Ridge Top Runner
Straub Brewery

Received in a trade with Marty.
“Bottled 04/02/18J” in black ink on the shoulder above the label. Stored at 42 degrees prior to consumption and served at 42 degrees in a hand-washed and hand-dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 3.75.
Body – Medium amber/copper, clear.
Head – Average (Maximum three cm, controlled center pour), off-white, medium density with rocks, average retention time diminishing to an irregular three to seven rocky ring and a thin complete ring with some rocks. Some tiny islands of foam are scattered about after the head has retracted.
Lacing – Good. Complete narrow but thick bands of tiny to small bubbles, connected to each other by thin columns and stalactites and stalagmites.
First pour – Very light amber, clear.
Aroma – 3.5 - Sweet and malty. Weakens over the course of the glass but remains to the end.
Flavor – 4 - Begins slightly sweet and toasted-malty, finishes with hop bitterness and some crispness. No alcohol, no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3 – Light, watery, lively carbonation, i.e. typical for a lager.
Impression and summation – 3.75 – Average palate but overall, a tasty take on a Vienna lager. Straub’s is finally stepping up their game.

 

 

 

12oz brown bottle, sample from the brewery.

Amazing show of lacing down the glass, bright and clear amber hue. Big malty nose, with a faint tone of caramel and herbal hop. Very smooth with a quick kiss of crispness, moderate sized body. Solid malt backbone, lots of bread on the palate with some toasted crust and a very faint caramel flavor. Clean throughout, balancing hop bitterness, herbal flavor, and biscuity grain finish. Very much to style, yet another great lager from Straub.

 

Had this on 2016-10-07 in Columbia, PA from a 12oz bottle

A - Clear golden-copper with a very short white head and little lace.

S - Light biscuit, light caramel, light apple blossom

T - Lightly toasted sourdough bread with pear marmalade. Some caramel and earthy spice. Reasonable balancing bitterness. Not complex but a nice amalgam of flavors.

M - Medium body and carbonation. Smooth and creamy. Good feel.

O - An enjoyable brew; especially at $1.00/bottle at the end-of-season sale! It's well-made and quite tasty. I think it's worth the in-season price of about $1.50/bottle by the case. I agree with a previous reviewer that this brewery has stepped up their game with these seasonal brews. Heck, their seasonal Kolsch won bronze in the 2016 World Beer Cup, which surprised a good many of us!

12 oz bottle poured into Carton dubvariant glass

L: Clear amber. 3F head, spotty lacing, cap and ring.

S: Nice Pilsner malts and roasted barley.

T: Follows nose. Nice and malty with some citrus notes. Slightly sweet.

F: Light to medium body, medium carbonation. Decent construction and good balance. Crisp, clean, refreshing.

O: Perfectly decent lager reminds us of the world outside superhoppy beers.

Poured into a snifter.

3.25 A: Clear orange/light amber color. One finger of frothy white head. Retention is a touch below average a short ring of lacing is left.

3.0 S: Plenty of toastiness from the start. Caramel with a bready backbone. Mild earthy hoppiness. Pretty tame overall, but not bad.

3.25 T: Again the primary flavors are toastiness, caramel, and bready malts. Sweet upfront with a lingering bitter finish. Earthy and grassy hoppiness.

3.5 M: Lighter medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Mild stinging with creaminess following.

3.25 D: Decent beer. I'm not surprised that Straub can put out a decent craft beer given that their AAL is among the best of it's style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beer pours out into a Duvel glass a clear deep amber/copper color with a 1/2" creamy ivory head that leaves behind a small ring of lacing as it recedes to a thick covering on the liquid with an irregular island of bubbles. Sipping creates small patches, speckles and legs of lacing.

The aromas include a nice bready malt with a touch of toasted character in the background. The hops are way in the background with a few earthy notes.

The flavors are much as expected from the nose. The bready malt is lightly sweet and toasty with no real bitterness until the finish, where the grassy earthy hops emerge for a bit before fading as well. Quite clean and crisp. Unlike some versions I have tried the sweetness is present but does not dominate the beer.

The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and slightly creamy and prickly with the light, persistent carbonation. The finish is fairly long and begins as the malt sweetness begins to fade leaving the toasty bready malt flavors to contend with some now noticable light hop bitterness. Eventually all fades to a nicely dry ending that invites the next sip.

This is a nicely drinkable beer and I'm pleased to have a few more to drink and re-evaluate for this review. It seems a well made example of the style and it is nice that the brewery, which is in North Central PA is semi-local. Given my growing fondness for Straub's as they have stepped up their game to move beyond adjunct lagers I'll most likely be having this again next year as part of their Sunshine Sampler. It seems a well made example of the style and is semi-local in that the brewery is in PA.

My beloved, in-person trader, tone77 (who has departed for points south for the winter) dropped this off for me at one point, only to have it become part of the interminable bottle backlog at Chez Woody. I am on a (modest) hiatus from leaving Chez Woody to try and get caught up.

From the bottle: "Reminiscent of our old copper brew kettle, this is a traditional Amber beer, with malty sweetness and a refreshing, crisp flavor."; "Our founder, Peter Straub, began brewing in 1872 in the German settlement of St. Marys, PA. Five generations later, we are proud to be one of the few remaining American Legacy Breweries (tm) in the country producing American lagers."

I am proud to be Pop!ping the cap on a Pennsylvania-brewed beer! My gentle pour brought forth two fingers of foamy, tawny head with decent retention. The sticky lacing that remained as it fell caused me to wonder who was going to clean up. It was going to require a jackhammer to remove! Nose was really malty sweet with a berry-like quality. Color was Amber to Deep Amber/Light Copper (SRM = > 9, < 13) with NE-quality clarity. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full. The taste was more nutty than fruity, but it was still pretty sweet overall. Finish remained sweet, nutty & fruity. Sorry, but that just is not a good combination for me.

A nice beer! It was a nice golden color off of the pour and had a classic aroma of sweet malts and hops. The taste was very clean. I found that all of the Straub beers that I have tried have been very clean and refreshing. This beer doesn't disappoint! The smooth taste of this beer makes it a real winner!

Picked up a Straub Variety pack at Capone's bottle shop in Norriton, PA. As a life-long fan of Vienna style lager and very pleased with the Straub Hefeweizen I was excited to try this. The aroma was enticing and strong for the style but the appearance was spot on. The taste was somewhat unusual with a spicy finish after the a potent vanillin rich blast. Very enjoyable upgraded interpretation of the style which I enjoyed immensely. Actually liked it better than the Great Lakes version. I will still enjoy the more traditional style exemplified by Negra Modelo, but this is worth seeking out.