Good vienna lagers

I came here to post the exact thing. Thank you...

A lot of people shit on Samuel Adams for various reasons but one thing a lot of people should agree on is that Boston Lager is a damn good brew.

 

off topic - but we need to do something to get that Kolsch into the regular SN lineup. I'd happily trade Nooner away.
or imagine a 12 pack with Kolsch, Vienna lager, coffee stout and I guess SNPA? That would be awesome.

Being in NY we don't get Great Lakes - really interested in them - Eliot Ness, Ed Fitz, etc sound like beers I'd buy regularly if they were in grocery stores.

 

Penn Pilsner is good. Mind you that although it is called Pilsner it is actually a Vienna Lager. Which is a dick move to the consumer who buys it in July and cracks it open totally wanting a refreshing Pilsner but gets a heavy Vienna Lager instead. But as a Vienna Lager its ok!
Ive been waiting for the right place to bring this contradiction up. It really pissed me off at the time.

 

I was using the wayback machine website to go back in time and look at previous Brooklyn Lager product pages, here are some samples (I got curious since I distinctly recall reading about their use of caramel malts for it, which is now missing from the description, as well as the Vanguard hops):

Style:American Amber Lager
Malts:American Two-row Malts
Hops:Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, Vanguard and Cascade
Alcohol by Volume:5.2%
IBUs:33
Original Gravity:13° Plato

Style:American Amber Lager
Malts:American Two-row, Caramel, Munich
Hops:Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, Vanguard, Cascade, Saphir, Williamette
Alcohol by Volume:5.2%
IBUs:30
Original Gravity:13° Plato

 

Patrik, hopefully you can humor me here since I am not well versed in the wayback machine 'technology'.

You posted three different 'versions' of the Brooklyn Lager description. From top to bottom is the chronology present day then further back it time and then even further back in time? If I am understanding this correctly then the way that Brooklyn brewed their beer of Brooklyn Lager from a timeline perspective is:

(Past) Used no Caramel Malt -> Used some Caramel Malt -> Uses no Caramel Malt (Present)

Am I understanding this correctly?

One of the consistent aspects of the descriptions is that they always listed this beer as being an American Amber Lager to which I wholeheartedly agree.

Cheers!

Jack

 

That's a damn fine beer. One of the best lagers brewed on these shores for sure.
While they don't necessarily define it style-wise, I think it's probably closest to a Franconian Lagerbier.

 

Well basically it's the first one (from 2013) with no mention of caramel malt in the ingredients list, but where they mention in the spiel above it "Caramel malts show in the finish.", then the latter excerpt which is from 2014 which mentions caramel malt in the ingredients list and also where it says "a floral hop aroma that give way to smooth caramel malts in the finish." in the spiel above it. If you opt for a date like september 6th of 2015 you find no mention of caramel malt in the ingredients list, it just says "American two row malts", but in the spiel it says "Caramel malts show in the finish.". In the excerpt which you quoted the same verbage is used "Caramel malts show in the finish.", but again no mention of caramel malt in the ingredients list, only Canadian two row malts.

 

I have tried a number of TJ beers but not this. I am a big Devils Backbone Vienna Lager fan but I think I will give TJ a try.

 

Needless to say this is up for interpretation but it is my guess that Brooklyn Brewery 'tweaks' the recipe over time and makes some updates to their website description accordingly. In other words during the timeframes were they do not use Caramel Malt in the grain bill it is excluded from the line entitled "Malts". When they do use Caramel in brewing Brooklyn Lager this detail is included in the line entitled "Malts". They likely do not change the paragraph during this update of the website.

So, according to my guess the Brooklyn Lager that is available at my local beer retailers today is brewed solely using Canadian 2-row malt.

Cheers!

 

I may have some bias being from VA but Devils Backbone Vienna Lager is one of my go to beers. Having said that, I think I will try a few other Vienna Lagers recommended in several posts here.

 

Only on BA would a simple question of "good Vienna lagers?" turn into a dissertation on what beers are actually Vienna Lagers.

Although I must say it is a pretty interesting read.

 

My guess differs from yours . I just think they choose to emphasise different things at different points in time (along with some changes in the ingredients which I'm certain have taken place), but I'd be willing to bet a good amount of money that caramel malt has been used all along to give it the amber color (similar to SNPA, SABL, Anchor Steam etc., caramel malts seemed to have been pretty much obligatory for early American craft brewing to give the beers a color which set them apart from AALs). If not caramel malt, what would they be using instead is the question I'm asking myself.

 

I'm surprised this thread went THREE pages after someone said Elliot Ness

 

One thing we can all agree on is that they are NOT juicy. For that you will need to consult another thread.

 

That is a good point. It has been a very looooong time since I have had a Brooklyn Lager but that beer was indeed amber in color and caramel (crystal) malts would be the likely ingredient choice to achieve this color.

Rather strange that they listed Caramel malt as an ingredient for their October 2014 version but excluded it from the others.

Ah, the 'joy' of marketing.

Cheers!

 

I haven't had one in a long time either, the last few times I've had it I've gotten an unpleasant onion taste from it which put me off of buying it. In comparison I had a Samuel Adams Boston Lager a week or so ago when out at a restaurant and thought it was very tasty (my mother who is not a big beer drinker, or drinker of any kind, had one as well and thought it was tasty). It's a beer which I'm positively surprised by whenever I drink it (which is very infrequently).

 

Two Women is my "always on hand" beer in my fridge, I flat out love that stuff. But I agree, I don't think it really fits as a Vienna, nor as a German Pils as it is listed on this site. I have no clue what a Franconian Lagerbier is so I'll just have to go with you on that one!

 

"Turbid" is still up for debate.