Lager
Grebbestad Bryggeri

 

A clear straw (SRM 5) colored beer sits my slim 30cl glass. A bone white head averaging just above a finger on top of this. Modest to no foam curtains.

Smell Malty sweet goodness with freshly baked light wheat rolls, cereal especially that of oats, as well as traces of sun-dried hay and grass, but slightly wet like when storing it in a barn over the winter. Draws a lot of meadow like notes all-in- all.

Taste A somewhat dextrose sweetened lager, a fact that helps carry the taste on for miles and miles beyond perhaps your run-of-the-mill lager. The sugar also gives way to a smoother than usual taste. The taste is full of freshly baked loafs of bread, additionally it’s a bit like chewing on a mouthful of oats, hay and grass. There’s a brief but pronounced bitterness. Through out the taste there’s a tinge bordering on the sweet and bitter flavors that I frustratingly enough can’t manage to pin point.

Mouthfeel Light/thin body, sweet and fresh carbonation (is not really felt on tongue or palate), although a thin body the sugary sweetness does gives the liquid a rounder feel than your average pale lager.

In conclusion Although Grebbestad is a microbrewery this lager has very much the characteristics of a typical big brewery brew. There was a rumor saying that some of Grebbestad’s beers are brewed at macro brewery Åbro’s facilities. No wonder why…

Anyways this a just a tick above than your middle-of-the-road lager and hopefully you’ll enjoy on a hot summer day in the archipelago of Bohuslän where it originates from.

Grebbestad Lager, ABV: 5.0%.
330 ml bottle, 14.90 SEK at Systembolaget.

A: A clear golden liquid, and a small white head which leaves little lacing.

S: Here are fruity hops and grainy malt - mild notes of mandarin, herbs, bread, and only the slightest hint of syrup. It's actually rather pleasant.

T: Oh, yes, hops, mandarin and hard rye bread - just like the monopoly tells me - and perhaps some butter as well. Not bad at all. Medium bitterness.

M: A little bit sticky. The body is medium.

O: This is a pretty nice lager. It's not too heavy - not too light - but not crisp enough for easy-drinking. For me this is an evening relaxation beer - matched nicely with my evening sandwich. Good Evening!

The beer is clear and golden, a white head that leaves a fine lacing.

The smell is most in the malty area, sweet white bread, some acidity, green apples.

The taste is sweet, bread and biscuits, a mild bitterness that lingers for a while.

Medium carbonation, rather soft and easy to drink, a nice dry finish.

A rather good pale lager, not too sweet.

A: This beer pours golden with a white head with pretty large bubbles. It sets rather fast and leaves faint lacings.

S: Nice and clean, an Euro Lager when it's as it should be. Clean malty notes, with some faint citrus and a dry bitter hoppyness. Snells refreshing.

T: Bready malty notes (although a bit to sweet), very refreshing and some faint floral hops.

M: Rather short aftertaste, faint bitter. Medium and creamy body, small bubbles in the rich carbonation.

D: A medium swedish lager, better than those from the larger breweries but not as good as the best from competing microbreweries. I wont go across town to find this one, but I defintely drink it again if I was offered one.

The colour is gold; the liquid is clear. The high foam is off white and airy. It sinks slowly into a two finger head leaving minimal lacing.

The smell is fresh and dry with some sweetness and a fine hoppy scent of minerals, fresh bread, grass and green tea.

The taste got the same flavours as the smell: Bread and green tea, quite a lot of sweet notes and slight flavours of earth, and wet grass/wet dog. The aftertaste got a very modest bitterness, some flowery notes, hints of yeast and cooked meat. Grass in the finish.

The carbonation is medium; the bubbles small. The liquid is smooth.

In fact, this brew (especially the notes of grass and metal) reminds me a lot of another pale lager of another Swedish microbrewery, but I cannot point out which one right now. Anyway, this lager isn't as clean as I want it to be.