Clipper City Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning

Brewed by Clipper City Brewing Co.
Style: European Strong Lager
Baltimore, Maryland USA

bottle poured a light amber color with a thin off white head that fell quickly. aroma has pilsner malt, underlying pine hops, a touch of citrus, and mild sweetness. a lot in here for a pils style. mouth feel is rich for the style with a creamy consistency and light carbonation. flavor starts out malted with caramel and pilsner, moves to the hops with again light citrus and pine. there is some bitter resins, plenty of sweetness, and a interesting creaminess that makes this stand out from the crowd. as a pilsner it is sweet and over hopped but as a beer it self it is fairly tasty.

Medium copper pour with a white head – much more color character than a macro pilsner. Aroma is faint but pleasantly hoppy – resin and pine hops. Flavor is unbelievable for a pilsner, and pretty damn good in general – great pine and citrus (grapefruit) hops going on here. Light bodied and soft on the palate with the perfect amount of carbonation. Overall: the best pilsner I have ever had, even though it is technically a STRONG lager/pilsner.

Nice looking clear gold body with good carbonation and big, frothy white head. The aroma shows a well balanced mix of grains and hops, with some caramel, pine, grass, and ozone, but unfortunately I get some cardboard and vegetal notes. The taste is sweet and kinda sticky, with more resiny hop notes and a weird, cardboard background. The malts are very grainy, and it seems slightly under-attenuated for what it is. I don’t even believe that this is lager. Too sweet, and not crisp or clean at all. When it’s all said it done, it is alright beer, but I won’t be having another for a while.

In short: A very tasty and very hoppy strong lager. Different and truly enjoyable.
How: Bottle 12oz, probably very fresh (consumed a week after receiving it) from RCL. Thanks a lot Raymond, tasty lagers really are my thing.
The look: Clear dark golden body topped by a medium off-white head with low retention
In long: Nose of a freshly baked banana & citrus muffin. Pretty big malt backbone here, this beer is nourishing with a pleasant fruity honey and caramel biscuit flavour. Some apricots too. Then comes the truckload of hops with a strong spicy (peppery) sensation. Grassy finish with a little warming alcohol presence. Long warm peppery after-taste. I really like good light lagers (pils and such) but this the first time I really like an European Strong Lager. From now one I’m gonna look at European Strong Lagers with a different light. I really need to change that burnt light bulb in my living room.

12 oz bottle. Clear golden with aroma of pale caramel malts and some earthy spicey hops. Flavor dominated by malt and almost sugary sweetness with a good dose of earthy hops. Finish is quite sweet with some residual hop bitterness. Medium body with moderate carbonation.

This was one tasty pils or strong lager as it is defined here. Pours a dark yellow or a see through amber. The head is small and leaves quickly. It is very sweet and very full bodied. It has a man candy type appeal. A good smooth hoppy taste. Very good.

12 oz. bottle, notched freshness date along the left side of the front label, if you twirl the bottle a bit you can spy a fine mist of yeast sediment in the bottom, sampled in a pilsener glass. L: Cloudy appearance, sunburnt orangey copper in color with a two finger high head of white fluffed creamy foam, decent head retention, slowly settled into a sudsy skim with a light amount of lace clinging to the brim of the glass. S: Orange juice and tangerines are prominent in the hop filled aroma, followed by flowery blossoms, minty herb oils and pepper. The alcohol takes on a minty medicinal scent. At the edges is the light smells of pilsener malts, sweet bread with touches of multi-grain crackers. In no way traditional, but I like it. F&T: Airy, creamy feeling body, heavier feeling than what it actually is. The hop oils coat and stick to the tongue. The additional malting really helps to fill out the body, fuller and thicker than you standard pilsener. As in the aroma, the hops dominate the taste, oily orange and tangerine peels, a little lemon zest, resiny, leafy herbs and honey floral. Finishes with a nice dry spiciness. The pilsener malts provide a soft backing, adding a mellow sweetness to the hop tastes. Sweet bread, biscuits and dry crackers, the malts are richly lush tasting. The alcohol is well masked, just a lightly warming taste in the palate, a mix of orange, herbs and bread. Small Craft Warning (Über Pils) is one of the better Imperial Pilseners I’ve had the pleasure to have tried. Recommended for anyone who likes the style.

12 oz bottle...Poured a faded amber w/ a diminishing off-white head. Nose of citrus, bread, and dough. The flavor has a slight fruit character rounded out with some alcohol and malts. The malts dominate here, but it finishes with a clean hop profile. The palate is oily and moderately thick, but quite lively and refreshing.The beer provides a lingering bitter sweet finish. I’d buy this again...