August 2021 – The Tap Takeover

Beer Review: Grimm Artisanal Ales’ Cross Stitch

Name: Cross Stitch
Brewing Company: Grimm Artisanal Ales
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Style: Lager – Vienna
ABV: 5%
An outstanding amber-hued Lager from one of NY’s premiere craft breweries.

From Grimm’s landing page for Cross Stitch:

This Vienna-style lager was brewed with a double decoction mash — our first time using this historical process for our lagers! With a base of German Vienna malt and a touch of CaraAroma, Cross Stitch is a warming, toasty lager with a smooth mouthfeel. Aromas of freshly baked bread and subtle caramel are complemented by flavors of sweet malt and toffee, ending with a crisp finish.

Vienna Lager…a conundrum of a lager style. In some ways it is a relatively obscure style (certainly not as popular as Pilsner, Helles, or Marzen), but also one of the Lager styles most predominant on shelves of beer shops and bars, thanks to Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Brooklyn’s flagship, Brooklyn Lager, most people grabbing those two beers probably wouldn’t realize they were drinking a Vienna Lager. For my tastes, (and probably because of my general malaise towards Boston Lager), Vienna is the Lager style I’d always gravitated to the least. With some of the smaller independent breweries crafting this style, I realized how damned good this kind of beer could be (I’m looking at you Icarus, Kane, and Untied). So imagine my surprise when a brewery with “Ales” in their name canned and distributed what might be the best (of the admittedly limited quantity, a baker’s dozen including this one) interpretation of the style I’ve had. 4 years in, this is the first time I’ve reviewed a Vienna Lager, as it turns out.

Thick aroma of malty breadiness greets my senses when I open the can – maybe warm bread even. The beer pours a deep amber that could easily be mistaken for an Oktoberfest/Märzen. First sip test – Cross Stitch passes with flying colors. That breadiness is maybe the strongest element. Immediately following, or even overlaying that breadiness is an extremely pleasant lacing of caramel, likely from the CaraAroma malt. The last thing I taste is a hint of toffee on top of the ever-present caramel lacing.

The flavors are great, but what maybe impresses me the most is how incredibly smooth this beer is. Especially since one of the issues I’ve had with Boston Lager is how unsmooth the beer seemed to me. Granted, it has been well over 4 years since I’ve had Boston Lager, and the recipe has supposedly been tweaked. There’s still that characteristic crisp finish a Lager should have, but it is a complement to the lovely, caramel smoothness of the beer.

Cross Stitch is an outstanding take on the Vienna style of Lager. As I stated at the outset of this beer review, Grimm’s take on the style is probably my favorite Vienna Lager and one of my favorite “new to me” Lagers of 2021. As such, this kind of makes me sad that I grabbed the last four pack of this beer in the store.

Beer Review: Workhorse Brewing’s Golden Lager

Beer Review

Name: Golden Lager
Brewing Company: Workhorse Brewing Company
Location: King of Prussia, PA
Style: Lager – Helles
ABV: 5%
A delicious Flagship Lager that is a wonderful example of the classic style from the Keystone State Brewery.

From Workhorse Brewing’s to go page for their beer

Our Helles has been rebranded for 2021! While the label is new, the liquid remains the same. Showcasing a blend of traditional German malts and hops, this well-balanced and crisp lager utilizes a cold fermentation process and extensive lagering. The result is a great “all day” beer with subtle notes of bread and honey.

Back to the Lagers with a brewery new to NJ – Workhorse Breiwng Company. While they aren’t exactly new, Workhorse has begun distributing into New Jersey thanks to Cape Beverage (an offshoot of Cape May Brewing Company). I’m always up to try new breweries especially when one of those beers is a Helles Lager, the beer that I like to call the Pilsner’s Munich Cousin. The Helles Lager is one of the more widely crafted styles of Lager …and it has been almost a year since the Tap Takeover shone the review spotlight on a Helles Lager so the timing is almost perfect for this review.

