Steel Beach
Mike Hess Brewing - Miramar

Drank straight from 12 oz can; no birth date. Drinks easy with great malt taste forward - slight biscuits and crackers - with a sublte hop backing. Very refreshing and well done. Solid.

 

Poured from a 12oz can into a pint glass. It has a beautiful golden color, with a white head that dissipates quickly.
It has a tart, citrusy aroma.
The taste is a combination of sweet, tart and bitter with some floral hoppiness. It finishes with some astringency, leaving my tongue feeling dry.
The mouthfeel is light and crisp, which is perfect for the style.
Overall this is definitely a drinkable beer (I would compare it to a Blonde Ale), just not what I expected from a lager. There is too much sweetness and the hops are too pronounced. I expect a lager to be dry with more bread and yeast in both aroma and flavor. The hops should lend just enough bitterness to offset sweetness and should not be as pronounced as they are.
I'm a huge fan of Mike Hess Brewing, and this is a nice drinkable beer, it's just not what I expected for the style.

From the Imperial Beach Mike Hess Beergarten, on tap.
It's a Pilsner. If you are expecting the complex taste of an IPA, you will be bummed. If you like Lagers and Pilsners, this is a pretty good one. Not much foam on the top, but clean and crisp with a bit of a bite, just as it should be. Great after a hot day working in the field or lazing on the beach.

If Raul was on the USS Samuel Fuller and he popped one of these things, he definitely wouldn’t write his mama about it. No sir. Your boy wasn’t expecting greatness, but how about somewhat ok? This one is pretty much an AAL. No way is this a “The Caine Mutiny” beer. I’m thinking more “Mister Roberts” (which Raul has no desire to see again).

Peace!

Not much to say. Musty. Bland. Forgettable.
I can't say the can is enough of a gimmick to try this again, and there's certainly far better light lagers for the price out there. Pass.

 

Type: 12-oz. can
Glass: Clear 15.25-oz. pilsner
From: Trader Joe’s in La Mesa, Calif.
Price: $1.34
Purchased: July 12, 2018
Consumed: July 13, 2018
Reviewed as: American Pale Lager
Misc.: Canned on June 28, 2018

Had been trying more and more Mike Hess lately. Not that I was growing fond of it, but I was respecting it more than I had in the past. Picked this one up at Trader Joe’s after seeing it for the first time. Can reads, “Steel Beach is a crisp, light-bodied, and refreshing lager named for the Uncle Sam-sponsored beer-days aboard Navy vessels. Steel Beach is what a craft lager is all about: Pilsner malt, American hops, and lager yeast; best enjoyed at the end of a long shift or a well-deserved day off.”

Poured a straw-to-pale clear color with six fingers of rocky white head. Lots of fast-moving bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass. Excellent uneven foamy lacing. Perfect foamy retention. (Sight - 4.75)

Smelled corn, pilsner malt, white bread, hay, wheat grass, Corn Pops, Cheerios and raw grain. Got hops from the can, but couldn’t distinguish which ones. Also corn cereal and pilsner malt from the can. (Smell - 4.00)

First thought on the taste was clean and crisp. Got pilsner malt, white bread, Cheerios, corn, hay, wheat, grass, raw grain and Noble hops. (Taste - 4.00)

Light body. Creamy texture. Soft carbonation. Clean, crisp finish. (Feel - 4.25)

Just a really good lager overall. Will probably be having more of this later on this summer. (Overall - 4.00)

4.07 | 91 | A-

 

They should have called this "GIlvus" for the pale yellow color. Clear golden brew with long-lasting white foam in the Jewbelation 15 glass. Crisp mouthfeel, vey light, and pleasantly spritzy as you'd hope in something so faint. The PIlsner malt it actually a pleasant grainy note you can taste. Aroma is corn and grain.

Classic "beery" taste of the light lagers we grew up with. Just a faint hoppy note but it adds some pleasure to the lite experience. Some resiny and leafy hop hints. From the 12 oz can purchased at Barons on West Point Loma.