White Tea Lager
Breakside Brewery - SE Taproom

no surprise this is awesome, breakside rules, and this is such a cool beer for spring and summer, im going to drink the heck out of it if i can find it in package. its a simple lager at its core, light, clean, blonde, clear, and well carbonated, dry and without a ton of european character from the malt or the yeast, so its bright and easy. the white tea element is subtle but its enough to be defining here, all on the back end, climax on the swallow, its floral and delicate, blooming and fresh, verdant and exciting, without being bitter or dominant, it almost kind of fills in for unique old world hops, like this could be a dry hop or something, even though its still obviously tea, its not really a flavored beer as such, even though it is, if that makes sense. there is just a bit of bready lager yeast in it, there is an elderflower note, light lime citrus too, very low bitterness, and a simple cereal base that is really all thats needed. big bubbles and lots of them, light in body but not watery or lacking, and its refreshing even when its warmed up a little, the tea is so pure and invigorating. i love the balance, the subtlety, and both the recipe and execution. really hope they canned it, but have not yet seen it. a lovely infusion of the tea into a quality base beer built for volume drinking. they absolutely nailed this!

Look: Clear goldenrod with a silky white head that forms and settles to a lid, leaving decent lacing behind

Aroma: Floral hops, soda crackers, white tea, pilsner malt, light herbal notes, biscuits, and a flower-nectar-like sweet note

Taste: Opens up with any and everything tea – tea leaves, dried loose leaf white tea, herbal notes, and light grassy notes, and quickly expands on that with increasing depth. Light floral notes, soda crackers, and biscuits assert more in the middle and closes with more white tea notes

Mouthfeel: Light but not watery, clean, medium-high carbonation, and clean and crisp on the finish

Overall: I dig it. This is a very interesting beer and one I couldn’t pass up trying, especially from these folks. The white tea and tea overall are very prominent but incorporate to the overall lager nicely and it all comes together to make a tasty and unique beer. Definitely worth my purchase and seeking out to try as well