The Suburban Brew, Gateway Lager

I had had a slothful Sunday that was full of playing with a small child whilst its mother could catch up on the vital things in life, like sleep. It had been a very pleasant way of passing the afternoon and I felt that the evening should be passing in an equally pleasant way by sampling a beer or two. I decided that a lager would be the best way forward, I decision driven by the fact that there was one in the fridge. 

In my world a larger should be an uncomplicated drink, it should have a sweet aroma that can contain a little citrus, as this one did. Once in the glass it should be clear and golden, which this one was. Ther should be bubbles, lots of them. This one had all my desired attributes.  

This was definitely a summer lager. It was clean, crisp and refreshing, if a little watery. I could drink this in quantity and still find little to fault it.   

Shapeshifter Brewing, Findon’s Finest, Helles Lager

Friday night is the time to put the world to rights with a few mates and some beers. I had a few issues that needed airing and a fridge full of Lager. Lager is after all the perfect beer to put the world to rights with.

From the outset this was a proper lager drink. It was clear and golden, as a lager should be and there was a smell of yeast hanging over the head.  This was all a promising start.

Once the quaffing began it proved to be a clean and refreshing lager, sweet, nicely soft and a little watery with nothing to speak of as an after taste.

This was a nice lager and did not interfere with the business of putting the world to rights.

Shapeshifter Brewing, Trust the Process, Biotransformation Lager

Chatting to people is nice but it can be exhausting. I had been chatting away for the last few hours of the evening and now the room was quiet. I revelled in the silence and felt that one way to help recharge my batteries after being uncharacteristically sociable for such a long time was to down a beer.

I chose a lager because I was in a serene and uncomplicated mood. I poured it in to the glass and held the pale gold and fizzy liquid to my lips. There was a little bit of lemon in the aroma.

It tasted like a fruity lager which is to say not really a lager at all. Lager and lime I can accept but this was a different fruit altogether.

Little Bang Brewing, Virtual Signal, California lager

I had been out on my bike all day and I was feeling thirsty. I wanted something that was refreshing and that would take my mind away from my aching legs and general tiredness. I nice pilsner lager for instance. I was slightly confused by it being called a Californian Pilsner as I was sure that pilsner is more German, and the German’s have rules about these things.

It smelt of fruit, that was worrying. A Pilsner should not smell of heavily of fruit. It a pale straw yellow and full of bubbles, hiding in a little bit of cloudiness. Alarm bells were ringing, this might not be a pilsner as I know it.

The first sip confirmed my suspicions, this was not a pilsner, this was a lager that had been mucked about with. This was an ungodly alliance between lager and grapefruit that should have never seen the light of day. I did not like it.

Wheaty Brewing Corps, Rizo, Rice Lager

I had, for most of the day, been trying to stop nature encroaching the manicured haven of my garden. Nature is untidy and does not coincide with the aesthetic that I’m aiming for with the planned planting and nurturing that has formed my suburban idyl. The sun had been beating down on me during my endeavours. I was hot and tired. I needed something cooling and refreshing. At times like this only a lager will do.

I wasn’t sure what a rice lager was, but I was willing to try. It looked like a lager: golden yellow although it was slightly opaque. The odd whiff of yeast came from deep inside the beer. I took my first sip and instantly knew that this beer would not be a stranger to my fridge. It tasted wonderful. It was a little yeasty with a sweet wheat taste that ended with an afterthought of bitterness.

Although this was not a wheat beer it was as close as a lager can get, and I loved it. It was just perfect for the end of a hot day. 

Mismatch Lager

I enjoy a nice long sea swim, the only problem is that it leaves a salty taste in my mouth, a taste that needs to be washed away. I’ve tried various concoctions to rid my mouth of the saltiness but always seem to come back to a nice glass of lager. There is nothing like a lager to rid the salt and return my body to its natural state of equilibrium. 

I poured the cold beer into a glass and watched the condensation form on the outside. This looked like a lager, straw yellow and not a cloud in sight. I could sit and watch the bubbles rise to the surface if I wasn’t quite so thirsty. I thought there was a subtle hint of citrus as I brought the glass to my mouth, but it wasn’t anything worth shouting about.

 This was an excellent lager, it was clean, refreshing and did all I asked of it. I could have had another, Oh! I did!  

Blizzard Brewing en route brut

There are some occasions that need marking, the passing of a friend is one of those. I like to toast the departed with a beer or two and think of the happy times rather than dwelling on the fact that they are no longer with us. I had this “interesting” lager on the fridge, and I felt that it was a suitable drink to toast an interesting friend.

I was expecting something clear and golden, but I got something hazy and full of small bubbles. This didn’t look like a lager, it was approaching pale ale territory, possibly hazy pale ale territory. The aroma of lemon didn’t halt that thought.

I took a sip and was pleasantly surprised. This was a lager. A remarkably clean and fresh lager with a lemon after taste. I sat in the big chair an sipped the easy drinking lager and thought of the good times of sitting in the sun sipping lagers. This really was the best beer for the occasion.

Watsacowie Brewing Company, Yorke Pils

I rarely have a beer on a Monday night. Monday is my day of rest. I like to have one day of doing as little as possible and Monday is that day. I feel that doing nothing is an underrated skill and this particular Monday I decided to enhance the experience with a beer. Unfortunately, this went against my ethos of doing nothing bit I felt that it was a sacrifice worth making

It looked like a proper pils in the glass. It was clear, golden and with almost no fragrance. I thought that there might have been a vague hint of lemon, but I could have been mistaken.

I took a sip and found a clean and crisp lager with a hint of fizz. This was exactly how a pils should be. I found this a pleasant drink for an effortless evening

Bond Store: Crisp lager

When I’m on my travels I like to visit local breweries and sample their range. I passed the bond store brewery one lunchtime and popped in for a meal and a selection of their very tasty beers. Unfortunately, they didn’t have their full range in cans, all their beers could be bought as an off sale in two litre growlers but only the crisp lager was available in cans. I bought a pack of the lagers so that I could enjoy them when my travels were over.

I wondered if I would enjoy the beer from the can as much as I did in the brewery, I remembered that it was slightly darker than I expected, and the canned staff was exactly the same. I don’t know why I expected anything different. I gazed upon the little bubbles rising through the clear golden beer and releasing a sweet aroma. It was all as I remembered.

What I had forgotten was quiet how tasty this lager was. This is a special lager that tastes sweet with a smattering of spice, lime, and pepper. It had a very un-lager like thickness about it that added to the whole experience.

This was a good in the can as it was from the tap. I was glad I’d brought back more than one can.

Kangaroo Island Brewing: Extra Pale Lager

I’d spent the evening at a foreign language film and even though, in theory, I knew the language, I’d spent a lot of time reading the subtitles. I felt a little cross-eyed by the end of the experience and I felt that something like a lager would help the return to dealing with my own language. Luckily, I had a can of lager in the fridge for just this occasion/

After calling it extra pale I would have been disappointed if it was anything but a pale coloured beer. I poured it into a glass, and I was not disappointed. It was pale and wheat yellow, like a well hydrated urine sample. It had an insignificant slightly acidic aroma that most lagers do.

This was just what a lager should be, crisp and clean with a hint of lemon moving to an acidic aftertaste. It made returning to listening my own language much easier. It was, in a word, refreshing.