John Harvards All American Light Lager

Brewed by John Harvards Brewhouse (Corporate Office)
Style: Pale Lager
Cambridge, Massachusetts USA

Sampler Golden pour with a tight white head. Aroma is sweet, crisp malt. Flavor is much the same, sweet, a bit corny, malt and a nice clean finish. Not bad for a pale lager but definitely not great

On tap at brewhouse. Pours a clear golden color with a thin head with little lacing. Smell is mostly malty sweetness, with hints of honey. Taste is mostly malty with a very light hoppy bitterness in the background. Crisp, with a good level of carbonation and a dry finish.

At the Union Station in Providence - Called Northern Light Lager. Brewer says it is a different receipe than John Harvards. I couldn’t make out any real scent. Week feeling, very light. Maybe a little hop taste, but more watery than hop. Would not try again.

July 2005 - This didn’t even have enough color to look like urine. Poured yellow cloudy water with no head. Taste had a touch of sweetness that wouldn’t have been half bad if it was a little fuller. This beer had absolutely no bite...like they forgot the hops entirely...didn’t even have the typical lager bite. Blah.

Tap at the Lake Grove location: Very pale golden pour with a fading white head. Has a simple straw aroma. Very light bodied; crisp and clean. Pale malt back, with a late & subtle hop grainyness. Decent example of the style. (A style which does not demand much)

Two draught pints at Wayne, PA location on 10/06/06
Clear light, hay-yellow body is pretty standard, with a flurry of carbonation at first and a small, fully dissipating white head that leaves no lacing.
Very weak aroma is faintly grassy, sort of mossy as well, with a sticky sort of fruitiness that combines with light powdered sugariness to rather repel the senses. Not a whole lot going on, things just seem sort of stagnant and dominated by water and plain old two row. No yeast apparency and no diacetyl in the nose.
Touch of cardboard/paperiness is apparent right away, with a hint of buttercream and light corn-like sweetness. It’s all rather subtle though, and mostly covered by water and grainy malt that is mostly attenuated. Hops are minimal, with just a hint of dustiness and dry grass. Soggy, with heavily loosening carbonation, but overall, at least the malt is still there and there are no glaring flaws. Could stand to be lagered longer. Bit of sharpness on the end.

For a light beer this one was actually pretty flavorful. However, I don’t drink light beers (came in the sampler), so I didn’t find enough flavor in it to write home about. Nice golden yellow color, adequate carbonation, and a good hoppy balance to a malty taste. Nice crisp and fresh draft touch.

Stratford, PA: Bright gold in the glass with a slight hop in the aroma. Not much else. Goes down quick and first in the sampler as it’s going in to water down all of the other beers.