Pittsburghenstrasse
Cinderlands Beer Co.

 

16oz can purchased from a local bottle shop for $3.99. Canned on date says "FRANK THE TANK 5.3% 5/30/23". This beer is being consumed at just over 4 months from canning.

Look: Pours a nice copper color. There was a finger of white head that simmered down to a very thin layer. Lots of smallish bubbles are steadily rising up the glass. Nice clarity until the bottom of the can, which became slightly hazy with some of the unfiltered sediment.

Smell: The nose is initially straightforward - very clean and inviting - and it developed and become more interesting as I drank the beer. I get some caramel notes, bready notes, nuttiness, and a nice subtle citrusy / peppery finish. Subtle cocoa/coffee/clove/anise/spice notes as well. I also get an interesting subtle vanilla sweetness; in combination with all the other notes it kind of smells like butterscotch.

Taste: It's really tasty. I think that this is a really well-made beer. As I said in my Forest & Main Strange Rituals review, this is a style that I have had very little exposure to and it reminds me of a slightly lighter version of a Festbier. It is malty up front while also being very clean and crisp and not sweet; the finish is moderately bitter with a good amount of dryness and the bitterness and dryness linger on the palate for a while. The finish is very earthy and a bit peppery.

Feel: Medium-bodied with a clean, crisp mouthfeel.

Overall: This is my second Franconian-style lager (Forest & Main's Strange Rituals was the first). I also had Human Robot's Burgenstraße, which is a Franconian-Style Zwickelbier (this beer is very similar in name, however I think that it is more similar to Forest & Main's Franconian Lager than to Human Robot's Franconian-Style Zwickelbier). My only other Cinderlands Beer was a really tasty West Coast IPA called Party Kingdom. Overall, it's not such a complex beer but as I said it's certainly made very well and it's really tasty and drinkable.