The Raven Special Lager
B.W. Beer Works USA

Draught pint at the Pratt Street Ale House here in Baltimore: clear gold body, not much head, lots of bubbles; faint malt aroma; more malt on the tongue; smooth medium-bodied, even w/ALL the bubbles NOT prickly; slightly above average (change of pace) beer

This one had somehow escaped me until recently. I saw a sixer of bottles (eek!) during a recent Friendly Greek Bottle Shop (FGBS) visit & persuaded (ahem!) the owner into allowing me to purchase a single. I now feel special! Let's see how the beer fares.

From the Bottle (gasp!): "Pallas"; "Poe by Kal"; "1845 - 1998"; "The Taste Is Poetic"; " Open here I flung the shutter when with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore ... Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door - Perched, and sat, and nothing more. Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'" The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe"; "Smooth German-style Lager"; "Artwork by KAL".

I was elated, as a classroom teacher, when our anthology text included Poe's "The Raven" as students were familiar with it from Baltimore's NFL team, but had never read it or heard it read. I made copies of the infamous Bill Elder & Harvey Kurtzman interpretation from "MAD (the comic book)" #9 (1954) to distribute for visuals while I dimmed the lights as we listened to a spoken-word performance by the sepulchral-like Christopher Walken! It made even me have chills & goosebumps. Eeek!

I Pop!ped the cap as there came a tapping, a gentle rapping at my front door! It was @tone77 come to make a pickup, nothing more. I explained that I was in the midst of a review & so he perched & sat on my couch, waiting patiently as I continued with a slow, gentle C-Line pour into the awaiting glass. "Is that a bust of Pallas above your door?" he queried. I nodded in the affirmative as I watched the formation of just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with decent retention. "Nice collection. CAN I borrow some of your books?" "Nevermore!" :=( I gazed at the purple curtain of the label through the Amber-colored (SRM = > 7, < 9) liquid with its NE-quality clarity. "Do you have beer for me?" "Let me quaff this kind nepenthe & I'll be right with you," I replied. Only this and nothing more. Nose smelled grainy & malty, but sharpish, a bit too hoppy for the style, IMHO. Mouthfeel was medium, about on par for the style. The taste was better than the nose had led me to expect with a more balanced sweetness accompanied by a light hoppy bitterness. "Will you get a move on or shall I tinkle on your tufted floor?!?" Eeek! I finished off the remaining beer, savoring its semi-sweet/semi-dry balancing act as I pushed my visitor out into the tempest from whence he came. "Will you be reviewing beers after 31 December 2020?" "Nevermore!"

Look-It pours a copper gold with swirling vortices of carbonation trails. The head is about one finger thick and rich and silky like fermenting yeast.

Smell-Rich aromas of corn, milled grain, and notes of honey. It smells malty and slightly sweet with a grassy overtone like a wheat farm in summer after a rainstorm.

Taste-It tastes strongly of corn and grains with a prominent honey flavor. I get notes of coriander, orange peel, cracked white pepper, tea leaves, and clover. A mild bite of alcohol is accompanied by sugar, molasses, and fresh baked bread as well as graham crackers and then more milled grains. The subtle sweetness is balanced by a grassy and earthy hop component that is well-timed. The mouthfeel is silky smooth and medium-bodied. A light fizz accompanies the rich flavor and pleasing aftertaste.

Overall-Surprisingly good for a lager and pleasantly complex…a must try!

Poured into a Pilsner glass from a bottle.

This beer tasted good. Sweet caramel and brown sugar, raisins, bready yeast finish. Unfortunately not much of a lingering complexity. But still a simple lager with a little more backbone. There was a lot of sediment. I give the brewers the benefit of the doubt as the beer has been in my fridge since March of 19.

Smell: wet cardboard. musty. unimpressive

Taste: Grain, corn, caramel, sugar, molasses, biscuit, salt, grahm cracer, bread, cream, pepper, coriander.

Feel: creamy. not a cream ale, but this feels quite creamy. delightful. Small bubbles, coating the mouth but not oily. Cream, creme, potato, potatoe.

Overall: Blown away by this. I'm not much of a pilsner or lager drinker. I prefer something with a little more oomph, a little more personality, a punch in the face; a hop bomb, or a syrupy stout. But this was a pleasant surprise. Truly creamy mouthfeel, soft but plentiful carbonation that coats the tongue. Truly some very subtle tastes of toffee and/or caramel that might be lost in an aggressive stout or IPA that I love. Maybe I need to drink more of these subtle beers...

 

 

 

Amberish-tea color. Not much flavor except for light caramel. Mouthfeel was light. Little carbonation. Nothing to get excited about.

 

 

 

 

Amber in color. Somewhat clear in appearance. Caramel and sweet malt. No real other discerning flavors. Hints of cardboard. Lower carb. Drinks more like an Amber. Flat out not good.

Pours a clear amber color. 1/3 inch head of an off-white color. Good retention and slight lacing. Smells of sweet malt, caramel malt, slight pale malt, hint of hops, hint of earthiness, hint of yeast, hint of dough, and a hint of alcohol. Fits the style of a Vienna Lager. Mouth feel is sharp and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of fresh pale malt, fresh sweet malt, slight caramel malt, slight citrus hops, slight yeast, hint of tea, and a hint of dough. Overall, good appearance, feel, and body, with a great blend and freshness.

 

 

 

Look: Pours a yellowish tangerine color. Has a very wimpy foamy head that dissipates quite quickly. Its slightly hazy, but clear enough to see bubbles rushing to the top. Not bad looking, but nothing special.

Smell: Not very strong of an aroma. Mostly just getting fruit and citrus. Some orange. Maybe a tad bit of honey and nuttiness in the background.

Taste: Follows the nose almost exactly. Citrus is right up front with a few other flavors of honey resting in the background. There is also a little bit of a biscuit taste after the finish.

Feel: Crisp and refreshing. Not a dry finish what so ever. The carbonation is appropriate for the style and balances the mouth feel very well.

Overall: I'd drink this brew on a hot summer day. It's refreshing to drink. It doesn't stand out as an amazing beer, but it's decent.

 

 

 

On tap at the BNA Party last week.Slightly hazy deep yellow color. bready biscuity aroma and flavor with a faint floral spicy hop to counter. Nice intermission beer.

 

 

 

 

Karen's beer. She liked it.

Poured from the bottle into a pokal glass, just like on the label being held there from Mr. Poe himself heh heh..

Light faint creamy and very faint tan head on creation, but only about a finger, but manages to keep a half creamed puck. Body color is a nice chestnut amber and quite clear with lots of rising carbonation very finely. Solid looking brew.

Slight toasty malts but a good sticky caramel and yeast sensation. Hits into a bit of sweet syrupy quality but relatively straight forward with no surprises.

Palate manages a little bit of a downplayed mouthfeel that sort of tunes everything down. Slightly watery grain finish and flavors, not unlike the caramel aroma but with less of a malt depth or hinting sticky residue. Strangely numbing finish, almost kind of a mild novocaine like quality but not horrifically bad or that noticeable. More watery caramel, a touch of hardly discerning clove spice perhaps.

A relatively just ok brew, but seems to miss a bit of malt depth and flavor.