We finally made it to April! It may not feel like spring quite yet, but that doesn’t stop our favorite breweries from helping put our heads there with their light but flavorful warmer-weather seasonals. This week, we’ll taste two spring and two summer releases from some more well-known breweries.

Vinyl Lager (Spring)

Magic Hat Brewing Co.; Burlington, Vt.

Style: Amber Lager

ABV: 5.1 percent

Rating: 4/5

Vinyl’s reddish-copper brew lives up to its style visually, but the head retention is very low, fading in the glass very quickly. It smells like sweet malts and caramel, and has a hint of woodiness. Upon first taste, the sweetness of the biscuity and caramel-like malts comes through and has a slightly bitter finish. If you like other Magic Hat offerings, this light but well-flavored beer is a must-try.

 

Spring Blonde Wheat Ale

Blue Moon (Coors Brewing Co.); Golden, Colo.

Style: Pale Wheat Ale

ABV: 5.4 percent

Rating: 2/5

Blue Moon never amazes much anymore. Coors mass-produces to the point that it sacrifices quality ingredients and flavor. The Spring Blonde pours a golden color and has strong head that quickly fades, but maintains high carbonation. It smells mildly of lemon, orange and faint wheat. The taste follows suit: mild and citrusy with a subtle wheat flavor, but not a strong beer overall. Avoid this. There are much better wheat ales.

 

Harpoon Summer Beer

Harpoon Brewing Co.; Boston, Mass.

Style: Kolsch

ABV: 5.5 percent

Rating: 4/5

Kolsch’s is great for winos. Its beers pour very pale and have light to medium body with medium carbonation. A mild hop bitterness blends with a vinous (think white grapes) flavor from the types of malt used. Harpoon’s is light and refreshing, but lacks flavor. Unusually, the hop bitterness comes through on the front-end, but it finishes extremely smooth. Give it a go if you seek a different but accessible style. (Empire Brewing in Armory Square makes a fantastic Kolsch!)

 

Otter Summer

Otter Creek Brewing/Wolaver’s; Middlebury, Vt.

Style: Pale Wheat Ale

ABV: 4.9 percent

Rating: 1.5/5

Falling into the Spring/Summer Pale Wheat Ale trap, this beer is so light that it has virtually no smell or flavor. It smells faintly, if at all, of citrus, but not much wheat. The brew has medium carbonation, masking the meager citrus and wheat flavors, and feels almost watery in the mouth. With less carbonation, this beer might be mistaken for lemon seltzer. Steer clear of it at all costs and opt for the brewery’s more decent offerings.

— Compiled by Lucas Sacks, staff writer, ldsacks@syr.edu

Published on April 6, 2011 at 12:00 pm