Cranberry Festive Lager
Railway City Brewing Company
- From:
- Railway City Brewing Company
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- Vienna Lager
- ABV:
- 5.5%
- Score:
- 77
- Avg:
- 3.16 | pDev: 13.61%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 5
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jan 11, 2019
- Added:
- Oct 26, 2014
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 4
SCORE
77
Okay
77
Okay
Brewed with Ontario cranberries & local ginger, this festive lager pours a golden/orange colour. On the nose, the aroma is a slightly subdued spicy ginger scent that is more prominent on the finish. The malt characteristic is a slight biscuit while the overall flavour of the beer is complemented by the warmth of ginger.
On the palate, it begins with a sweet citrus tangerine or mandarin orange flavour before finishing with the tartness of the cranberries.
On the palate, it begins with a sweet citrus tangerine or mandarin orange flavour before finishing with the tartness of the cranberries.
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Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.15/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.15/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Tallboy picked up in St. Thomas at the brewery; best before Apr 3 2017 and served well chilled. Reviewed on my phone.
Pours orange-amber in hue, and fairly clear in texture, save for the visible flecks of stuff floating around the liquid. One finger of dense, creamy off white-coloured head slowly recedes into oblivion, leaving only a narrow collar and a few wisps upon the surface behind. The nose is faint and pretty bland - I'm getting some grainy, bready pale malts and a slight kick of cranberry juice, but not much beyond that.
A very straightforward brew with a bit of a fruity twist, but it only vaguely resembles a lager. Bready and gritty flavours combine with caramel and grain husks, with hints of plum also coming through. Finishes with an earthy, leafy hop note and some cranberry skin bitterness that briefly lingers. Light medium in body, with minimal carbonation that gives this beer a wet, slick and smooth texture. OK, in that nothing about this beer really turns me off (or on).
Final Grade: 3.15, a disappointing C+. Calling Railway City's Cranberry Festive Lager 'subtle' is almost an understatement - 'inoffensive' would be putting a more optimistic spin on it, but I think I'd probably just go with 'boring'. The cranberry struggles to pierce through the malts, and it also lacks the crisp, refreshing qualities of most pale lagers (or ambers, for that matter). I've missed out on this beer a few years in a row now... and despite having now had it fresh from the source, I think I'll pass on this one in the future. Not severely flawed - just not for me.
Nov 08, 2016Pours orange-amber in hue, and fairly clear in texture, save for the visible flecks of stuff floating around the liquid. One finger of dense, creamy off white-coloured head slowly recedes into oblivion, leaving only a narrow collar and a few wisps upon the surface behind. The nose is faint and pretty bland - I'm getting some grainy, bready pale malts and a slight kick of cranberry juice, but not much beyond that.
A very straightforward brew with a bit of a fruity twist, but it only vaguely resembles a lager. Bready and gritty flavours combine with caramel and grain husks, with hints of plum also coming through. Finishes with an earthy, leafy hop note and some cranberry skin bitterness that briefly lingers. Light medium in body, with minimal carbonation that gives this beer a wet, slick and smooth texture. OK, in that nothing about this beer really turns me off (or on).
Final Grade: 3.15, a disappointing C+. Calling Railway City's Cranberry Festive Lager 'subtle' is almost an understatement - 'inoffensive' would be putting a more optimistic spin on it, but I think I'd probably just go with 'boring'. The cranberry struggles to pierce through the malts, and it also lacks the crisp, refreshing qualities of most pale lagers (or ambers, for that matter). I've missed out on this beer a few years in a row now... and despite having now had it fresh from the source, I think I'll pass on this one in the future. Not severely flawed - just not for me.
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)
3.39/5 rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.39/5 rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Smooth but with a tad of astringency. Light reddish colour. Somewhat fair for the style but drinkable if you are not fussy at the time. A bit watery. Toasted malt aroma.
Dec 31, 2015
Reviewed by biegaman from Canada (ON)
3.21/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.21/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Should I expect Cranberry Festive Lager to be a merry and bright shade of red? I dunno. But this marmalade-y orange colour and the underlying golden highlights look just fine. If we're being honest, however, I could have used more foam; bubbles stick like glue to the glass but fail to materialize into the snow bank-like head that would be most appropriate.
Cranberry is just as absent on the nose as in the appearance; it's the toasted bread and caramel nuances of the malt that are noticed first. Perhaps it's better that way, although if I'm not mistaken a lot of that buttery character is in fact diacetyl, likely an unintended brewing defect.
Cranberry Festive Lager tastes like neither cranberry nor a lager. The sweetish, toffee-like maltiness is more suited to ales and the presence of secondary fruity esters (plums, raisins, apple, but not cranberries) is definitely a faux-pas for lagers; this doesn't fit any of the usual "smooth, crisp, quenching" descriptors. Besides, there's little presence of those tart, puckering red berries...
Except in the finish, which offers a small and short glimpse of the puckering, dry sensation of cranberry juice. But this short-lived tartness doesn't justify the butter-tinged and overall bland flavour exhibited before it. Why not add some earthy hops to enhance the bitterness? No one expects a fruit-flavoured lager to have depth but this one makes a kiddie-pool seem deep.
Railway City's Cranberry Festive Lager is proverbial coal in the stocking. It's rare that this brewery release anything worthwhile so while I'm not surprised by this lackluster effort, I'm still disappointed by it. Christmas is arguably the most special time of year and only the naughtiest on the naughty list deserve this insipid, uninspired seasonal. Definitely re-gift if given.
