Coney Island Sword Swallower Steel Hop Lager

Shmaltz Brewing Company
Brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: European Strong Lager
San Francisco, California USA

Bottle courtesy of Tony at OTH. Pour amber/orange with a white head. Caramel malt and sugary add to the sweetness. Average Coney beer, little bit of a let down.

22 oz. bottle that I received as a birthday gift. Pours a slightly hazed gold with a thin-moderate off-white head that lasted through the first third of the glass and left spotty lace. Light aroma of malt and slightly sweet. The flavor is weak malt, which is almost immediately washed over by moderately bitter citrus pith. Somewhat dry and bitter at the finish, lingering briefly beyond the swallow.

Clear golden in color with a small off white head that dissipates quickly. Aroma: pils malt, grain, some spicy hops. Taste is hoppy with a good amount of noble hop quality- Some pale malt sweetness and grainy. Bitterness is moderate it in the finish. Light to medium body. Although there was nothing wrong with each single attribute in this beer, it didn’t seem to come together very well- a bit muddled.

22oz - Purchased at Perfect Pour - Sparkling gold, creamy white head. Grassy caramel and toasted corn biscuit nose layers on softly peppered dried citrus peel. Crisp sweet cornbread and grassy citric flavors round with slight earthed peppery hop finish. Medium bodied with soft carbonation. I swear it reminds me of Steel Reserve 211, but a very well done and tasteful version at that. Well crafted and thirst quenching...

On tap @ Coles Buffalo NY. Pours a pretty nondescript medium yellow. Pretty long lasting wheat head. Mild aroma with some malt sweetness. Bitterness hits you right up front. Similar to higher ABV lagers in Prague. Grassy piney hops linger on the palate. pretty good beer

Orange/amber pour, very bright. Fluffy off-white head and spotty lace. Alcohol and caramel malts on the nose. Hoppy citrus flavors with a lack of malt.

Bomber. Clear dark gold with a fluffy white head. Biscuity and herbal nose, light white pepper and a touch of alcohol. Fairly full body. An initial smack of alcohol mellows into a peppery, herbal bitterness on top of a strong bready flavor. Alcohol pops up again late. Pretty good.

Pours golden/amber with nary a head and just a faint suggestion of carbonation. Sweetbread aroma with honey. The ’8 hops’ which are mentioned must have been added early in the boil since there are few which reach the nose. A steady bitterness awaits in the flavor, however, and interacts pleasantly with lightly sweetened grains. Mostly pine and pepper over a lingering grapefruit and honeyed toast. And the bitterness lingers long with mild astringence. I would not have guessed the style as an European Strong excepting that there are few other lager categories which could corral this brew.

Rating #1800. No reason. Just another beer to enjoy while I’m waiting for a MMORPG to populate on the other computer.

<font size=-4>22 oz. bomber purchased at <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/indiana/south-b Beverage, South Bend, IN 46637</font>