Ploom
Finback Brewery - Glendale

really badass beer, huge thanks to my brother for picking up a bunch of finback cans for us to dip into together, love nothing more than decanting a few with my bro! this is a fun one, wood aged smoked lager with saaz hops, gorgeously well executed, as is to be expected from these guys. brassy almost vienna lager look to it, pretty pale still, but with some malt color, maybe the smoked malt adds some of that, nice frothy white head and lace inside the glass, lots of carbonation activity, pretty good clarity too. the aroma is striking, quite smoke forward, not an accent. i get the wood too, not quite neutral, light vanilla and tannins there, and a trace yeast element, perhaps from its wood time, in addition to the lager yeast, not funky, but like, somehow a little rustic, some balancing malt sweetness, obvious lager yeast, nice minerality and water chemistry apparent, light nuttiness, darn complex! the flavor is woody which is cool with the smoke, the foeder adds a lot to this, defining even, with the smoke of course. chestnut and fruitwood, extinguished campfire, no bitterness or char with the smoke, a german aspect there in the malt, well lagered too, off dry but super clean overall, good yeast character, some saaz bitterness and just quick pop of late herbal freshness, still very autumnal to me. somewhat refreshing to drink oddly, for how complex it is, nice high carbonation, tiny bubble size, almost feels can conditioned. a certain old world appeal to this but also a sort of modern artful approach as well. impressive overall quality, lots of smoke, very good!

 

 

Smoked lager? Of course. Enjoyed this from the tap at the source.
Big bacon nose, just dripping with the smokehouse. Sip follows with a mouthful of meaty goodness. Loved it.

Pours crystal clear amber color with an inch plus of off white, kinda dense foam. Falls to a robust cap that sheets the glass on the sip. Beauty in the glass.

Smell of fairly strong woodsy smoke and toasted malts, no particular hop notes. It seems it has an aroma and appearance that are highly appropriate to the style. Very clean and tidy smell.

Malty smokey goodness - very clear malt layered with a pleasing smokiness. The smoke is certainly noticeable, but it stops well short of any "meaty" character- handled nicely and balanced with the rich malts. There's a pleasant sweetness on the finish and a very mild spiciness that's gotten me thinking some variant of Noble hops were used. Maybe odd to say with a smoked beer but it's a very clean fermentation that's been well-lagered.

The feel is almost medium bodied. Carbonation is moderate as well. The bready sweetness lingers a little as the smoke tapers off. Kind of reminds me of a sweet tobacco cigar, in a way.

Ticking quite a few boxes. Nicely made lager with great balance of malt and smoke flavors. Subtlety in the smoke - I love my BBQ and smoker cooking, but I don't like feeling like I've licked an ashtray. This beer fits comfortably in a sweet spot for me.