My Turn #015: Tom
Lakefront Brewery

I really loved Tom. I'm sad he was retired.

Found a six-pack of 12 oz bottles at the Trig's Cellar 70 in Rhinelander. I'm a little disappointed in myself for not checking the bottling date: this was brewed about six months ago. Obviously, this is going to affect my experience of this beer. Poured right from the fridge into my Founders pint glass.

L: Pours a hazy apricot straw color with about a half-inch of off-white head that falls fairly quickly to a moderate film and rings that leaves moderate lacing on the glass. Plenty of particulate and healthy visible carbonation present.

S: Some nice aromas of stone fruit, melon, pineapple, and grapefruit are most prominent in the bouquet. There are also bready and, less clearly, caramel malt notes present, as well as cracked pepper and very subtle pine. There's a bit of diacetyl butterscotch there in the mix.

T: Pretty astringent up front, with tart citrus hop flavor fairly well shouting down the bready and caramel malt flavors. There's also that stone fruit, pineapple, and melon flavor right up front, with pineapple and melon the most assertive. The middle continues the similar hop notes, with the grapefruit taking more of a backseat to the other fruit flavors. The malts do become a bit more assertive in the middle, and they're accompanied by what registers as a bit of warming alcohol and some buttery notes. The close has some definite bitterness that registers as grapefruit rind, though there are notes of stone fruit, melon, and tropical fruit at the close, as well. The problem--with this bottle, at least--is that all the flavors feel a bit too muddled and murky. No single flavor note really stands out from the rest.

F: On the lighter side of medium-bodied, this one has a bit of stickiness without being syrupy. There's bright astringency at the front, some creaminess in the middle, and a decidedly bitter finish that lingers on the palate. Nice level of carbonation on this one.

O: I really wish that I had the chance to try this one fresh because there is the structure of a very good beer here. However, this incarnation was lacking in terms of its unassertive aroma and its somewhat muddled flavors. There are certainly good things about the beer I tasted, including a healthy hop presence and solid malt profile. Since this is a one-off, I don't think they'll be any seeking this one out in the near future, so my recommendation one way or the other is moot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to suck on another Tom. Had this a few times before and I don't ever shy away from a citra brew.
Poured into a pint glass with 2 fingers of slightly off-white head atop a dark orange hazy unfiltered brew. Has a nice citra aroma. Malt is typical barley. Clean. Taste is a little dirty. This lingers in a slightly bitter manner that is a step down from the better single hopped citra pales out there. Otherwise a fine drinking brew. Carbonation is moderate and medium bodied.

Pours a soapy, resiny head that has great persistence. Nice citrus, pine aroma. Hazy, straw color. Starts with a bright citrus hoppiness; just a huge amount of bright citrus and pine. While it initially seems quite bitter, it's surprisingly not. The finish brings in a slight citrus rind hoppiness on top of malt.

Lakefront does a great job nailing the "really hoppy but not bitter" style, and I love that. All the best parts of the hops without destroying your palate for the evening. Another home run in the My Turn Series.