Heater Allen Abzug 10 Degree Vienna-Style Lager

Review Date 1/21/2022  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Vienna Lager   Brewery: Heater Allen   Country: USA   State: Oregon   $ Per OZ: N/A   ABV: 4.1%

Welcome friends! Today is a special day! That’s because after beer hunting and drinking for over 40 years now, I’ve come across something entirely new to me: Heater Allen Abzug 10 Degree Vienna-Style Lager. Certainly, the beer is new to me, and I kick myself for letting this beer kick around for a while before drinking it. Not that it wasn’t spectacular even though it was a bit over a year od when I drank it, but because I could have learned something a lot earlier than I actually did.

I can not find a listing for this beer on the brewery website, but here is how Craftshack quotes them as describing it:

In the late 1800s, Vienna brewers made three versions of their amber lagers. The highest alcohol version was called Marzen or Fest Bier. The lowest alcohol version was called Abzug, which means "discount" or "reduction" in German. These beers were the Austrian version of session beers. Our version tips the scales at 3.75% alcohol by volume. It's crisp, refreshing, with a nice floral Saaz hop nose, a malty palate, and a clean finish. This is the beer we brew for the wineries during harvest, but it's available to everyone.

Isn’t this fascinating! A low-strength Vienna Lager (the quote above puts the Heater Allen version at 3.75% but my can says it has an alcohol content of 4.1% by volume). As I alluded to earlier, I didn’t drink this beer right away. The bottom is stamped as CANNED ON 10/26/2020, and I received it from Craftshack in March of 2021. I paid $4.54 for it when I did.

I was, however, intrigued by this notion of Abzug. Had I ever had one before? I checked my spreadsheet of almost 7100 different beers tasted; no mention of Abzug there. Next I consulted the mighty Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson, checking the indexes of The World Guide to Beer, The New World Guide to Beer, The Beer Companion, The Pocket Guide to Beer, and Ultimate Beer. All came up Abzug-free.

A Beer Drinker’s Guide to Southern Germany by James D. Robertson? No Abzug there. Nor was it found in Fred Eckhardt’s Essentials of Beer Style. Undaunted, I set my hopes on my copy of Vienna-Märzen Oktoberfest by George ad Laurie Fix, book 4 in the Classic Beer Style series. Surely here I would find reference to Abzug? Sadly, I did not.

On the bright side, this dearth of Abzug information did make me feel much better about being an Abzug novice.

Heater Allen Abzug 10 Degree Vienna-Style Lager pours to a hazy orange color with a light head formation on a vigorous pour and a nose of soft bready malt with a hint of caramel. Taking a sip, the beer is medium in body with hints of bread crust, toasted nuts, caramel, and a gentle kiss of bitter hops in the finish.

Quite tasty indeed, Heater Allen Abzug gets 5 stars from me as a classic example of the style. Of course, being the only example of the style I’ve ever tried of which I am aware, I can’t give them any less. Then too, they educated me, and brownie points for that. Hedonistically, too, the beer was delicious and satisfying, and in many ways reminiscent of modern Mexican Lager, which is actually based on Vienna Lager.

Abzuglutely a must-try beer.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??