Sierra Nevada Summerfest 2020

That's what I was alluding above...

Maybe he's going to bat for us and the beer, threatening to walk out if there's no Summertime next year!

Okay, maybe not. ;-)

 

On my 6th six pack, all packaged in April. If I could find 12 packs of cans packaged within a month or so, I could definitely stock up (or hurt myself).

 

Haven't seen cans anywhere around here. Six-pack and 12-pack bottles only -- with different dates.

 

I typically don’t buy in bulk. Too much good beer out there.

I picked up a couple six packs, and then found a 12 pack of cans around the corner from me. This was before I found out it might not return.

Damn good this year (I mean, it’s good every year).

 

I understand, but Summerfest has been a longtime favorite of mine and I know I'll at least be buying 2 6-packs. So doing the math of $8.00 to $8.50 a sixer around here, vs. $15 a 12...

As a 10 percenter, I know this is a difficult concept for you.

So, you did buy in bulk.

 

That was my SECOND 12 pack of Summerfest. That’s a big deal for me.

And I think I also got one or two six packs when it first hit my area too.

Soooo good this year.

 

So you ARE a bulk buyer!

 

So, I did an informal side-by this afternoon with SN Summerfest and Bell's Lager of the Lakes.

I hate to put it this way, but if Summerfest is retired I'll certainly miss the tradition and anticipation of the new vintage, but I think Lager of the Lakes will help me get over it.

And I think I like the LoL better -- they're so close in character, but the Bell's is a little deeper in color, the head and retention are terrific for a Pils, and there's just a little more yeasty breadiness in the flavor.

@hopfenunmaltz -- you just posted that you picked up some Summerfest, and since you live in Bell's backyard I'm sure you know the LoL. Any comparison opinion?

 

The pevious beer the wife picked up was Lager of the Lakes. Summerfest was today.

Lager of the lakes has improved in the last several years John Mallett has said it is his take on the Southern Bavarian type of Pilsners. The malt is there, the hop flavor and aroma are subdued, a balanced beer.

Summerfest was different. They say it is Czech inspired. The Saaz hop aroma is wonderful. There is a spicy hop flavor I enjoy. The finish is crisp and clean. Hop forward, and the malt takes a supporting role.

I enjoy the LotL, but will ask the wife for more Summerfest next time shopping. After that I will have another homebrewed Pils on tap. I should brew more soon, as the Pils disappears in this Covid-19 summer.

 

Jeff, any idea why Bell’s markets this beer as being a Bohemian Pilsner:

“Lager of the Lakes - Bohemian Style Pilsner”

http://www.bellsbeer.com/beer/year-round/lager-lakes

Cheers!

 

I’ve always thought of lager of the lakes as czech as well. I looked at a map out of curiosity and looks like Bavaria is what borders the Czech Republic. Wonder if the styles are similar since they’re close in geography? Maybe some crossover in style because of that? Who knows.

 

Maybe because it reflects beers of a region before the current borders? Look it up.

 

ok

 

Or contact Bell's.

 

Let's not discount Saxony, shall we?

 

Nice review of Lager of the Lakes from a year ago. Some points I agree with, others I don't -- but it would be palate nit-picks. Though I still find it (and Summerfest) to be more German in character than Bohemian.

 

BTW -- the review is at the hypertext link, I just attached the video that's linked at the review as a bonus.

 

John Mallet’s beer history is a bit ‘off’ in the above video. He discusses the concept of “closer to the European historical ideal, the types of beers that the German immigrants came to America drinking, and tried to emulate initially…”

German speaking people immigrated to America during Colonial American times but the largest influx of German immigrants was in the 1800’s:

“By 1832, more than 10,000 immigrants arrived in the U.S. from Germany. By 1854, that number had jumped to nearly 200,000 immigrants.”

https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classr...vities/presentations/immigration/german4.html

If was during the early to mid-1800’s that many of the German immigrant brewers that we came to know arrived in America:

· David G. Yuengling established his brewery in 1829 (called Eagle Brewery then)

· Gottlieb Pabst immigrated to the US in 1848 and he became the brewer at Best Brewery (later to become Pabst) in 1863

· August Krug established the brewery which became Schlitz in 1849. Ownership passed to Joseph Schlitz in 1858 when he married Krug's widow.

· Frederick Miller immigrated to the US in 1854 and founded Miller Brewing Company in 1855

All of the above German brewers would have been drinking darker (amber to brown) lagers in their native Germany since Pale Lagers in Germany came much later.

The first Helles beer was brewed in 1894:

“Spaten brewery finally introduced the first “real” helles on March 21, 1894, and promptly sent it for market testing to Hamburg, where it was a hit.”

https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/LAJp2DvaHt/

As regards German Pilsners, the brewery of Radeburger claims to have produced the first Pilsner in Germany. As they detail on their website:

“Sometimes it’s the small town heroes who catch the world off guard and surprise us when we least expect it. That’s what happened in 1872 when five local men of distinction from the small town of Radeberg not far from Dresden decided to teach us all a thing or two about beer. Unhappy with the taste of the beers of their time, they set out to create something better. Their desire laid the foundation of Radeberger Pilsner, the inventor of our famous German Pilsner Culture.”

The German beers of Germany in the early – mid 1800’s would have been closer to what we would call an Oktoberfest or Vienna lager beer. Or even Dunkel beers.

In contrast Pale Lager (i.e., Bohemian Pilsner) was brewed in Plzen (Czech Republic) since 1842 with the first imports arriving to the US in 1873.

Pale Lager would not be an American produced product until the later 1800’s (e.g., Budweiser was first brewed in 1876).

Cheers!

@RobH @rotsaruch

 

I have always felt that the Bavarian Pilsners are in between Bohemian and the more northern German Pilsners. IMO, they have the higher malt presence of the Bohemians. See Weihenstephaner.

 

But it's not that they have higher malt than Northern German Pils, just less hops (among other aspects).