Beer For Commoners
Off Color Brewing

 

 

A finger of foam rises and fades, not much left after a few sips. Pours bright, then cloudy with the wheat and yeast sediment.

Estery Belgian yeast aroma, mildly fruity, softly wheaty from the Einkorn wheat & wheat malt.

Fruity and wheaty taste, dried citrus, jackfruit, apricot, and coriander. Feels like a cousin to Witbier. Light bodied, supple feel, light carb. Overall pretty easy drinking, well suited to summertime barbecues.

Off Color #138

Canned July 2023; drank 9/4/23 @ the Yarchives.

Semi-opaque orange/yellow appearance.

A violent pour yielded a HUGE, noisy off-white head; almost no lacing remained.

Sweet corn, raw wheat, faint cherry & cereal grain notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Raw wheat, white wine & sweet corn flavors.

Earthy & enjoyable. Not one I'd want everyday but it's a nice change of pace.

Thanks to FBarber for this one. Sent in NBS BIF #17.
Foam trying to escape right off the bat. I barely popped that tab and the foam was pushing its way out. Poured gently and still got nearly 4 fingers worth. But the liquid is beautiful. Amber tinged gold. A really vibrant color. And that white, fluffy foam settled down just a bit after a few minutes. Solid retention. Moderate, clumpy lacing.
The nose asserts wheaty grain, grass, some floral lemon, and a mild herbal spice. Basically, noble hops. But a nice firm aroma for such a "small beer."
The taste is not exactly "light." Again, more than I expect from the descriptor. For a last running of the mash, wow I am impressed. The grain is bready enough, and the mix of sweet with citrus and herbal notes does not let this daisy stand on the side of the dance floor.
Mouthfeel is light, almost crisp, and slightly dry on the finish. Well carbonated.
Overall, I am quite impressed with this.

This is made from the second runnings of Beer for Kings, a wheatwine that I intend to open later tonight. This is labeled as a light locker here and a small beer on the can, not really sure how to classify this.

Whatever the style, it is really hitting the spot right now. Light and clean with faint, bready sweetness and hints of berry, banana, and lemongrass. Really well done, can't wait to try its Royal predecessor.

 

 

 

Since I added this beer, let me say that choosing "Light Lager" style is not a happy choice... nor one I will defend. For guidance, I went to UnTappd who styled "Commoners" as a "Historical Beer." (No thanks for the help.) Next, I decided to try to analyze this style myself; but that also is un-helpful since OCB busts-up styles often. (I know them well.) OCB also has what I call a Low-Cal Line and "Commoners" is part of that strategy. And with "Commoners", OCB is reviving the Small Beer category (made famous by Anchor) and expanding quickly OCB's Serf Style as a characteristic of that Low-Cal Line.

Commoners is the second running from a malt bill in which the first created Beer For Kings (a Wheatwine with different hops.) Clever economy. Then, look at the mice on the cans and we see how absolutely hysterical is OCB's humor. (Unfortunately, OCB's funniness also is closer to true-to-life than enough of us admit.) Add all this up and note that OCB is my favorite brewer on the planet, all this helps explain my ridiculous 4.75 Overall Rating.

So in this situational styling, I feign transcendence. "Commoners" is fruity like an ale and light like a Light Lager. ... but wheat probably is a majority of the malt bill. Yet, "Commoners" is good with food (I just had it with my world-famous soup.) Also, it is sessionable. So, I will test this table ale more fully since I just bought a 4-pack from The Mousetrap.

3/23/23 Had a second can with lunch and it made it better. I'm satisfied with talking here about OCB's brewing genius. But if you want more of that yakking, see my review on the prime running, Beer For Kings.