American Darling
Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project

American DarlingAmerican Darling
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
German Pilsner
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.92 | pDev: 10.71%
Reviews:
147
Ratings:
303
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 09, 2016
Added:
Jul 17, 2009
Wants:
  44
Gots:
  31
Our 2015 American Darling is decoction brewed, unfiltered German style lager.

If you’re looking for a reason to try Pretty Things this summer, we hope a well-stated 5.5% pale lager might be a good bet. This beer bears our usual stamp of authenticity-at-the-expense-of-convenience, so here is a decoction lager brewed with German malt and hops, and fermented at cool temperatures with German lager yeast for over 6 weeks.

This time we were looking to make the un-lawnmower beer (with an emphasis on the “UN”). Just how do we go about doing that? Well, we start with some of the world’s greatest pilsner malt from Weyermann in Bamberg, Germany. There’s no rice and corn in our darling either – just the best barley malted for this purpose in the world. What else? We use a decoction brewing method: this comes from old German brewhouses, where temperature control was not possible, so a portion of the mash is removed, brought to boiling temperature and then re-mixed with the rest of the mash. This is a whole lot of work, but we think it’s worth it because it gives a whole lot of authentic Germanic flavour! All of the hops used in American Darling come from the Hallertau hop region of Germany. Finally, fermentation uses a blend of two of Europe’s great lager yeasts, with low temperature fermentation and lagering, over six weeks.

Put it in your coolers, your picnic baskets… your saddlebags. Take it to family reunions and pie-eating contests, parades, beaches, fancy mustache conventions, hot dog factory tours, monorail excursions, secret basement lairs… wherever good summertime fun happens!

Then fire up the grill, not just once – how about every day?! Get out the horse shoes, kick up your feet and forget that oily red jalopy out back even has a purpose. Stop mowing, start having fun times! Cheers to summer!

45 IBU
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Brutaltruth
Reviewed by Brutaltruth from Ohio

3.69/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Enjoyed from the 22 oz bomber in a snifter. This casual "lager" pours a lightly hazy yellowish amber with a nice head of white foam that settles to a thin layer, thin ring, and nice lacing. Nose of light breaded malts, subtle hops, sweet honey, and standard lager yeast funk. Flavors follow the nose with sweet honey touched malts awash in breaded malts that fade in the back to a heavy grain note with moderately bittering hops. A solid sipper from a good brewery. Bitter finish, good carbonated mouth feel.
Shame they are now closed. Wish the owners the best on the next endeavors.

Cheers
Jan 09, 2016
Photo of utopiajane
Reviewed by utopiajane from New York

2.95/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
This is an unfiltered beer that came to my shop now after the brewery is closed? It's also a summer seasonal and has no date on the bottle. ||Pours a healthy amber color with a too rich head of foam that lasted too long and fell to a big clump. The scent is good and the beer does not smell like hops. It smells breaddy and a bit rich. taste is terrible like nuts that have gone bad or grain that has spoiled. It's sour and sharp. It is breaddy and because the malt is decocted it is thick and drinks a lot like peanut butter.. It has good flavor though. bread and a bit of spice form hops. hops are clean and give a perfect bitterness The My first glimpse of this brewery showed me a horrendous beer that could have tasted a lot better if it were fresh.
Dec 21, 2015
 
Rated: 4.09 by Hootie159 from Massachusetts

Dec 18, 2015
Photo of DovGibor
Reviewed by DovGibor from New York

4.18/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
June 2015 bottled poured into a tulip glass. Dark straw in color with mild cloudiness. Minimal head, but lingering ring of bubbles.

Aroma is strong malt. Very sweet, lightly biscuity malt. Taste is clear malt. Literally like chewing on malted barley; similar to unfermented wort even in flavor. Mild hop bitterness in the background to balance the malt. The bitterness is clear, though not overwhelming by any means. Clean finish. Not as crisp as pilsners I've had from Germany, but better than other equally rich American versions.

Much maltier than I expected. Not my favorite, but an enjoyable beer.
Dec 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by mattycasey from Massachusetts

Dec 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by Patches826 from Massachusetts

Dec 02, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by shigg85 from Japan

Nov 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.74 by rorjets from Connecticut

Nov 10, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by 2GOOFY from California

Sep 20, 2015
 
Rated: 4.63 by LaneMeyer from California

Sep 06, 2015
 
Rated: 3.37 by NorseKaiser from New York

Sep 05, 2015
Photo of Huhzubendah
Reviewed by Huhzubendah from District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle shared by Michael T. Thanks man!

Light golden, clear body with small white collar. Lager yeast, malt. Medium high bitterness. Hops, a touch of honey sweetness, finishing dry. Good stuff.
Aug 29, 2015
Photo of tempest
Reviewed by tempest from New York

4.28/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Shared a fresh bomber with myself. I was expecting a clean, balanced well-made lager, but this was way beyond that. Blew my mind a little. The decoction mash creates a big caramel malt flavor over milder toasty, bready malt. Meanwhile, big spicy hops roll through for a dry, bitter finish. Much hoppier than most pilsners. Clearly no lawnmower beer. Damn, what a lager.
Aug 17, 2015
 
Rated: 3.82 by Prost76 from New Hampshire

Aug 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by waiting4lunch from Massachusetts

Jul 23, 2015
 
Rated: 4.04 by AnitaBrewski from Massachusetts

Jul 23, 2015
 
Rated: 3.94 by JohnofUpton from Massachusetts

Jul 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.59 by greenspointexas from Texas

Jun 17, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by ArkyVaughan from New Jersey

May 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3.67 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Mar 29, 2015
American Darling from Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 303 ratings