The Hills Are Alive
Stickman Brews

A nice clean lager for a hot summer day. Somewhat sweet with a light wheat flavor up front and some hay on the finish. Exactly what I was hoping for when I picked up the 4 pack

I will be the first (or seCANd, as appropriate) to cop to the fact that I was not a huge fan of Stickman Brews' haziness during my initial run-through, but while visiting Rieker Bottle Works recently, I came across this one. It is a) a CAN for The CANQuest (tm) & b) a Lager so I am once again hopeful.

From the CAN: "The Hills Are Alive Helles Lager"; "It's a Stickman, just drink it."

The label (& the name) put me in mind of "The Hills Have Eyes" as Julie Stickandrews belted out CANother cloyingly sweet tune as at least one of the hills looked on in cross-eyed anger and another offered her his stein full of bier to stop her incessant singing. I felt their pain, having watched the movie repeatedly with my late maternal grandmother, who adored it. 8=p

I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN a very slow, gentle C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass. I was CANxious to see what might appear, given the brewery's hazy history with me. I was pleasantly surprised (?) to witness clarity as I CANtinued to empty the aluminum cylinder so I gradually tapered off & stopped altogether. I had a brief finger of fizzy, foamy, rocky, bone-white head that quickly dissipated into mere wisps. 8=( Color was a gorgeous solid-Gold (SRM = 5) with 24-carat NE-quality clarity, calling forth The Gelt Gang of Midas, Mammon & Croesus for a taste. Nose had the kind of clean bready maltiness that stands as a reminder of what Pre-Pro Lagers were like. I CAN get behind this sort of thing, especially after the early days of The CANQuest (tm), when AALs & AMLs were the CANmon entries. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, about on-par for a Lager. The taste was lightly sweet, fairly bready & evocative of an unadulterated German Lager.

I had a relative who was a German immigrant & I CAN remember him railing against AALs, especially Bud. I now understCANd his ire. The taste of a clean Lager, sans adjuncts (especially corn), is an exbeerience all its own. The German influence here in PA is what has allowed our brewers to lead the way in the production of Lagers, now even at the microbrew level. This was the kind of beer that you want in the cooler on a hot, humid Summer's day, perhaps at the beach, but for me, on the porch with a bag of handmade pretzels.

This was a darn good beer, but not in the usual AmeriCAN beat-you-over-the-head-with-hops way. Instead, this was a simple, yet not simply made, Lager with no frills and a very pleasant, slightly-sweetish bready taste. The malt was the star of this show & even it was understated. It came off as a nice interlude. Finish was semi-sweet on the absolute cusp of semi-dry. Just a bit longer in the tanks & it might be semi-dry. What a feat from a brewery of which I was previously un-enamored. YMMV.

Th beer is a golen-straw color with decent haze and a good head. The thick malt chatracteristic comes through on the head as well as a little bit of good funk. When tasted, the taste build and builds slowly to form a nice maltiness with good fermentation by produccts. It is like a delicious sourdough bread without the sourness. The mouthfeel is thick and foamy. It is a really terrific part of this beer.

 

16 oz can

clear, dark yellow in color, foamy white head that fades. mild aroma - grainy malt. taste is bready pale malt, slightly sweet. longer finish. I'd prefer a little drier. not really any hops or underlying bitterness. fuller bodied for a pale lager