Circulus
Cellarest Beer Project

My buddy and i split a 4-pack that we picked up on Cellarest's 5th anniversary on 2-28-26 for $25.20. Canned presumably in the last half of February; consumed 3-26-26. Cold stored since purchase.

Beer poured deep gold with a pretty nice white head with the original pour.

Nose has notes of toasted malts and noble hops.

Taste is lightly toasted bread with a drizzle of honey in which the noble hops lend some earthiness and definitely balances.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and pretty smooth.

Overall, this is a very tasty clean beer. No sweetness at all. Well done!

Appearance: Slightly hazy copper with fluffy white head, moderate retention.

Aroma: Toast and biscuit, hint of oak wood

Flavor & aftertaste: Toast and biscuit. Spicy/herbal hops. Hint of oak wood. Low sweetness. Low to moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, drying, moderate carbonation. Medium length dry finish with mild but clean bitterness.

Overall: Canned version. This brewery is unique in that they do wood fermented beers. They also use a lot of locally sourced gains. Don't expect a barrel aged flavor and aroma. They use the wood barrels to add just enough wood flavor & aroma to note it but not distract from the base beer. Circulus IV is a great example. They took a good Vienna style lager; with its toasty and biscuity notes, Hallertau Mittelfruh hops with its spicy/herbal notes and moderate bitterness, then add a mild presence of oak wood that gives it a more rustic experience. Not for everyone, but I like it and would love to see more breweries use wood fermentation with lagers. I dinged them a bit because the head retention was quite short. The base Vienna Lager is good - dry, crisp, and clean - and leans into the historical style, not the darker Mexican versions we see. Solid beer.