Brewery: Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Beer: Cherry Lager
Serving: 12 oz bottle
Glassware: Pilsner glass
Information: 5.5% ABV, Bottled Apr. Wk4 notched on label.
Style: Fruit Beer
Price: $8.99 / 6-pack
Availability: Spring Seasonal
Cellaring: Not recommended for extended aging.
Pairings: Spinach salad with crumbled goat cheese and raspberry vinaigrette, white, light fish or chicken, and strawberry cheesecake.
Appearance
Cherry Lager poured a slightly hazy ruby-hued rust color with an effervescent off-pink head. The foam trickles down to a ring of loose bubbles with no lacing left in it’s wake.
Smell
Freshly picked cherries with an underlying cherry skin tanning aroma overlaps the hefty malt base. Munich and Vienna-like malts impart caramel sweetness and toasted bread to the soft, muted nose. As this beer warms up, it opens up in a big way; honey-drizzled toasted sourdough English muffin with a dash of cinnamon and floral hop attributes are released.
Taste
A soft blanket of gentle tart Door County cherries is draped over the smooth, well-crafted malt base. Almost like a delicious Oktoberfest in the background, this lager exudes crisp maltiness; great underlying caramel and toast qualities balances the cherries well so this fruit beer isn’t whipping cherries at your face. Floral, lightly herbal noble-like hops finish Cherry Lager out with another layer of complexity.
Mouthfeel
Crisp effervescence and a medium body work well with this beer to really allow the lightly dry and acrid tannins of the cherry skins to impart a delicate tartness that marries the sweet malt nicely. Gentle hops add subtle bitterness to further add balance.
Overall
Sadly, Lakefront’s Cherry Lager is very much under-appreciated. Offering layers of subtle complexity, this lager is very well crafted and understated, showcasing both beer AND fruit, not just a bushel of bold cherries. The smooth, deliciously malty lager base beer is quite a treat in and of itself, but the cherries add a very nice smooth fruit flavor with just a squeeze of tartness on the finish.
Score: 85 / 100 - Wonderful
Cheers,
-Andy