Crack of the can, pour into the Willi Becher glass and we’ve got a beautiful translucent golden beer with a perfectly frothy head about the width of my thumb. This beer is exactly what it says on the label – Golden Lager. “Helles” in German can be translated as “bright” so by the looks of this beer, Workhorse’s take on the Munich Lager is 100% on point. As for the aroma…nothing crazy, it tastes like a beer I want to drink.

On the taste here, there’s a sweet maltiness, that toasted bread cracker element associated with the style, to the beer that immediately pleases me. Refreshing and flavorful, I get a slightly bitter finish on that first sip, but the whole of the flavors coming together make for an extremely refreshing beer. A beer whose flavor profile says, “Yeah, this is really tasty. Don’t let it sit on the table too long. Maybe just hold the glass between sips because you want more.”

Overall, this is a extremely clean, well-balanced beer that is exactly what a Lager should be. What does that mean? The beer hits the cracker/bready notes a lager should hit, it has that overused, but ever important “drinkability” quality that lends itself to having a couple of beers without being knocked out, and is very flavorful.

Golden Lager is one of the four primary beers Workhorse has sent into NJ as an introduction, along with their New England IPA, West Coast IPA, and Prickly Pear Gose. Based on this beer, Workhorse has made a pretty nice first appearance in New Jersey.

Untapped badges earned with this beer:

Lager Jack (Level 25)

After a long day, what better way to kick back than with a crisp and refreshing lager? You’re already feeling more relaxed, aren’t you?

Brewery Pioneer (Level 95)

There’s beer in them thar hills! You’re setting off on your journey through the world of beer, but be sure to take a little time to get to know each brewery as you go. That’s a beer from 475 different breweries.

Beer Review: Two Ton’s Wrought Gold W/ Blood Orange

Beer Review

Name: Wrought Gold w/ Blood Orange
Brewing Company: Two Ton Brewing
Location: Kenilworth, NJ
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 5.5%

“A flavorful, low ABV beer perfect for summer and poolside beer from the Union County brewery.”

tt_wg_bo_01 — The commemorative/souvenir beer glass is from the 2015 Garden State Brewfest, where I first sampled beer from Two Ton Brewing.

From Two Ton’s facebook post promoting the beer:

We took Wrought Gold, our American blonde ale brewed with fresh blood orange purée to deliver the ultimate refreshment. This summer sipper is sure to satisfy with smooth sensations of sweetness. The base beer boasts smooth, round flavors of malt and slightly juicy Liberty hops, fermented with an English ale yeast.

A relatively short amount of time for another Blonde Ale considering I don’t drink many of them. But the frequency of these two Blonde Ale reviews should speak to their quality. That said, this definitely different than the previous Blonde Ale featured here at the Tap Takeover. Two Ton has been around the NJ Craft Beer scene for a few years, I first sampled their fine brews during the 2015 Garden State Brewfest. I remember their beer being tasty and the owners, brothers Matt and Jim Barbiere and their father Mario, being extremely nice guys. At the time, Two Ton was contract brewing with their HQ based out of Linden, NJ, my hometown. More recently (in 2018), they opened in Kenilworth, NJ. This past year, they began distributing cans of their beer which leads to this beer specifically.

Blonde Ales are typically easy drinking, approachable beers. I’ve had the original Wrought Gold and remembered enjoying the beer so I was pleased to see this variant appear in the refrigerated shelves of my local Wegmans. I had a feeling it might be a good poolside / summer beer and I had a few people coming over that day, one of whom loves Blood Orange.

Pop of the can and the strong, pleasant, inviting aroma of the Blood Orange asserts itself. The beer pours a reddish gold and the potent aroma of citrus/oranges is even more noticeable. Although the fruit is “Blood Orange,” the look of the beer, is more of a “strawberry blonde.” Regardless, the beer looks as I would expect it to look.

