High Brau
Torch & Crown Brewing Company

Pours bright copper (SRM 11-14). This one is gem clear, with fine, random carbonation throughout. The off-white head is a short-lived froth that leaves no discernible lacing. After pouring the last ounce, a dense yeast cloud transforms the color to translucent corten rust.

The aroma opens with charred sugar, then turns soapy. It is kind of a mess, however, there is nothing objectionable. The yeast cloud added earthiness.

This is surprisingly sweet, with toasted malt. It has light, yet sharp, bitterness in the finish. The yeast added a flavor of apple cider.

It has a medium body and smooth texture that becomes smoother once the yeast is added. The alcohol and light carbonation are as expected.

As a Marzen, this misses the mark. However, as just some beer to enjoy on a cool autumn afternoon, I found it to be enjoyable. I suspect it would pair well with a warm soft pretzel sans mustard.

 

 

Big foam-up in the tall glass on rich yellow beer. Just a whiff of hops in the aroma, but that's quite nice. Sudsy and flabby mouthfeel. Rather sweet and tastes like Hawaiian sweet bread, simple and malty. This starts with caramel and then has that odd gummy finish of a Doppelbock. An interesting and quite drinkable brew, but I would want a big stein of the stuff. From the 16 oz can purchased on the West Coast. Dated 8/29/23.

 

 

I suspect I might have gotten to this one past its prime "enjoy by" date, but it still had enough going for it to merit a review. Very full bodied Marzen, in my view, one of the richest-looking of the style that I've encountered. It also had a depth of flavor that some other Marzens are missing. At first I thought it might have been due to a higher ABV but that's obviously not the case at 5.5%. I wonder if I would have scored it higher had I caught it earlier in the season, but I still enjoyed it enough that I will seek out other offerings from this brewer.

 

 

A: The beer is a little hazy yellowish amber in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a short white head that quickly settled down, leaving a thin collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of nutty malts are present in the nose along with notes of toasted malts.
T: The taste follows the smell, except that the flavors of nutty and toasted malts are a bit stronger and also contribute slight amounts of sweetness.
M: It feels medium-bodied and somewhat clean on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The malty flavors in this Oktoberfest seem to be a bit more subdued compared to other beers in the style. It is very easy to drink.

Serving type: can

This one pours a golden orange color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like toasted malt, toffee, caramel, and spicy hops.

This has a pretty rich malt character, with a light but pleasant hop character, all balanced together relatively well.

This is light bodied, drinkable, and clean, with no real off flavors that I can detect here.

Torch and Crown is yet another newer NYC brewery that I need to keep my eye on. There's honestly too many promising young breweries in NY!

 

Pours a clear light amber with a brief 1" head that quickly settles out to a pocked cap of lacing; lots of visible carbonation. Nose is almost like baked flour along with lighter malt character and some baking spice; a bit of copper as well. Taste is very different. The most pronounced flavor is roasted peanut - not quite sure that's what they were going for, but it's almost a lagered up version of Gunner's Daughter. Some sweetness in there as well, while it finished with some raw bitterness. As it warms, there's some oxidized, papery notes that come out as well. Mouthfeel is slick and coating. Overall, it's kind of baffling in terms of its flavor profile, so not quite sure how to approach it. YMMV, but this is full of off flavors to me.