Steam Engine Lager
Steamworks Brewing Co.

 

Had on tap at the brewery.

On arrival, it looks like they poured away the head as there was less than a finger, but what was present was white. Head dissipates to a ring and scattered "clouds" of bubbles. Body is a clear red amber.

Aroma is clean, but also very light. A slight fruity note sits just above a malty sweetness but not much beyond that.

Taste is very good especially for the style. Take an amber ale and a vienna lager, merge them, and add extra noble flavor and bittering hops and you're at Steam Engine. Sweet and nutty into the finish, with an herbal earthy hop flavor in the beginning.

Feel is drinkable and full with a nearly neutral body, but a dryness creeps in slowly, which isn't bad. Light for the color while maintaining a full body.

Overall this is a pretty good amber "lager" with full flavors, present hops, and a full but refreshing and dry finish. A bit nicer than Anchor Steam, but for a brewpub beer a bit disappointing.

 

 

 

 

I very little experience with this style of beer so I can't really say how it compares with others in that category. But it's a good beer. I love the malt coming through in the smell and taste. Goes great with salted peanuts in shell

12 oz. Bottle

Pours a nice yellow color, nice carbonation, with a pretty nice small off-white head, which leaves some sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, yeasty, hoppy. The taste is malty, yeasty, hoppy. Medium body. Overall, a pretty tasty brew.

 

 

 

 

Off the taps at the brewhouse, I think this is a substantially better steam-beer than its community rating suggests. It's firstly beautiful to the eye: radiant coppery-brown sparkle; furious, tiny-bubble carbonation; nice touch of head. The aromatics are a bit weak, but there's a nice malt bite appropriate to the style, plus a steamy, sticky soft-toasted sugar profile, and the barest of alpha-acids to shroud the finish in cleanliness.

A sessionable steamer, and one which I find preferable to Anchor.

 

 

 

 

Pours a hazy golden color with a think off-white head. Head retention and lacing are minimal. Malt-roasted toffee overtones and sweetness aroma. Medium mouthfeel and a warm malt taste. Just a hint of roast with some caramel but not too sweet. Balanced by a minimal but just enough hop bitterness. Finishes clean. One of my favorite session beers.

Colorado's version of Anchor Steam is pretty comparable, though not quite up to the original. A little different than what you might expect, but still pretty decent. Part of a sampler pack when I tried it, and that was a good way to go.