The pronounced Blood Orange flavor dominates. That is a feature, not a bug, by the way. Blonde Ales are often not too assertive, they are beer flavored beer for the most part. The American versions at least, tend to not lean too much on the malt, not too much on the hops so the beer style is good for its approachability and its ability to take on a flavor adjunct. I mentioned the citrus element from the Blood Orange…that is quite different than the citrus element some hops impart. There’s a very distinct citrus sweetness that I can only compare to the most potent orange juice I’ve had blended with beer. It makes for a good combination, at least for my taste buds.

TT_WG_BO_02

Wrought Gold w/Blood Orange is an excellent ale that works perfectly as a fun, summer refresher and well worth seeking out.

Recommended, link to Untappd 4 bottle cap rating.

Draught Diversions: July 2021 Six Pack

Draught Diversion, Monthly New Brews

Draught Diversions is the catchall label for mini-rants, think-pieces, and non-review posts here at The Tap Takeover. We hope you don’t grow too weary of the alcohol alliterative names we use…

2021_July_SixPack

July has come and gone and with it, the annual family Fourth of July party, which was a contributor to this month’s six pack. It is often hit or miss with the beers my family and friends bring, but this year, there were more hits than misses. This is the first six pack in months with no lager and outside of one beer, all are hop forward (Pale Ales or IPAs).

Forever Forward (Icarus Brewing) | IPA – Imperial/Double New England | 4.75 Bottle Caps on untappd

As it so happens, this was the 50th beer I had from Icarus Brewing. As it also happens, it is the best IPA I’ve had from them and maybe one of my top IPAs of all time. I like the hop selection (Citra and Motueka) and what I appreciate is that they used wheat and oats to soften the body of the beer rather than lactose. Plus, how do you not like that Back to the Future inspired can art?

Your Lips are Bloody! (Ashton Brewing) | IPA – Sour | 4.25 Bottle Caps on untappd

One of Ashton’s flagship beers is their IPA, “Your Lips are Juicy,” which I featured about a year ago. That was a very good beer. This is a version of the beer with Blood Oranges and is even better. This beer was originally produced for Halloween 2020, but proved so popular it was brewed and canned again. The blood oranges both accentuate the citrus element inherent in the hops and since blood oranges are even sweeter than regular oranges, that sweetness counters the hop bitterness. A delicious IPA

Blueberry Lemon Crushin’ It (Cape May Brewing Co.) | IPA – American| 4 Bottle Caps on untappd

Cue the Whitesnake song because here we go with a variant of a beer I’ve previously featured at the Tap Takeover. Blueberry is one of my favorite fruits and when balanced with lemon makes for a very refreshing flavor profile. This beer is stronger on the blueberry element than the hops element, but is very tasty. Maybe not quite as good as the original “Orange Crushin’ It,” but still a beer I enjoyed thoroughly and would enjoy poolside all summer.

Patriot (Battle River Brewing) | IPA – American | 4 Bottle Caps on untappd

When you have an annual Fourth of July party and your party-goers know you like beer, they tend to bring beer. Fortunately, there’s a gem of a beer I haven’t had like this IPA from Battle River Brewing. This is a very well-made, straight-forward, no-frills CLEAR IPA. Sometimes, the relatively simple beers are just what hits the spot, and this IPA delivers in spades. Good stuff

Subtle Symphony (Conclave Brewing Company) | Pale Ale – American | 4 Bottle Caps on untappd

I met up with a good friend to visit the two closest breweries to me, Conclave being one of them. This is a delicious, flavorful, low ABV (4.5%) pale ale that I could drink all day. Slightly hop-forward, fully refreshing. This would be a good beer for them to can.

Uncharted Waters Raspberry Gose (Jersey Cyclone Brewing Company) | Sour – Fruited Gose | 4.25 Bottle Caps on untappd

Jersey Cyclone continues to impress me with everything the brew. They’ve been making great sour ales over the better part of the last year. Fruited sours in particular have been impressing me so I was very happy to see them finally put one of their sour ales in a four-pack of cans. Goses are maybe the sour beers I like most, the salinity on the finish works for me and it plays really nicely with the sweet and tart nature of the raspberries. A very well-crafted beer.