Half Acre Lager

Brewed by Half Acre Brewery
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Chicago, Illinois USA

Copper with good beige, foamy head / Nose of fresh orange peel / Light body, with soft, spritzy carbonation and tasty, moderate hopping in the finish / Flavors of orange peel, lemon and burnt sugar / A surprising lager, more like an India Pale Ale to my taste. Outstanding as a lager, and darn good as an IPA.

This great new beer had a copper-ish colour with a foamy head. The nose definitely had some orange going on. The body was light with an appropriate amount of carbonation - the finish is significantly hoppier than your average lager. This is a good thing of course! The overall flavor has some citrus action. Overall a fantastic beer that might become my standard local everyday beer in the windy city. Good luck to these guys!

Draft at Small Bar. Pours a very nice ambery gold, Vienna like. Nose is a bit floral and clean, somewhat crisp with the malt jumping through to back up the hop notes. On taste, super easy to drink and really rivals the Metropolitan lagers in terms of deliciousness. Super clean and pleasant bitterness backed up by some burly malts. To me, this is pretty close to a Vienna, but hoppier. Very tasty.

6 pack. Very nice. Straight forward lager. Slight hoppy, citrus nose. Some malt, biscuit flavors. Clean, easy drinking. I’ve picked this up several times and will do so again.

Honestly, I’m disappointed to learn that this is contract brewed, I wish we had more breweries in Chicago. It pours a clear amber with a small head. The nose is sweet and malty, with some hops in there. The taste is a good caramel/toffee flavor, with crisp hops finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, but well-carbonated. This is really good for a lager

Slightly cloudy, golden-hued, with a good sized white head. Unusual nose--very orangey, with a bit of mustiness, slight sweetness. Flavor is also really unusual, but in a good way: again very orangey, with solid bitterness, some grassy notes. Body is somewhat weak--not a lot of malt backbone, but a nice hoppy bastard while it’s fresh.

Tasted 5/27/08. 12oz bottle. Filtered with a bright golden amber hue. Finger width of off-white cream colored head. Mild nose with hints of caramel and hearty breads. On the fuller side of light bodied. Good mouthfeel for a lager. Tingling effervescence followed by a slightly salty caramel flavor. Crisp with nice fruity estery undertones. Finishes crisp with a mildly cloying sticky flavor. Decent hop presence. Sticky citrus hops. Nice lacing head. Picked up a six on a whim while in Chicago, and this turned out to be a diamond in the rough! If I was local, I’d definitely get more of this for the summer.

Tap: This poured a deep golden with a thin off-white head. The nose gave off a nice combination of carmelly malt, citrus and spice. The hops really come out in this one as it is not far off an IPA. The palate was smooth and rich with a nice lingering finish. One of the better Lager’s I’ve had in a long time.