Ginger Brau
Devils Backbone Brewing Company

Review from BA Mag Issue #120 ( Jan 2017 )

Spicy, Balanced, Lasting, Clean
Something as simple as a spiced lager can make your day. This one might be simple to the eye and even to the palate at first, but rest assured there is a lot more to this brew. A perfect use of ginger balances with the modest addition of Centennial and Simcoe hops along with several different malts. Ginger is obviously the star of the show here though, everything else is in play to make sure this brew does not fall flat. Sessionable? Sure, so long as you like ginger. You could use this as a mixer for beer cocktails, too, no doubt. A great alternative to the sugar-filled alcoholic ginger beers. [Jason]

Look 4.00 | Smell 3.75 | Taste 3.75 | Feel 4.75 | Overall 4.00

 

Poured from a can into a glass.

This was a decent lager and a pleasant surprise. The ginger is balanced with a classic lager taste, and it works. Not very complex, but good. It doesn't just smell and taste like ginger, but ginger root. That true sweet-hot ginger essence that you get from a good ginger beer.

 

Pours golden and almost clear, just a light haze. Initial 3 finger head recedes leaving a bit of lacing.

Smell is ginger and light toast with a hint of citrus. Lemony.

Taste of light bitter hops, a bit of sweet malt, and a hint of caramel.

Carbonation on the hot side. Medium bodied. Tries to pucker.

I wasn't that impressed at first, but it grew on me. The beer's not that complex, but it's got great balance. A bit too strong to be sessionable, but it would be a good summer brew.

 

Had in a glass poured from a can. Bought in Richmond, VA.

Look: Dark orange, pleasant
Smell: Ginger, and lots of it. Could be mistaken for ginger beer. Light Lager scent.
Taste: More ginger, but also more balanced than the smell was. Enjoyable and refreshing.
Feel: Light all the way around. Refreshing. Reminds me of fall/winter. The kind of beer I'd want after a day of hiking.

Overall: Might pick another pack up before my store stops carrying it for the season. It's worth trying if you're looking for something light and a tad different. I like the simplicity of the flavor. Not a beer to mull over plucking out complexities, but definitely one to enjoy.

 

 

Draft at the Devil's Backbone Outpost just outside of Lexington, Virginia, 10 June 2016.

Straw color with a white head that leaves some lacing. Nose is dominated by the ginger smell, beneath which there were fairly standard lager aromas. Taste is similar; it is clean, a fairly light lager presentation with the addition of the ginger. In some ways, perhaps unsurprisingly, it's a lot like ginger ale (?) without the sticky sweetness. It's definitely to my palate cleaner and more refreshing to drink. But there could be more complexity in the flavor profile than there is. Thirst quenching, in any case.

Look: dark orange, almost brow, light white head.
Smell: Ginger, couldn't smell much else
Taste: Ginger without the bite, touch of fruit, mellow from the barrel aging
Feel: not too thin - goes well with the flavor and style.
Overall: good beer, though I would like it better if there were more Ginger bite to offset the bit of sweet. I'd be glad to drink again and again.

 

 

 

 

 

Very gingery. Not bad but you better like ginger. Would be good with sushi.