Mash Appeal
Great Lakes Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

Tasted in a 12 oz glass from draught at Firkin on December 24, 2015. Look is clear deep Amber with a off-white head and little lacing. Smell is faint carel malt. Taste is earthy hops and caramel malts. Feel is light in body.

Someone entered this as a wild ale? lol, troll? Anyway, it's a plain one-note lager meant for the masses and not for me. Corny, sweet, fluid, chuggable if you care to drink piss.

 

12 FL. OZ can
Served in a pint glass

This beer pours very dark brown in color with ruby highlights when held to the light. It is topped with three inches of tan head that dissipates quickly but leaves quite a bit of lacing.

It has a sweet grain smell and comes across as slightly tart. I get a little floral hops.

It does not have an overabundance of flavor. I get some toasted malt. It is fairly sweet with a light dose of hops to balance it in the finish.

Moderate mouthfeel

This is an extremely easy drinking dark ale. I could session these for the rest of the afternoon watching football. It was interesting to try a Kentucky common. I read up on the history and am happy I tried it. I was expecting it to be slightly tart or sour, but I did not get that.

 

 

Big rye dominance in aroma, with moderate sourness and oak. There's a touch of malt sweetness, with a hint of booziness and earthy, grassy tones.

Flavor is fairly malty, with a stronger sweetness than expected that lingers throughout. Malt is toasted and nutty. At first, the light sourness overwhelms, but it fades in the dry, toasted finish. The aftertaste is a bit peppery.

 

What the hell am I drinking? I bought a single can of this a few weeks back, I am pretty sure at Saveon. It's been sitting in a corner of my fridge waiting for the time to come out. The time is now.

It's a medium dark brown and foamy and translucent. Not what I was expecting! The smell is a boozy, yeasty, beer smell. Very unique and interesting.

The taste is a funky beer taste. All yeasty and not very hoppy. Definitely out there in left field. The aftertaste is odd too, like yesterday's beer.

This is definitely out of the ordinary. I have no idea what it is, but it is different. WAY different. I would buy more, but I think it was a one time thing. I'll just enjoy sucking this one down.

 

This beer is a collaboration beer brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company, Oskar Blues Brewery, and Lagerheads Brewing Company that was made for Cleveland Beer Week that happened last month. This is maybe the only beer brewed for exclusively/specifically for Cleveland Beer Week 2015 that was canned and distributed on a somewhat wide spread basis. I never saw or heard or read about any of the other Beer Week collaboration beers being bottled or canned this year. Oskar Blues also brewed and canned a version at their brewery. Don't know if Lagerheads brewed a version themselves or not. Anyways, this was one of the beers out of all of the collaboration beers I tried the opening night of Beer Week that really stood out to me from most of the other offerings. So when I heard Great lakes had canned this I knew I as going to track down a 6 pack. I am not sure if it is correct to classify this beer in this website's database as an American Wild Ale. The can this beer came in clearly says Collaborative Common Lager on the front label and also lists it as a Kentucky Common Lager on the back label. So I don't think this is an ale of any type, but rather a lager of some sort. Poured out of the 12 oz can into one of my pint glasses, this beer pours a clear, deep amber/copper color with lots of streams of little bubbles rapidly and continuously rising to the beer's surface. Has a slightly off-white head that is about 2/3 of an inch thick when first poured that settles to a thin ring lining the inside of the glass and little bits of surface layer foam. Not much lacing to speak of here. Aromas of caramel malty sweetness along with hints of corn and wheat along with a slight tart hint. Flavors of slightly toasted caramel malts, hints of brown sugar and vanilla, bits of corn, rye, and wheat, and slight but noticeable hints of sourness and barn yard funk. Rounded out tastewise with just the slightest hint of salt. Not really any discernible hop presence here. The flavors mesh well together and linger nicely after each sip and really come out more as the beer sits and warms up a bit. Not enough sour or barn yard funk flavors by a long shot for this to be an American Wild Ale, as these are necessary component that make a wild ale what it is, and while they are both here, they are like more of an after thought than they are a main attraction. Has a crisp, slightly prickly, yet smooth and slightly frothy, medium bodied mouthfeel with light to moderate carbonation. Has a clean finish. Easy to drink in a good way. Quite an interesting beer indeed! Don't think I've ever had a beer quite like this before.

Eric

 

 

 

Poured from a 12oz can into a pint glass.

A- Pours a dark red with an off white head that vanishes quite quickly. I didn't get any lacing, maybe because it wasn't on tap.
S- Malt, slight carmel sweetness, a bit of whiskey-like boozey twinge,
T- Malt heavy, theres a very nice smokiness that sticks around through the whole sip, like the can says there is a tart finish, but it isn't overly sour. The smokiness really settles the sour down and they blend well.
M- Medium carbonation, medium body, crisp and clean finish.
O- I was very happily surprised by this beer. I heard mixed reviews about this one before trying, and as someone who tends to stay away from sour/tart beers I'm glad I gave this one a shot. I think it's definitely worth a try, the smokiness and rich malt blend perfectly with the slightly tart finish. This is a very interesting collaboration beer.