Wakalag
Against The Grain Brewery

 

From the brewery's website:

"This is a crisp, easy drinking pilsner featuring New Zealand Wakatu hops. The spicy, citrusy, vanilla hop nose of the Wakatubé IPA can also be found in this lager, but the body is much cleaner and smoother. The focus is not on the power of an aggressive hop but on the delicate balance of sweetness from the light pilsner malts and the earthy bitterness of the Wakatu hops. When you’ve had enough Wakatubé, Wakalag."

And its with fresh German malt underpinnings, a dry body, and full Wakatu hop flavor balances that makes this lager as distinctive as it is refreshing.

The beer pours as you'd expect any well-built lager to pour. Medium straw in color and with near-brilliant clarity. A light, fluffy, cotton-white head tops the beer with solid staying power and broken lace patterns as the beer fades.

Zesty lemon aromas pop with crispness. The earthen spice of Wakatu hops deliver an herbal and almost-minty character, much like sassafras. Lightly woodish, the hops begin to blend into the bready grain sweetness that's buried underneath.

Tasting highly refreshing, its the malty foundation that makes the beer's first impressions on the palate. Fresh baking bread, part-malt, part-grain, and largely cracker-like- the beer celebrates the crisp taste of pilsner malt very well. But it's the spice of Wakatu that sets this lager apart from the normal- earthy, lemony, and of apple peels; the beer shows fragrant wood notes that reveal herbal notes of thyme, vanilla, lemongrass, and again- sassafras. Hop bitterness grows to not only balance the beer in finish but pulls ahead ever so slightly in order to celebrate the hop's character in more vivid detail.

Crisp, light, and crystal-clean in mouthfeel, the lager shows a lot of finesse on the palate while pulling no punches as well. Light, airy, and creamy to start, the malt textures soon give way to a refreshing dryness and crisp textures to finish. Slight hop astringency accompany its bitter taste, vanilla masks alcohol warmth, and light herbal minty notes provide an evaporation cooling on the throat- all leading to a highly refreshing finish.

Distinctive and characterful in decoration, but with traditional lager roots- Against the Grain has devised a lager that's effortless and satisfying for more than one in a sitting.