Straub 1872 Lager

I recently purchased a case of Straub 1872 Lager. On the top of the case it lists “Limited Release – Pre-Prohibition Style Lager”.

On the side of the case it details:

“The Limited Release Fall Seasonal includes typical ingredients used in the late 19th Century to produce Full Flavored, American Pale Lagers. Domestic 6-Row Malts and Flaked Corn provides a Full Body and a Bright Gold Color. Domestic and Imported Noble Hops contribute to the Pleasant Bitterness and Spice and Floral Aromas. Our Traditional Pennsylvania Lager Yeast and Cold Cellar Aging create the Refreshing, Smooth Finish.

Malt: 6-Row and Munich
Adjunct: Flaked Corn
Hops: Cluster and Hallertau Mittelfruh
Color: Gold
ABV: 5.4%
IBU: 30”

On the Bottle Labels it lists:

“Peter Straub began brewing in 1872 at a time when Pale Lagers had more color, and a more pronounced malt flavor, and were slightly hoppier than they are now. This Limited Release 1872 Lager is a tribute to our founder’s legacy”

“Our founder Peter Straub began brewing in 1872 in the German settlement of St. Mary’s, PA. Five generations later we are proud to be one of the few remaining American legacy breweries in the country producing American Lagers.”

I thought it would be interesting to ‘evaluate’ this beer via a comparison with another beer. Hmm, what other beer would be comparable to an 1872 Lager? How about Yuengling Traditional Lager? I recruited my wife to be a blind taster in this exercise.

Appearance:
Straub 1872 Lager: a nice Golden color with a fluffy white head
Yuengling Traditional Lager: amber colored

Aroma:
Straub 1872 Lager: noticeable combination of malt and hop aromas; my wife stated: “pilsner smell”.
Yuengling Traditional Lager: some caramel but also some other smell that was not pleasant.

Taste:
Straub 1872 Lager: a very pleasant balance of malt and hop flavors; hops flavors are very much like a combination of spice and floral flavors as listed on the case box.
Yuengling Traditional Lager: caramel flavors dominate; not much in the way of hop flavors.

Mouthfeel:
Straub 1872 Lager: medium bodied
Yuengling Traditional Lager: medium bodied

Overall:
Straub 1872 Lager: a tasty, balanced lager
Yuengling Traditional Lager: the off-putting smell in the aroma detracts from enjoying this beer but the taste was ‘better’ than the aroma.

It might be of interest that my wife refused to finish the Yuengling Traditional Lager. I finished my sample of Yuengling Traditional Lager but I did dump the remainder of her beer.

I very much enjoyed drinking Straub 1872 Lager. I really wish that Straub Brewery would decide to make this beer year round.

One final thought, 1872 Lager was reminiscent to me of Anchor California Lager in that it was a very well balanced beer between the malt aroma/flavor and the hop aroma/flavor. A real genuine pleasure to drink; the German expression that applies to this beer is süffige (pleasant to drink, drinkable).

Cheers!

 

“I would imagine that the malt is more forward than in a German pils.”

Patrik, yes & no. Straub 1872 has more malt flavor/aroma than a German Pils like Warsteiner/Bitburger but it is less than Troegs Sunshine Pils or Rothaus Tannenzäpfle.

Cheers!

 

Interesting. I know that there is corn in that beer and I am familiar with the aspects of flaked maize from my homebrewed CAP beers but I personally do not perceive a corny taste in this beer.

Did you have the 2013 batch of Straub 1872 Lager?

Cheers!

 

Pete, I do not know if you are aware of the beer retail aspects of Pennsylvania. The typical beer store is called a beer distributor and by law they only sell beer by the case. There is a special beer retail license which permits retailers to sell beer by the bottle and 4/6 packs; this license is sometimes referred to as a “Deli License”. I live in Southeastern PA and we are lucky in this area that there are a number of retailers who have Deli Licenses.

If your relatives live near some places with a Deli License then maybe they can bring you a number of 4/6 packs as a sort of variety pack? Permit me to recommend:

Helles: Sly Fox Helles Golden Lager (6 pack of cans)

Pilsner: Sly Fox Pikeland Pils (6 pack of cans) [If it was summertime: Troegs Sunshine Pils]

Doppelbock: Troegs Troegenator or Victory St. Victorious (6 pack of bottles)

Dunkel: Sly Fox Dunkel (6 pack of cans).

Cheers!
Jack

 

“I guess that's where the corn might come into play, giving it a lighter taste of malt compared to those last two all-malt pilsners,...”

Patrik, the principle reasons that the US brewers of lagers in the 1800’s for using corn as part of the grain bill was twofold. By adding corn along with the North American 6-row malt they produced a clearer beer (corn eliminated a chill have problem) and it also lightened the body of the beer a bit to create a less satiating beer (which can be a more satisfying beer to drink principally during hot summer weather).

George Fix in his article entitled “CAP - Explorations in Pre-Prohibition American Lagers” states:

“The primary feature that separates this beer from all-malt continental lagers is the use of flaked maize, an unmalted cereal grain. The flakes are hardly a cheap malt substitute. Indeed, they typically cost two to three times more than domestic malt, and they are even more expensive than premium imported malts. What one gets with this specialty grain is extra strength without the satiating effects of a high-gravity beer. Alcohol by itself is essentially tasteless. Nevertheless, it is a flavor carrier, enhancing the other active flavor components in a beer, as it does in this formulation. The maize also leaves a pleasant grain-like sweetness in the finished beer.”

Cheers!