Casa Azul
El Segundo Brewing Company

My favorite example of this style.
Extremely well done.
Perfectly balanced.

 

wow, this beer is good. i didnt exoect a very good lager when i picked this up, but when american breweries put out traditional style lagers, ill gladly give them a shot. needing to get the horrible taste of chocolate and coffee mixed with wheat and orange peel out of my mouth, i cracked this supposedly retired and unassuming vienna styled lager open. direct pour ibto pilsner urquell 500 ml mug appearance is very amber, 4 to 5 finger head that sticks around. yikes, this beer is insanely refreshing. melon like sweetness mixed with a clean biscuit malt backbone. this beer is everything a good vienna should ne. but the melon sweetness gives it a unique profile to pride itself on. a good american take on a historically popular style of highly drinkable beer.

 

What a great brew, easy drinking and pleasant for Day Time. Drank a ES Brew pub in theater then Straight to pint glass. Malty and balanced with a sight hoppy tail. A sight smoky nose probably due to Malt toast. Light enough to drink a bunch. Had a second time with food and a perfect complement to BBQ.

 

 

 

 

On tap at Field Of Drafts held at The Hanger in Lancaster, CA.

Pours a clear orange with a foamy bone head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Tiny dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of toasted malt, caramel, and bread aromas. Taste is much the same with malt and caramel flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of toasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with a solid flavor but the smell is slightly better in my opinion.

On tap at Monkey Paw. Clear coppery amber in the pint shaker, without the faintest wisp of a head. It's not quite as flat in the mouth as it looks. Quite crisp and even a little tart. Very modestly malt-infused. There is a sharp winey sort of flavor that seems to have something to do with the hops. It's like grape skins and pomegranate pith.

The bitterness seems to grow as you sip. A slight sweetness on the lips with every sip, and the bitter aftertaste, is what passes for balance. This is a peculiar raw and out of kilter concoction.

 

 

Poured from a growler into perfect pint glass. Listed as Amber Mexican Lager per El Segundo. Dunno. Smells and tastes like a vienna lager. Amber in color with 1/2 finger head. Smells of malt, caramel, light floral hops. Taste is much the same. Lots of little creamy bubbles on the tongue. Perfect sessionable beer with great flavor.