The Cruise
Threshold Brewing and Blending

wonderful beer here, among my favorites from these guys since they started selling beer in idaho, my pint can is different than the one pictured here, its also 3.2% abv, so this may have been recently reworked. the packaging says champagne of beers which i thought belonged to high life, but i dont disagree with them after drinking this. the pour is a stunner, clear and very pale yellow with a head thats the texture of beaten egg whites, peaky and irregular and lasting all the way to the bottom of the glass when the beer is gone, its still there half an hour later! insane. clean looking, light body, high carbonation, beautiful. the nose is consistent with expectations for the style, that sturdy oak smoked wheat and crisp lager character together, fresh but still very european, mineral forward, and pretty darn smoky, without acrid or bitter notes, and without crowding out the other elements too much, lightly floral from the hops, brisk from the professional lagering, high degree of old world authenticity to this. the flavor is great, its powerful on the smoke but it all happens really fast, like this is so dry and snappy at the end, a little hoppier than a lot of them which helps with that, so the smoke doesnt really linger or make this heavy, very autumnal, woody, and earthen, really bright and fresh too for a smoked beer. notes of artisan bread, campfire, wet rocks on a hot day, and botanical bitterness at the end from the hops. brilliantly lagered and so light in body, excited feeling and consistent the whole drink on the bubbles, and overall this is criminally underrated here on BA, masterful execution of the style. i love how polished and nuanced it is, could drink this all day long. one of thresholds best! i dig the minor resurgence this style is enjoying right now in the states too!

edit: every bit as good on tap! this is fantastic stuff, love the smoke profile and the balance!

16oz can from Buckeye boy. Very pale golden pour, minimal head. Smoky aroma, wood. Taste follows with a nice low-key smoky profile, green wood, ash. A nice mellow smoky beer, gateway to smoked beers

 

Incredibly pale pale pale light light light yellow almost looks like watered down lemonade. Big lacy white foam that sticks to the glass and settles in in piles and drifts.

Nose is light malts, some light smoke, some of that tartness that I get from wheat, and maybe some grassy hops, but that could be the other notes kind of blending together. Summer afternoon aroma with smoke.

Flavour stays true to that same theme. The smoke comes through a little bit more fervently on the tongue, but it's not overbearing by any means. There's some lemon and cracker blended in there. Honestly after the first sip, even the smoke mellows out and kind of gives top billing to the tart wheat and lemon and earthy bitter hops. Finish is long and earthy bitter with a hint of lemon.

I have no idea what a grodziskie is supposed to taste like, but based on the ingredients and descriptions I've heard elsewhere, this seems to pretty well line up with my expectations. A good afternoon accompaniment.