The Drunken Polack

This past weekend I had my buddy Jimmy over to watch some movies.  He usually doesn’t like hoppy beers or really big beers so I figured it was a good time to bring out three lagers I had laying around from Shmaltz.  These are the same guys who make the He’brew line.  Sometime last year they started coming out with a new line, Coney Island.  The Coney Island line is a line of lagers only.  Usually lagers don’t do much for me but these were decent little beers.  Well two out of the three were anyway.  Now on to the reviews!

Up first is their Freaktoberfest Lager.  It’s classified as a American Amber/Red Lager.  It has a 6.66% ABV.  Gotta love how they got the percentage to match the number of the devil since this brew came out around halloween.  This one pours a raspberry color.  Freaked the hell out of me when it poured.  Awesome!  The head on this one was small and a very light red color. 

The smell and taste really didn’t have much going on.  This was more of a gimmick beer really.  It really does match the halloween theme.  All I really got from this beer was muted fruit.  Cherries and raspberries came to mind.  Also it had some sweet malt and caramel throw in.  Overall it’s really hard to like this beer because of the lack of any real taste or smell.  Theres hints of ingredients but nothing really stands out.  The feeling was smooth and goes down easy.  I wouldn’t recommend this brew to anyone, well anyone who wanted a lager that had some taste it in.  Like I said it’s a gimmick beer, it does work in that fashion.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.shmaltz.com/
What the company says: Site is in flash.  No copy and paste here kids.
ABV%: 6.66%
Other beers to try from this brewery:He’brew Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A., He’brew Genesis Ale
Other beers to try within the same style:Schmaltz Coney Island Lager
Rating: D

Up next is a lager I actually did like.  It’s their on a American Pale Lager.  I also remember my buddy Jimmy saying this is one he liked a lot.  From what I remembered in my drunken haze anyway.  This one pours a clear light amber color with very little head.  The smell on this on is full of bready malt, grassy hops, honey, and some citrus.  It’s a really nice smelling lager.  I loved the hop smell, while it wasn’t big, it was there and you really don’t get that to much from lagers.

Out of the three, this was defintely the best tasting.  Again the hops is what makes this brew.  Not big, just right for a session lager.  Grassy and citrus.  The honey and fruit also make a really nice appearance.  It all ends with the bready, biscuit like malt. 

This one like all three go down really easy.  It’s nicely carbonated and smooth.  If you’re looking for an over the top beer, don’t look here.  It’s just a nice lager to sit down with.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.shmaltz.com/
What the company says: Site is in flash.  No copy and paste here kids.
ABV%: 6.80%
Other beers to try from this brewery: He’brew Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A., He’brew Genesis Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: First beer I’ve had in this beer style
Rating: B-

Last but now least was my second favorite (almost favorite) out of the three lagers.  Here we have Albino Python, which BA says is a American Pale Wheat Ale.  Go figure, the bottle says Lager on it.  I’ll believe the bottle. 

This brew is a nice golden straw color.  Very cloudy.  Pours a nice sized crater filled white head.  Good retention and laces the glass all throughout.  The smell is spicy.  It’s full of wheat, lemon, and citrus.  Hops are there also and mesh well with everything else.  I really like the smell on this one.

The taste was just as good as the smell.  The spiciness hits your tongue and follows up with the lemon and citrus.  It ends with a nice bit of grassy hops and wheat.  Like I said this was my second favorite but not by much.  Now that I think of it, maybe I liked it more.  Really hard to say =) Both would be very good on a hot summer day but I think this one might be a tad bit better for that.  Overall just a really nice lager. 

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.shmaltz.com/
What the company says: Site is in flash. No copy and paste here kids.
ABV%: 6.00%
Other beers to try from this brewery: He’brew Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A., He’brew Genesis Ale
Other beers to try within the same style: If you believe Beer Advocate then….Bell’s Oberon Ale, Samuel Adams Summer Ale
Rating: B-

Found: Grape and Gourmet
Price: Around 5 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.shmaltz.com/
What the company says: You can read about the beer here

What I say: All I used to drink was lagers.  My beer drinking career started with Yuengling Lager.  As I got more into craft beers I started leaving lagers behind and sticking with ales.  To me they are a lot more complex and I just enjoy the taste better.  Now that isn’t saying I won’t enjoy a lager every once in a while so I picked up all three of the new lagers from Shmaltz. 

They’ve made a line of lagers that when you buy them, some of the proceeds go to help Coney Island, USA.  They are a non profit arts organization.  So it’s for a cool cause.  Now on to the beer!

The Look: Pours a clear dark copper color with a medium sized head. 

What the nose thought: With this lager you get a nice caramel smell with a tad bit of a grassy hop kick.  Not much is going on here but it’s clean and smells better than a lot of lagers I’ve had.

And the tastebuds?:  This beer is made from 8 different types of malts and 6 different types of hops.   You really won’t get much but a very clean, crisp taste if you drink this beer as soon as it comes out of the bottle but if you wait a few what you get is a nice deep smell of caramel malt, yeasty backbone, and a decent little grassy hop taste.  Really a nice easy to drink lager.

The feel: Crisp, clean, and a good amount of carbonation.

Ending notes: I would easily drink more of this lager.  If I had to pick between say this and a Yuengling this would easily be first.  They make around 4 more lagers in this line (so far) and I have two more different ones in the fridge awaiting to be reviewed.  I enjoyed this lager and at 5.5 ABV it’s an easy beer to enjoy multiple of.   Thumbs up!

Rating: B-