Most American beers are lagers, which is why I don’t usually buy them. As Monty Python’s sketch comedy once said, it’s “…like making love in a canoe. It’s fucking close to water.” I’m glad to say that is not the case with this selection from Bentonville Brewing Co.
To be more specific, this is like a weizen (wheat) beer from Germany. Weizen is usually served during Oktoberfest, which is a celebration of the year’s harvest. Naturally, one of the often-harvested crops is wheat so what better way to honor the harvest than to make beer!
Lager comes from the German word for “Storage”. This is because fermentation takes place while the beer is being stored, hence lagered. The beer is held in a cool place, such as an old wine cellar. This temperature control is what gives lagers their characteristics. In doing a little research about lagers, I also found that lagers use a specific strain of yeast that sinks to the bottom of the vessel and that’s what allows it to ferment bottom up. Ales, for comparison, quickly ferment from the top down at warmer temperature.
Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. The color of the beer depends on how the brewery roasted the malted barley. Pale lagers borrowed from the techniques used for pale ales. Amber lagers are slightly darker and are often thought of as more traditional. Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Yeungling Traditional Lager are both excellent examples of amber lager. Examples of dark lagers can be found with any of the bock beers that are on the market.
You really get that “bready” taste from this beer because it is a wheat beer. Many American lagers are made with rice as an additive opposed to wheat. It’s got a pleasant aroma, and the hops are just barely noticeable. This is the type of beer I’d like to cool off with on a sweltering summer day.
From the brewery:
A golden lager in the style of beer brewed for D’Wiesn, Munich’s renowned Oktoberfest celebration traditionally taking place in the weeks leading up to the first Sunday in October. This beer is well balanced with a touch of hop bite over a solid foundation of toasted maltiness perfect for pairing with obatzda and a hot, fresh pretzel.
