Beer of the Week! 03/21/23
Wild East Fervor & Defiance
Regularly $15.99 / Now on Sale for $14.96
Dark Czech Style Lager
From Brooklyn’s Wild East Brewing Company comes this Dark Czech Style Lager. Wild East accomplished the monumental task of surviving after opening in December of 2019 and running head first (with the rest of the world) into pandemic lockdowns. They’re still here, and we’re still here, and, look, there you are. Let’s all drink a beer to that!
Bohemia is the western part of the Czech Republic, the largest region in the country. Originally named after a Celtic people, Bohemia became Slavik by the 6th century and has remained so since. The Přemyslids unified the region in the 9th century, after which it was snagged by the Holy Roman Empire, Luxembourg (yes, Luxembourg), the Hapsburgs … and that’s all before we start talking about Nazis and Soviets. (Central Europe — the rulers change, the borders shift, but the people (we hope) endure.) More significant for our purposes, Bohemia is one of Europe’s most important brewing areas. Don’t believe us? Look what’s there …
Bohemia contains the towns of Budejovice, Plzeň, and Žatec … sorry, that’s Budweis (which gave us their beer, the Budweiser), Pilsen (which gave us the Pilsner), and Saaz (after which is named the Saaz hop). Originally, people brewed ales in Bohemia. Then, in 1842 Josef Groll, in Plzeň, invented the Pilsner (which is now called Pilsner Urquell — “Original/First Pilsner”). With the success of that beer, the entire region shifted over to light, dry lagers, featuring the sparkling Saaz hop.
Wild East’s Fervor & Defiance is not trying to mess with a good thing. They use “all Bohemian ingredients” and brew them “using traditional European methods.” The darker malts take the edge off of this Czech-style lager, making it smoother than its lighter siblings. You still get those crisp, spicy Saaz hops, but they fold neatly into the malt. This brew tastes like a Robust Porter’s easier-going country cousin. It builds a nice bridge between the malt bombardiers and the hop heads.
Bonus Beer of the Week (‘Cause you shouldn’t have to wait until Baseball Season to get a good double play!)
Vibrissa False Lead
Regularly $18.99 / Now on Sale for $17.96
Triple Hazy IPA
Okay, yes. “Triple IPA” — that sounds like a lot. Also, yes, “10% ABV.” It’s not a small beer … but give it a chance.
Vibrissa, in Front Royal, has worked to give us a beer that you think is going to be a monster but is not. It’s big in only the right ways.
First, they use Pilsner malt going into things because they want the False Lead to have a light body. They even feed the yeast some sugar, so that you can get that 10% ABV without an obscene amount of malt. They also allow the wort to ferment at a slightly lower temperature to cut down on the “boozy flavors” that high ABV beers can acquire. What these machinations and more give us is a sweet malt backbone that cozies up to piney, resiny flavors of the Citra, Simcoe, and Columbus hops (with Azacca thrown in to add some fruitiness). There’s even a little grassiness on the finish, dank you very much. As a result, you get a full flavor that doesn’t fill you up.
So in the end, the False Lead is a Triple hazy IPA that’s singularly drinkable. It’s big enough to make you sit up but not enough to bowl you over. It’s big enough to fill a parking place but not so big that you can only drive it on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! It’s big enough to make the smaller beers at the park look silly but not so big that you have to hold its leash with both hands.
That’s a bait and switch we can get behind.
Remember!
You can see our entire beer inventory on Untappd.com!