Beer of the Week! 05/03
Basic City The Hornig
Regularly $11.99 / Now on Sale for $10.96
Vienna Style Lager
If you’re used to driving through Waynesboro and stopping by Basic City Brewing Company, you’ve long had the opportunity to partake of their Vienna Style Lager, the Hornig. For the rest of us, we’re glad to see that Basic City has decided to motor some cans of this “honey hued” brew over the mountain and down our way.
Lagers tend to be light — light in body, light in alcohol, light in color. They lighten your mood and lighten your spirits. But they need not be that way … (Except for the mood and spirits thing. They should definitely keep doing that.)
As a rule, Vienna Lagers swerve to the malty side of the road, but Basic City really lets the Hornig turn the wheel and lean on the gas. The malt stands firm in this brew delivering to our welcome palates strong honey notes. Moderate hopping puts on the brakes as you go around the corners, balancing out the brew so that it remains off-dry.
Yet, with all the malt they’ve thrown in, Basic City keeps this beer cruising at a respectable 5.4% ABV. Still, the Hornig is the lager for those people who thought that lagers wouldn’t have enough under the hood to be interesting.
Bonus Beer of the Week (‘Cause we might shed a Tear of the Week without another Beer of the Week.)
Aslin Johann the Mango Thief
Regularly $19.99 / Now on Sale for $18.96
Double New England Style IPA with Mangos and Vanilla
This is what Aslin Beer Company in Herndon unhelpfully has to say about their fruited Double New England Style IPA, Johann the Mango Thief …
“Have you ever caught your Uncle Johann stealing ripe fruit? Do you even have an Uncle Johann? This all may be confusing to you, but we have this problem.”
Umm … what!?!
We suspect there’s either some serious inside humor here that none of us will get, or Aslin has been taking advantage of the relaxed pot laws. In either case, this beer rocks.
The base DNEIPA alone is a fine mix of tropical fruit notes and citrus notes, but the mango puts it over the edge. There’s just enough to take the fruit flavors to the next level, and the Madagascar Vanilla is an inspired addition that diversifies those flavors making this beer more than just a fruit-splosion. Some people are calling the Mango Thief a “Milkshake IPA,” and there is some creaminess to its mouthfeel. However it doesn’t have an over-the-top sweetness. Maybe this mysterious, strange Uncle Johann has stolen that too.
Remember!
You can see our entire beer inventory on Untappd.com!