Focus (Czech Saaz / German Vienna)
Beyond the Pale Brewing Company
- From:
- Beyond the Pale Brewing Company
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- American Pale Ale
- ABV:
- 5%
- Score:
- +9 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4 | pDev: 0%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jul 23, 2019
- Added:
- Jul 23, 2019
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by TheHammer from Canada (ON)
4/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Two fingers of head that made some minor lace and retained adequately on top of a brassy gold body with steady carbonation.
Smell: Caramel and biscuit malt with a dose of Saaz hops, which given the beer openly has on the side of it's can one hop (Czech Saaz) and one Malt (German Vienna) doesn't exactly surprise. All around solid and good potency on this one. The downside though of keeping it basic is this is as far as we can go, as a bouquet it is not.
Taste: Tastes like a milder pilsner, that half biscuit and caramel malt starts us off and then turns to a crisp splash of hops. It's very well done, but once again the risk of keeping things so simple and basic is that it's not exactly the most exciting drinker.
Mouthfeel: The carbonation isn't quite as aggressive as I would like it, as that is what I suspect is what is making it come across as a bit too mild, as opposed to a pilsner, where you would get a bit more of that crispness. It's carries a bit thicker a body which is giving it an ale quality as far as making it a bit more hearty a drink. The transistioning is solid, but once again basic.
Drinkability: As stated it's medium bodied, which for an ale is just where it needs to be. The issue is the pilsner like elements keep throwing me off on this one. Refreshing for sure, and settles down well and it's a great example of how keeping things simple works. That all said, a bit of an identity crisis going on here.
Final Thoughts: I like to think the intention here was to showcase, this is what happens when you take an basic but well made Vienna lager or a Pilsner and you make it an ale instead of a lager. It's heavier, less carbonated and not quite as crisp then a lager, but that allows it to be milder, with the hops reigned it and the malt given a better profile. The issue I keep having is what is this beer's style? There's so many elements you typically associate with lager that part of you wants to say this is a bit of a miss as a lager, but when you consider it's an ale you are left wondering, why didn't you make this a lager. This beer is eye crossing, but fundamentally as either style one truth comes out. This beer is fundamentally basic and not world shattering, but it's exceptional balance and production is clear and makes for a solid offering.
Jul 23, 2019Smell: Caramel and biscuit malt with a dose of Saaz hops, which given the beer openly has on the side of it's can one hop (Czech Saaz) and one Malt (German Vienna) doesn't exactly surprise. All around solid and good potency on this one. The downside though of keeping it basic is this is as far as we can go, as a bouquet it is not.
Taste: Tastes like a milder pilsner, that half biscuit and caramel malt starts us off and then turns to a crisp splash of hops. It's very well done, but once again the risk of keeping things so simple and basic is that it's not exactly the most exciting drinker.
Mouthfeel: The carbonation isn't quite as aggressive as I would like it, as that is what I suspect is what is making it come across as a bit too mild, as opposed to a pilsner, where you would get a bit more of that crispness. It's carries a bit thicker a body which is giving it an ale quality as far as making it a bit more hearty a drink. The transistioning is solid, but once again basic.
Drinkability: As stated it's medium bodied, which for an ale is just where it needs to be. The issue is the pilsner like elements keep throwing me off on this one. Refreshing for sure, and settles down well and it's a great example of how keeping things simple works. That all said, a bit of an identity crisis going on here.
Final Thoughts: I like to think the intention here was to showcase, this is what happens when you take an basic but well made Vienna lager or a Pilsner and you make it an ale instead of a lager. It's heavier, less carbonated and not quite as crisp then a lager, but that allows it to be milder, with the hops reigned it and the malt given a better profile. The issue I keep having is what is this beer's style? There's so many elements you typically associate with lager that part of you wants to say this is a bit of a miss as a lager, but when you consider it's an ale you are left wondering, why didn't you make this a lager. This beer is eye crossing, but fundamentally as either style one truth comes out. This beer is fundamentally basic and not world shattering, but it's exceptional balance and production is clear and makes for a solid offering.
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