Modernist
Art History Brewing

 

I found this copy at the tail-end of the season, so probably not as fresh as the other reviewers had; but still enjoyable.
Modernist Looks slightly above average; I prefer more amber than orange. Smells are better, mostly malts. Tastes are quite well-balanced; the finish is only semi-dry, which is what I prefer and too few American crafters provide. Cleanses my mouth.

While Art History's labels add so much to that crafting standard, Modernist's label does not. So for next year to ever improve Art History's marzen, clarify the label and amber the malts. And in a few years, Art History is in with the Masters.

I've now had 4 from Art History and all repeats (or at least I hope so for the Marzen.) While I encourage them to stick to their Bavarian knitting because they could become almost as good as those Masters, I'd still like to try a farmhouse ale from Art History in a few years. I have that much confidence in Art History's ability to learn. Prost for now and A Votre Sante in a few years.

 

Canned 3/2/22; drank 3/7/22 @ the Yarchives.

See-through dull orange rust appearance.

A rough pour yielded a big khaki head; strong tree-rung lace.

Acorn, mild hop bite & faint caramel notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Caramel & mild hop flavors up front; mild acorn notes on the finish.

A nice marzen; I'd have another!!

Semi-clear amber body with two fingers of off-white foam leaving decent lacing. Overall more on the yeasty end of style spectrum. In both smell and taste I get toast, caramel malts, big fresh crusty bread, earthy old world hops, faint cracker, and a hint of citrus zest on the finish. Taste is more yeasty, nose more hoppy, but both are well balanced. Feel features the yeast and malt well with a crushable, bright, yet full body with moderate crispness and enough hop texture to keep things interesting.

Typical Marzen that's a little better than average. Surprisingly, for a 5% abv, this one has a decent Marzen flavor.

Pours a cloudy, dull orange color. Two finger off-white head appears but dissipates pretty quickly leaving a thin layer of foam on top of the beer.

Aroma has notes of sweet bread, bready malts, a light toasted character with some spicy from the hops. There is also a light sweet white wine like note which is likely from the hellertau mittelfruh hops. Its a nice aroma with the malts driving the aroma, but the hops providing a nice curveball.

Taste follows the nose with notes of bready malts, a light toasted almost nutty malt character with a touch of sweetness that gives way to the hop flavors coming in which provide this earthy orange citrus note, some light sweet white wine and a spicy kick towards the end. Its really interesting because the hellertau mittelfruh do bring a certain uniqueness to this beer with that earthy, almost herbal orange citrus character in the profile.

Feel is medium bodied, verging on chewy, but not quite there. As with some of their other beers, a tad on the drier side on that finish.

What I like about this beer is that its recognizable as a traditional märzen, but uses modern German hops to give it some unique flair. In the end, its a delicious beer.