Brewdog: Fake Lager (Scotland: Bohemian Pilsner: 4.7% ABV)
Visual: Grain to gold. Low carbonation. Thin white bubbled head.
Nose: Mild malt. Lightly musty. Slightly green hoppy character. Slight resin dryness.
Body: Malt. Light resinous and hops. Lemon sherbet undertones. Slight tart apple. Dried fruit. Slight custard sweetness late on. White wine dry middle.
Finish: Slick hop oils and bitter. Good hop character and resinous dryness. White wine. Popcorn feel. Bombay mix.
Conclusion: Seriously. Free beer. There are few better words in the English language.
So, to begin with I was a bit nervous. I don’t like looking the gift horse in the mouth, but I don’t lie on my reviews. Which is a long winded way of saying that initially I wasn’t very impressed. The aroma doesn’t have much to it, and the body, while nicely bitter and resinous, didn’t give much character.
Then I realized that I was taking quite small sips, treating it like one of Brewdog’s heavier beers. So I relaxed a bit and took a more easy drinking method of larger mouthfuls. While this, of course, didn’t help the aroma it did bring a nice fresh slightly green hop and more resinous character and then tart flavours stared playing over a more robust malt body.
It is odd in that it keeps very close to the noble hop style, unlike a lot of my preferred lagers it doesn’t do much to challenge or reinvent the style. It does however give a good bitter hop presence and a freshness of character while being still familiar to more standard lager fans. Reminds me slightly of Barrel Aged 77 Lager, though with nowhere near the complexity.
Nice dried fruit sweetness, a well placed element along the level of resinous character. A refreshment that clings if you will. The aroma never rises above the disappointing. For me the beer is good, if not boundary pushing. As a beer to entice in mass market lager drinkers I can see why they chose it for the event it is a good pick.
Well crafted, takes some time to warm to but it is a nice example of a traditional lager style. Not the best, but it does the style well enough, if without the unusual flourishes we would expect from Brewdog. So two for two on good lagers from brewdog. Will wonders never cease?
Background: Originally touted as an April Fools joke. Then Brewdog announced, Aha, no they were in fact making it. A move that would be shocking if they hadn’t done the same trick three time in a row now. They did however do a cool event to pitch it, bring in a bottle or can of crap beer, and trade it for a free half at their bar. So, my workmate Dave Behan, kindly donated a four pack of Morrison’s Lager which I used to exchange for some quality beer. The only cost is that he insisted I had to review at least one can as payment. The result of that will be up later. Thanks Dave. I think.
As always I am not an unbiased actor on Brewdog beers.