Jan 25, 2015Cranberry is just as absent on the nose as in the appearance; it's the toasted bread and caramel nuances of the malt that are noticed first. Perhaps it's better that way, although if I'm not mistaken a lot of that buttery character is in fact diacetyl, likely an unintended brewing defect.
Cranberry Festive Lager tastes like neither cranberry nor a lager. The sweetish, toffee-like maltiness is more suited to ales and the presence of secondary fruity esters (plums, raisins, apple, but not cranberries) is definitely a faux-pas for lagers; this doesn't fit any of the usual "smooth, crisp, quenching" descriptors. Besides, there's little presence of those tart, puckering red berries...
Except in the finish, which offers a small and short glimpse of the puckering, dry sensation of cranberry juice. But this short-lived tartness doesn't justify the butter-tinged and overall bland flavour exhibited before it. Why not add some earthy hops to enhance the bitterness? No one expects a fruit-flavoured lager to have depth but this one makes a kiddie-pool seem deep.
Railway City's Cranberry Festive Lager is proverbial coal in the stocking. It's rare that this brewery release anything worthwhile so while I'm not surprised by this lackluster effort, I'm still disappointed by it. Christmas is arguably the most special time of year and only the naughtiest on the naughty list deserve this insipid, uninspired seasonal. Definitely re-gift if given.
Reviewed by TheHammer from Canada (ON)
3.17/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 2.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.75
3.17/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 2.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.75
Appearance: A hazy amber colour in the body that turns red as light strikes it produced a mere finger of head after an aggressive pour that did not lace or retain. The carbonation looks slow and steady.
Smell: Yup...that's Cranberry juice alright, although milder then the juice itself, as expected. Barest notes of strawy malt can be sniffed out from behind the cranberry curtain. Pretty much smells as advertised, although milder then expected. Warming helped it's case out somewhat.
Taste: Starts with heavy straw and barley lager taste, that then turns to a sour note of cranberries with a slight metallic snap at the end. Nothing more complex then that, and this is what is called, as advertised. It doesn't exactly wow me, but it is both equal points cranberry and lager...so yeah.
Mouthfeel: The carbonation is very lacking, and the cranberries quickly disappear leaving only a mild metallic aftertaste with a bit of a dry note that leaves something to be desired. Transitions well enough, but only between lager malt and cranberry juice, so not sure how much credit I can put into that.
Drinkability: The beer is light bodied and mild. A guess the sour note of the cranberries makes for a something different I guess? The dry note in the aftertaste doesn't seem to help as things progress. I dunno...
Final Thoughts: I'm suddenly reminded of an old Dennis Leary skit about Cranberry Ale and Cranberries and Beer not going together (One's for bladder infections, one's for getting DRUNK!). Having had this, I tend to agree. I mean, it's got a sour note, which is sorta different...but really the cranberry here stands out far more then the brief flashes of generic lager I'm getting here. I'm left thinking apart from it being a holiday gimmick, why would I want to keep drinking this when I could just put some vodka in some cranberry juice and not deal with some boring lager notes? It's kinda hard for me to completely throw it under the bus, since it is very much as advertised. It just plays it's role to a fault I suppose.
Dec 29, 2014Smell: Yup...that's Cranberry juice alright, although milder then the juice itself, as expected. Barest notes of strawy malt can be sniffed out from behind the cranberry curtain. Pretty much smells as advertised, although milder then expected. Warming helped it's case out somewhat.
Taste: Starts with heavy straw and barley lager taste, that then turns to a sour note of cranberries with a slight metallic snap at the end. Nothing more complex then that, and this is what is called, as advertised. It doesn't exactly wow me, but it is both equal points cranberry and lager...so yeah.
Mouthfeel: The carbonation is very lacking, and the cranberries quickly disappear leaving only a mild metallic aftertaste with a bit of a dry note that leaves something to be desired. Transitions well enough, but only between lager malt and cranberry juice, so not sure how much credit I can put into that.
Drinkability: The beer is light bodied and mild. A guess the sour note of the cranberries makes for a something different I guess? The dry note in the aftertaste doesn't seem to help as things progress. I dunno...
Final Thoughts: I'm suddenly reminded of an old Dennis Leary skit about Cranberry Ale and Cranberries and Beer not going together (One's for bladder infections, one's for getting DRUNK!). Having had this, I tend to agree. I mean, it's got a sour note, which is sorta different...but really the cranberry here stands out far more then the brief flashes of generic lager I'm getting here. I'm left thinking apart from it being a holiday gimmick, why would I want to keep drinking this when I could just put some vodka in some cranberry juice and not deal with some boring lager notes? It's kinda hard for me to completely throw it under the bus, since it is very much as advertised. It just plays it's role to a fault I suppose.
Reviewed by TerryW from Canada (ON)
2.93/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
2.93/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
Ruddy amber coloured brew under a moderate head that settles to a cap, some lace as you go.
Quite understated after that. Nose is grainy with a hint of fruit and yeast. Somewhat drying to drink, slightly metallic. Even though the cranberry flavour is subdued, that's what dominates the brew. Reminds me of a raspberry wheat in character. Very thin-bodied.
Washed out. Uninspired. Brittle. Just not too much fun at all.
Nov 21, 2014Quite understated after that. Nose is grainy with a hint of fruit and yeast. Somewhat drying to drink, slightly metallic. Even though the cranberry flavour is subdued, that's what dominates the brew. Reminds me of a raspberry wheat in character. Very thin-bodied.
Washed out. Uninspired. Brittle. Just not too much fun at all.
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