Modist Supra Light Lager. JRL with a snappy feel and some good yeast throughout the taste. Happy this is local.
Creation Polotmavé 12° - Spotted Octopus Not sure how true to style this is, only because I have had so few Czech Amber Lagers. Regardless, it is a tasty dry lager. Rich roasted malt aroma, light caramel and spicyness, with slight floral notes in the end. Flavor is fairly bitter w/mild sweetness. Toasted whitebread, some earthy pine straw and a long finish that starts mildly sweet and ends astringently dry and bitter. Medium body, soft texture, high mineral character. It’s a nice sessionable beer that would go well with nachos.
I started a separate thread for maibocks. The style is in season now and needs its own place for discussion. But here's the one that I had tonight: Our Lady Maibock from New Oberpfalz Brewing. It's a good start to my maibock season.
I've been wanting to taste a German Pils and a Czech/Bohemian Pils side-by-side to experience the differences. I had that opportunity last weekend when I visited Mangata Brewing in Union Pier, MI (close to the southwest corner of MI). Neither beer was on tap, so I bought a 4-pack of each to have this tasting at home. Here's a pic of them along with the BA definitions of each style. The BA definitions are pretty accurate to what I experienced. The one difference that I noted was that the German version was a bit hoppier than the Czech version, although my wife felt otherwise. One other note, although Mangata opened only recently, the brewing capability carries good experience. The label on each beer indicates the beers were brewed by Transient Artisan Ales which has brewed 3 Czech and 4 German pilsners per their listings here on BA.
A blast from the past? Today’s new beer is Gretz German Pilsner. I once again attended the annual German Bierfest which is held at the Pennsylvania German Society at 6th & Spring Garden streets in Philadelphia (February 27th). https://www.phillybierfest.org/ There are lots of beers at this event, both German brewed and US brewed. According to the booklet there were about 40 German brewed beers and over 70 US brewed beers. Too many brands to try them all but I got my fair share. I wrote a ‘trip report’ for a friend who could not make it to the event and a snippet from that report: “I had a conversation with the guy selling Gretz beer: Kyler Gretz. Gretz is an old time Philly brewery (closed in the early 1960s) and Kyler along with his father is trying to revive this beer brand.” I had a small sample pour of Gretz beer but I was so busy chatting I neglected to ask what type of beer it was. I think it was a Helles. But today’s beer is the Gretz German Pilsner available on draft at Local 44 beer bar/restaurant in West Philly. Served in a shaker pint glass: Appearance: Straw yellow colored with a one finger white head. Aroma: A combination of is bready/cracker-like Pilsner Malt aroma and hops aromas of herbal/spicy. Taste: The flavor follows the nose with bready/cracker-like malt with herbal/spicy flavors from the hops. There is a moderate bitterness. Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a dry finish. Overall: I enjoyed drinking this beer, it is very good – excellent. A ‘bonus’ is that this beer was priced economically at only $4 a pint. I hope to be able to purchase these beers in cans at my local beer retailer(s) in the near future. Cheers! P.S. The reincarnation of Gretz Brewery is very new (opened in October 2025). You can learn more here: https://breweriesinpa.com/generatio...-revives-a-historic-philadelphia-beer-legacy/
Northsun Vienna Lager from Reuben's Brews in Seattle. Quite a dark shade of amber with abundant foam in the glass. Rather tangy on the tongue. Moderate bitterness. Taste is grainy and stemmy. Some malty sweetness but a dry and woody finish. This is a more challenging kind of amber Lager if you like that kind of thing. I find it too gummy and astringent. Dated 11/04/25.
Maddy's Bottoms Up, an "Export Helles Lager" whatever that is, from Stemma Brewing in Wash. Aroma of bread and white wine. This is quite strong-tasting and reminds me of a Bock, but not so sweet. There is a grainy undertone and some slight astringency to go with the malt. This is a different sort of Lager and I would happily drink it more often. I had about given up on Stemma, but this is quite good.
Helles beer brewed at export strength. Ayinger calls their Jahrhundert an Export Helles (not Dortmunder Export), and Augustiner Edelstoff is one, too (also not a Dortmunder).
FWIW -- I stopped in at an independent local where I knew they'd had Trumer Pils a few months ago. One 12-pack left... Best by 12/25. However, they had a 12-pack of SN Summerfest (not sure why only one), not a bad plan B.
Vienna Lager - Frequentem Can date 10.Mar.2026, purchased from the Brewery about an hour ago. Toasted grains and a bit dusty in the aroma. Flavor has toasted grains and malt, quite dry with modest bitterness and no sweetness. Finish is all about the grain and lingers. It’s a good example of the style, however Frequentem does better.
These Czech Lagers appear regularly from a variety of breweries lately-- from Bellingham, Wash, The Long Dark from Aslan. Clear dark amber-brown with dissipating foam. Adequate spritz on the tongue and a light body. The flavor is quite appealing with dark roasted malt and a hint of caramel. Just a touch of burnt sugar. For a beer with less hops it has a nice aroma of cereal and roasted grain. There is a little leafy hop flavor and then a slight bitter aftertaste. Overall this is very tasty for a lighter-weight dark brew.
My first ever Austrian style Export Lager A question that may pop into your mind is: what the heck is an Austrian style Export Lager? FWIW, I have the same question. Today’s new beer was collaboratively brewed by Von Trapp and Jack’s Abby, branded as mentioned above: Austrian style Export Lager. To the best of my recollection the only beer I have had that was brewed in Austria was Stiegl Goldbraü. So, what sort of beer is this? This beer is categorized as being a European Pale Lager style on BA; it is 5% ABV. I have listened to podcasts with Andreas Krennmaier who is Austrian and is very knowledgeable about Austrian brewing both historically and contemporary brewing. He wrote the book "Historic German and Austrian Beers for the Home Brewer" which I have considered purchasing in the past (but I yet to ‘pull the trigger’). According to Andreas Krennmaier the top selling beers in Austria are what are locally termed as being a Marzën, but these beers are markedly different for the German (Bavarian) version being lower in alcohol (typically around 5% ABV) and pale in color (‘modern’ Festbiers are pale in color). Since this beer is considered to be an Export Lager this is an indicator that this beer has a bit more ‘heft’ in the alcohol aspect and it does at 5.6% ABV. On the back of the can is listed “Austrian style Export Lager: Brewed with Pilsner and Vienna malts, Continental noble hops, and fermented cool with our house lager yeast. Maybe this beer would be similar to a German Festbier? Let’s find out. Served in my Polish Pilsner glass: Appearance A medium golden color with a BIG fluffy white head. Aroma: Predominantly rich, bready malt but there is some herbal/spicy hops in the background. Taste: The flavor follows the nose with rich, bready malt flavor being front and center but again some herbal/spicy hop flavors in the background. There is a low-moderate bitterness. Mouthfeel Light - medium bodied with an off-dry finish. Overall A very good malty lager. If I was presented with this beer blind, I am confident that I would assess this beer as being a Pale Oktoberfest (Festbier). Let’s go spring Festing! Cheers!
So I was in the neighborhood of a local independent retailer this week and stopped in because I wondered if they had anything interesting. No more Spaten products and the last 12-pack of Trumer they had was a best by last December. HowEVER... a near whole case of Roaring Table Fest Bier was on the shelf (my favorite local, if you're paying attention) -- and discounted from the usual MSRP. And yeah, this was packaged back in August, but I had to take the chance... and I'm glad I did! The beer is holding up very well. A great interpretation of the style... and I'm tempted to go back for what they have left.
