Sometimes, I think, lagers get a bad rap. I think it’s because they get caught up in the ever-increasing craze of bigger and bigger craft brews, with each craft brewer seemingly stumbling over the rest to put the latest sensation on the market. More hops, more malt, more alcohol-more, more, more. While I can appreciate these beers well enough, they generally don’t make for good session beers. That’s where lagers can come in quite nicely, thank you very much.

Lagers that are drinkable, yet still flavorful. Lagers that you can sip gently or drink with a bit more gusto if you prefer, yet still won’t leave you unable to get off your bar stool. Lagers that are a great match to food.  Lagers like Brooklyn Lager, one of the flagship brands of New York’s Brooklyn Brewery. So, when I stopped by local Taco Mac not long ago and found this old friend on draft, I ordered up a mug posthaste.

Brooklyn calls this beer an American Amber Lager based on the Vienna Lager style, and I can see that. They’ve tweaked the style a bit so that it has a bit less caramel malt and more hops than a Vienna Lager normally entails, and dry hopped the beer as well to add hop aroma. American two row pilsner and caramel malts along with Cascade, Hallertau Mittelfrueh, and Vanguard hops are used. The beer has an alcohol content of 5.2% by volume.

My 20-ounce mug of Brooklyn Lager arrived bright amber in color with a light creamy foam head and a delightful light toffee nose. The keg was freshly tapped only a few days ago, and had arrived along with several other Brooklyn beers (Brooklyn was the month’s featured brewery). I took a sip, and found the palate simple but amazingly delicious, packed with crisp biscuity malt and a hint of caramel flavor. I was reminded of chewing a handful of fresh malt as I sipped

The big refreshing malt flavor is followed by a grassy herbal hop aroma and a respectable lingering bitter buzz, and though I drank bigger beers that same night, I can tell you I did not drink better.

I find Brooklyn lager to be one of America's best lagers bar none. It’s refreshing, unique, and amazingly drinkable. At just $5 on tap it was a true bargain as well; it’s reasonable in the bottle as well at about $8 a six-pack.

Update 4/9/2017: The wife is shopping. Luckily, it's in the Taco Mac plaza. Brooklyn Lager. Magnificently malty and hoppy, and still just $5 a draft here.



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