Top Shelf NHL Alumni Vienna Lager
Lake of Bays Brewing Company

 

can - pours a copper clear color. some toasty sweet musty tones over light grass tones. Flavor is much like a euro sweet amber lager except near the end of the finish some hops show up and it drys out a little. I’m really getting tired of thee so called craft beers in cans.

 

A darker lager that is highly drinkable and refreshing. The copper color promises some tasty flavour notes. Rated at 15 IBU and 5.5% ABV. Canned from the brewery in Baysville.

 

 

Amber lager poured from a chilled can Feb. 2017. Good looking deep amber body and head. Flavor isn't bad: mild roasted malt balanced with appropriate hoppy bitterness. For me the body is lacking heft This reminds me of a Dos Equis Amber or a Yuengling Traditional Lager, while I would prefer something like Brooklyn Lager.

 

 

Very pale, painfully clear amber orange in colour. A moderate head, immediately to a ring. Some initial lace and then nada.

Not a lot here, I'm afraid. Grassy hoppy nose, sweet malt upfront to taste, and then some more grassy hops. Finishes up slightly bitter and dry. That lingers some. Very thin-bodied. Sorry folks, but just plain uninteresting. A minimalist effort. I don't believe that I'm shaping up as a Lake of Bays fan ...

 

 

 

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Aug 4 2016 and served slightly chilled. If I were challenged to pick the most-neglected and forgotten style in Ontario, Vienna Lager would be very high up in the running - so kudos to Lake of Bays for bothering to brew one.

Pours a clear reddish amber colour, capped off with one finger of creamy, off white-coloured foam. It recedes steadily over the next couple of minutes, leaving behind a thin collar and a few wisps on the surface. No lace; looks like an average amber lager. Unmistakable notes of Vienna & crystal malts on the nose; caramel and toffee sweetness, with bready notes of muffin, plum, cocktail cherry and toasted nuts overlying some light weedy hops. The aroma is not overly sweet, nor particularly interesting.

Not a bad effort. More toffee and caramelized sugar sweetness, which remain a constant fixture throughout the entirety of the sip. Toasted bread and nuts come through, along with suggestions of cherry and biscuit. Grassy, earthy hops on the back end, with nutty sweetness fading gradually into the moderately persistent aftertaste. Light-medium in body, with restrained carbonation that produces a slightly crisp bite; overall, the texture is smooth and the drinkability is respectable. Not a memorable beer, but something most BAs could probably finish without too much grumbling.

Final Grade: 3.51, a B grade. Top Shelf Vienna Lager is a decent example of the style. Speaking as someone who is not very big on amber lagers, I found this to be decent, but not something I'd pick up regularly in the future, or recommend with much enthusiasm. It's more balanced and subtle than their Spark House Red, and certainly a more interesting product than the pre-existing Top Shelf Classic Lager, but not distinctly better or worse than either of those offerings. Recommended to fans of malt-forward ambers.

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