Overall) I think that perhaps the only other beer that I have had that falls under the Vienna Lager banner is Samuel Adams Boston Lager, so there isn't much to compare to aside from the fairly well known American lager. I found Sierra Nevada's rendition slightly lighter-drinking in body, pleasantly tinnier and somewhat more bitter and flavorful on the earthy hop front. It has something uniquely autumn about it, not quite to the degree of an Oktoberfest-level of malt flavor, but its a good beer to appreciate alongside the inevitable oncoming of fall. It's certainly not a regrettable beer amongst its variety pack. 3.75
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's
Vienna
3.66/5.00
Oct 14, 2014
3.64/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
"Vienna-style lagers were on the brink of extinction until American craft brewers helped revive the style. It's a good thing they did. These delicate beers lean on light and bready malt flavors, but walk a fine, balanced line with whole-cone European hops contributing a dry finish." Brewed in the style of a German Vienna Lager. Previously available as a taproom exclusive, packaged in 12 oz. bottles exclusively for the Fall variety 12 pack.
Poured from a 12 oz. bottle to a Sierra Nevada pint glass. Served above 52 degrees Fahrenheit.
(Appearance) The beer pours a crisp, frothy head of a biscuity gold-white color over an orange-amber body with very high clarity, mild haze and moderate carbonation. Retention is above average and lacing is light and spotty. 3.5
(Smell) Aromas of docile bready malt, a mild biscuity body form the clean, approachable malt build. Digging deeper, faint notes of earthy, spicy hops produce a simple balance of aroma with mild bitterness, but it's plenty to counter the malt aroma at this stage, which airs to the simpler side of beer. The potency is low. 3.25
(Taste) The flavor is much more thoroughly pronounced over the aroma. Light bready malts and lightly toasted biscuity German malts forms a subtle body, just shy of thin, very drinkable. Finishes with a note of untoasted grain malt acidity and an earthy, slightly spicy hop flavor and bitterness. 3.75
(Mouthfeel) The texture is slick, lightly chewy and medium dry. The carbonation is up front mild but generates a subtle frothiness at the back for a soft but lively mouthfeel. The body is medium for the style, light/medium overall. Balance is very slightly bitter and acidic over sweet. Alcohol presence is very low, and there are no discernible off characters. 4
(Overall) I think that perhaps the only other beer that I have had that falls under the Vienna Lager banner is Samuel Adams Boston Lager, so there isn't much to compare to aside from the fairly well known American lager. I found Sierra Nevada's rendition slightly lighter-drinking in body, pleasantly tinnier and somewhat more bitter and flavorful on the earthy hop front. It has something uniquely autumn about it, not quite to the degree of an Oktoberfest-level of malt flavor, but its a good beer to appreciate alongside the inevitable oncoming of fall. It's certainly not a regrettable beer amongst its variety pack. 3.75
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's
Vienna
3.66/5.00
Oct 14, 2014
StArnoldFan from Texas
3.98/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Nov 26, 2015
3.98/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Nov 26, 2015
Bloodyickes from Pennsylvania
4.1/5 rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Sep 08, 2015
4.1/5 rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Sep 08, 2015
StevenMilligan from Florida
3.67/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Nov 02, 2018
3.67/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Nov 02, 2018
Urk1127 from New Jersey
4.12/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Light tan color. White head.
Smell somehow reminds me of corn chips or doritos. Toast. Bread crust. Slight hop scent. Taste is the same as the smell. Feel is light.
Oct 26, 2015
4.12/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Light tan color. White head.
Smell somehow reminds me of corn chips or doritos. Toast. Bread crust. Slight hop scent. Taste is the same as the smell. Feel is light.
Oct 26, 2015
TheMarkE from California
3.75/5 rDev -1.3%
Appearance: Amber/copper color with a good head and lacing, lots of carbonation.
Smell: Sweet and malty.
Taste: Bready malts, sweet malts, hops. A hint of grassiness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, dry and crisp, with a good bitter hop finish.
The Verdict: Very good. One of the better Vienna lagers I’ve had, in fact. Great balance to it.
Sep 06, 2014
3.75/5 rDev -1.3%
Appearance: Amber/copper color with a good head and lacing, lots of carbonation.
Smell: Sweet and malty.
Taste: Bready malts, sweet malts, hops. A hint of grassiness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, dry and crisp, with a good bitter hop finish.
The Verdict: Very good. One of the better Vienna lagers I’ve had, in fact. Great balance to it.
Sep 06, 2014
VelvetExtract from Massachusetts
3.74/5 rDev -1.6%
-Bottle- Pours a clear, almost bright orange color with a creamy head. He head leaves curtains of lacing. Aroma is of crisp, sweet grain and light lager yeast. Toasty and sweet. First sip brings forth toasted flavors and caramel along with caramel sweetness. Soft bitterness. Lighter bodied. Smooth carbonation. A pleasantly simple brew? I would like to try this next to Boston lager. I enjoy is style of beer. It's always agreeable to me. If eel like Sam Adams has captured the entire market for this brew, so when I see someone else try it I am usually pretty eager to try it.
Sep 06, 2014
3.74/5 rDev -1.6%
-Bottle- Pours a clear, almost bright orange color with a creamy head. He head leaves curtains of lacing. Aroma is of crisp, sweet grain and light lager yeast. Toasty and sweet. First sip brings forth toasted flavors and caramel along with caramel sweetness. Soft bitterness. Lighter bodied. Smooth carbonation. A pleasantly simple brew? I would like to try this next to Boston lager. I enjoy is style of beer. It's always agreeable to me. If eel like Sam Adams has captured the entire market for this brew, so when I see someone else try it I am usually pretty eager to try it.
Sep 06, 2014
Icemann383 from New York
3.5/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Aug 28, 2016
3.5/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Aug 28, 2016
Hockey_Fan from Maryland
3.81/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Oct 03, 2015
3.81/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Oct 03, 2015
Vienna Style Lager from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
85 out of
100 with
929 ratings
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