Vermilion
Tonewood Brewing - Barrington

Pours a nice amber with an off white head.

Caramel malt, bitter herb, and fruited grain in the nose.

Caramel and toasted malt up front with bright fruited grain notes in the back - balanced and complex.

12-ounce can courtesy of jonphisher. Date stamp reads "APPLE BUTTER 10/27/25". Enjoyed in a nonic half-pint glass.

Look:
This beer starts off gorgeous, with a bright amber-gold body capped with creamy, vanilla-white foam. The foam leaves lacing as it shrinks, before I've even had a chance to take a sip.

Smell:
As gorgeous as it looks, though, Vermillion only gets better from there. The nose is classic Vienna lager: toasty, mildly sweet malt with balancing noble hop character that starts out spicy and turns floral as it warms. (Not that I've given it much of a chance to get warm.)

Taste:
The flavor starts moderately sweet but dries out quickly and takes on a delectable nutty character. Gentle noble hop flavors ease in next. Bitterness rises to meet the malt, then recedes in a long, clean finish of nutty, toasty malt, whole wheat breadcrust, and floral/herbal hop spice.

Feel:
Medium-light-bodied with moderate carbonation and a crisp, snappy finish.

Overall:
Vienna lager is kind of a tough style for me. I've had too many that erred on the "too sweet" or "too bitter" side. This one threads that needle to perfection. I'm starting to think that Tonewood Brewing can do no wrong.

Thanks, Jon!

 

Very clear light amber appearance
Around a medium body with about the same for the carbonation
Aroma is yeast,malt,yeast bread, toffee,caramel with very mild floral
Taste is very similar to aroma with some mild sweetness. Floral with mild bitter hops linger in the finish
Overall its a very well done beer from a brewery that consistently produces quality beer

Reading some of the reviews, I'm not sure this is the same beer. Six pack canned on the 13th of December. Pours a very pale golden beer. Palest Vienna I've seen. Taste lovely even if it lacks body. Good beer, although different in my opinion to other Vienna lagers. Drinks more like a helles to me. Very tasty.

 

Pours light amber with a two-finger white head that slowly recedes to a thin cap.

The malt and hops play well together, with aromas of bread dough, slight toffee, loam, and subtle florals.

It comes even more alive on the palate. Up front, I get grainy malt notes of toasted white bread and bread dough. Through the middle of the sip malt sweetness comes in as well as honeyed bread, slight caramel, and slight toffee. Underlying all of this are floral undertones that strengthen on the finish. Woody hops join on the finish and carry through the aftertaste with a slight bitterness that blends with caramel.

Carb is moderate and fine. Feel is really smooth with a medium-light body. The carb lingers on the tongue just a little more than I'd prefer, prickling through most of the sip.

Overall, a really good Vienna Lager thats a pleasure to drink.

2023-12-10
12oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Packed on 10/05/23. Sent to me by @jonphisher.

Pours a mostly clear nutty amber color, initially sports about a finger of head that settles into a thick, even skin. Active carbonation is visible. Smell is grainy / bready, with a distinct sweet aroma, with a hint of toffee in the background.

Taste is pretty close to what the aroma promised. Maybe a bit sweeter, almost a honey and butterscotch flavor.

Mouthfeel is full but not heavy. Overall, really nice beer.

 

 

 

Pours bronze like in color, mostly clear at first but chill haze eventually lifts to a crystal clear beer, a pretty nice slightly off-white head builds and stays for a while before collapsing; the nice thing is a ever present film remains.

Nose is interesting, it gently jumps out of the glass; floral and woody, toasted malts; fresh bread.

Taste, lightly toasted bread is front and center, soft residual sweetness, light hop presence, slightly woody and herbal in nature.

Light bodied beer that steers shy of watery, nicely crisp, very light on bitterness but it does show.