Mustang Winter Lager
Mustang Brewing Company

Poured from a 12 oz brown bottle into a Samuel Adams Perfect Pint glass. No freshness date. Received as part of Beer of the Month Club furnished by little sister Tami.

A: Burnished dark chestnut brown with almost 2-finger beige head with decent retention and a few spots of lace.

S: Big molasses aroma with some dark fruity malt notes -- fig and raisin. No spice note which is welcome. Mild caramel sweetness. Hops are not really all that perceptible, maybe some earthy, herbal character but vague.

T: Pretty good flavor, is definitely not an amber lager anymore, more like a dunkel. Sweet slightly burned caramel combined pleasantly with molasses and some light roasty flavors. The dark fruit character comes through more in the flavor as well with fig, plum, and raisin all in there. A little bit sweeter and fruitier than I would like in a lager, but still enjoyable. Hopping is background with light bitterness. No perceptible alcohol. No yeast character unless some of the fruitiness is coming from esters.

M: Smooth and silky with lower than average carbonation even for a dark lager which works well with the bigger body and sweeter profile.

O: Not too bad but it could be a bit cleaner with a little bit less sweetness and fruitiness. A pretty nice beer from Mustang, and it should not be mistaken with what must be a formerly pretty pedestrian amber lager in previous years.

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a damn near black color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of roasted malts, dark fruits. Taste is raisins, malts, dark fruits, a touch on the sweet side. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall, not what I really expect from this style, but a tasty and enjoyable beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours out to a thin head and light brown color. Aroma is malty, brown-sugar, blackstrap molasses, red-wine and toast-roast. Flavor is more of the same toast and roast along with a bittersweet combo of hops and sweet malt. Mouthfeel is light-medium and low CO2. Overall a tasty, easy to quaff dunkel.

Got this in a craft beer of the month club. Was pleasantly surprised by this one. Sort of like a porter but not as harsh. Light on the spices as other reviewers have noted, but I could see myself enjoying this by the fireplace (if I had one!) I wouldn't aggressively try to seek this one out, but since it came to me, I was glad to have tried it. Nothing really against it, but nothing to put it on the top of the list either. Won't mind having another, so I guess that counts for something. Not a bad brew from Mustang at all.

 

 

Dark brown in color, this lager offers a slight head of tan- colored foam and a nose that emphasizes malt and toffee. The foam doesn’t last long and there is no lacing left behind- your glass is clean as a whistle as you drink.

This lager has a smooth flavor profile and a taste that includes light roasted notes, molasses, toffee, and caramel. Some bready notes come through with each passing sip and the hops offer an ever-so-slight attempt to balance the taste, but it remains sweet overall.

This beer isn’t like most winter seasonals; that is, it doesn’t emphasize spices like so many winter brews do. It is smooth and easy drinking, but it would be a little better with a more aggressive carbonation and a little more body. Otherwise, it’s a decent session lager than most will find okay and definitely inoffensive.

Bottle from my first Beer of the Every Other Month Club shipment, poured into a dimpled mug.

A -- Very, very dark, but not black. Thin head with little retention.

N -- Smells very sweet, like roasted vegetables.

T -- Quite good. Very sweet. Malty and roasty. They use molasses in the brew and you can really tell.

M -- Super smooth. Not much carbonation to speak of.

O -- I really enjoyed this quite a bit. It's very different. Not really to style (brewery actually lists it as a winter warmer). For my first beer from OKC, I am impressed.

Cheers.

EDIT: I think there's a "new" winter lager by this company, which is what I reviewed. This listing is for the "old" winter lager, which is not "Mustang 66 American Lager," which I have not reviewed yet.