Nordic Lager
Henderson Brewing Company

473 mL can from Superstore; dated Jun 2 2020 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a golden-orange hue, fogged up slightly by the fine sediment strewn throughout the liquid. Two fingers of foamy, lumpy white head are situated atop, seeping off gradually over the course of more than five minutes. It leaves behind a beautiful, messy swath of lace, in addition to a half-cm cap of soapy froth - I cannot stress enough how gorgeous this beer is. Bready pale malts and pine forest on the nose, with minor hints of minty herb, lemongrass, honey and peppery spiciness. Interesting and unique, but without being too far off from what you'd expect a Euro lager to smell like.

A quality lager - bready pale malts and a touch of honeyed sweetness combine together with an herbal, peppery, spicy note courtesy of the angelica root. Concludes on a slightly sweet, peppery note before fading into a musky, minty finish and off-dry aftertaste. Light-medium in body, with aggressive carbonation that froths up in the mouth; feels a little crisp, but also quite smooth and fairly satisfying on the palate. Not bad at all, but the angelica root is just a little too persistent for my tastes, causing this to come off more like a spiced/herbed beer, and hurting its drinkability ever so slightly.

Final Grade: 3.83, a B+. Henderson / Jacobsen's Nordic Lager is a spicy take on a Euro lager - it worked out fine for me, though there are undoubtedly a few polarizing aspects to this beer that are worth keeping in mind. The herbal flavours won't be for everyone, it's a little over carbonated, and probably not something I'd want to drink en masse... but I still really liked it, in spite of all those quibbles. Pick this one up, because it's worth experiencing.

Can - pours a hazy gold-copper with a 2 finger white cap wick lasts the drink. Aroma of cooked cereal and sharp herbal tones...Flavor is malt forward in front which is instantly balanced by hop bittering peppery dryness and sharp spice tones...clean dry increasingly bitter finish with a hop bite at the end...pretty hoppy and spicy for a lager but very well carried off by the brewer...this works well with sea food or BBQ beef

 

I like this beer a lot. Copper colour, with average head and retention. Beautiful balance with malt and hops.

Great stuff.

L: Dark golden, almost amber colour, clear and bright; off-white head with some retention, but didn't last long for me,

S: Nose is sweet with a little vegetal quality and a hint of minerality under that, slightly coppery. Faint white pepper is in there, too.

T: Tastes of fresh baked bread crust, along with light caramel notes get the ball rolling. From there, lemon and bay leaf creep in from the hops. There's a slight metallic/mineral tang underneath and a nice acidity that's detectable if you're looking for it. A clean, crisp finish typical of a lager with just a hint of bitterness the keep things lingering on the palate for a while after.

F: Medium bodied with a pleasant mouthfeel. The carbonation is vibrant without being aggressive.

O: One of my favourite lagers being produced in Toronto right now, it's got all the clean, crisp refreshing qualities of a lager while providing enough interesting character from the malt to make it refreshingly sessionable.

473 ml can served cold-ish into a tall glass. LCBO purchase for around $3.20 CDN.

Appearance - striking golden amber color, great clarity and a finger plus of loose off-white head. Moderate staying power and a plethora of bubbles. This is in fact a good looking brew.

Smell - Lots of grain, hints of caramel sweetness, somewhat earthy and vegetative aroma, more more like fall than anything offputting.

Taste - Very clean, light grain flavors with some bready backbone. Simple and not a whole lots else, but well constructed with nowhere to hide and flaws. Certainly not huge on flavor, but tasty enough.

Mouthfeel - Medium-light body, crisp assertive carbonation and somewhat dry finish.

Overall - A very solid Euro style lager, may come back to this one in the future.

My can of beer was so fresh bought at lcbo very refreshing taste and smell. I bought it many times at the lcbo it's a good beer infused with Angelica root .

One of the best looking beers I’ve seen in a while. Beautifully copper colour with a perfect 1 inch head. The nose is all malt but the taste is a bit hoppy, with undertones of toffee and biscuits.
May 27 2020