Hello, Sailor
Bert's Brewing

16oz can courtesy of my wife's boss
Poured into a Samuel Smith imperial pint

P pale gold w/ a light haze; 2f foamy white head; fairly quick recession; light-med to med lace left behind
N wasn't getting much here at first; very soft light cereal malt and citrus presence; unsweet grapefruit as it opens w/ hints of candy as well
T neutral crackery malt in the forward leads to a fairly bold (verging on dank) earthy and herbal notes mid-palate; a lingering vegetal bitterness in the finish; decent
Mf light-med bodied w/ med-high carb; dry
O not too bad- a decent drinker

Review date: 11.13.25
Can date: 07.17.25

Review: 2428
Name: Hello, Sailor
Brewery: Bert's Brewery
Location: Garden City, ID
Style: India Pale Lager
ABV: 5%
Canned: 23 April 2025
Date: 18 June 2025
India Pale Lager is my second beer of this style. If I were figuring, this would be like an IPA but with a clean lager finish. I opted for a pint glass and served it at 42 degrees. The pour created a frothy, foamy, two-fingered white head with excellent retention. The beer's color is pale straw with a light golden hue, charting at SRM 2, and is transparent. The appearance of the beer is above average.
Nosing the glass, I smell resin, citrus, herbal, grassy, lightly toasted malts, crackers, light malty sweetness, and light earthiness.
I tasted the hops, a light grassy, resin, light pine, citrus, floral bouquet, and some earthiness. The malt profile is crackery, with a lightly toasted bread crust and malty sweetness.
The mouthfeel is slightly astringent and finishes crisp and clean. The body is light and has medium-plus carbonation.
Final Thought: I tasted the hops, although I would have liked them to be more prominent in the beer. The beer is relatively fresh; that being considered, why not amp the hops up a bit? The base lager is nearly perfect. I want a bit more hop dominance.

 

Poured from 16oz can into a dimpled mug. No date on the can that I could see.

Appearance: light golden hue with a dash of haze and a nice effervescence. Head is a finger of frothy eggshell foam.

Smell: lightly sweet malt with a yeasty, lagery aroma, and a dose of lightly tropical, noble, grassy hops. Quite nice.

Taste: malt has a little more complexity than in the aroma, with a bit of crackery and toasty character to it. Hops are a little less complex, though, with more of a grassy, earthy character. Overall, though, this is a nice beer.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a moderate carbonation and okay creaminess.

Overall: I like this beer a lot; it has a good character and is refreshing. Just a little work on that texture and it would be very good indeed.

 

crazy these guys are already slinging cans and kegs all over town, but i still prefer their beer at the source. this is an all the time (i thnk) hoppy lager, restrained on the bitterness but still hop driven with a near neutral yeast profile and just a basic grain build, albeit fresh and well proportioned, and overall the beer is as tidy as just about all of them in here. blonde and glowing with peppy carbonation and a better than average white head on it. the nose is limey, grassy, and with some amount of hop bitterness apparent. the grain is doughy and sweet up front, and the yeast is way back, its uniform and quick to my nose, a bit more citrus comes out as it warms. the taste is sort of all at once even though there are contributions from all the elements, the hops start early in the absence of more grain they really stand out, a hint of coconut maybe, but then more traditional bitterness and late spice, not overly bitter but enough to make this quick and refreshing. a little more early sweetness than expected but its drier later. the water chemistry is dialed as always here, the carbonation makes it sing, and even with a little body on it, its easy beer that fits the warm summer weather right now perfectly. i dont find this to be one of their most compelling recipes overall, its modern and good, but they make so much other great beer here that this is lost in the shuffle a little bit for me, but its cool just how many nice lagers they are cranking out right now!

16oz can from brewery. Clear golden pour, foamy head dissipates quickly. Grainy aroma with a light fruity edge. Taste is bready, faint tropical notes, sweet with a dull bitterness at the finish.