Lakefront Riverwest Stein

Brewed by Lakefront Brewery
Style: Vienna
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA

Bottle from Santa. Richly copper colored with a nice off-white head that is moderately lived. Fair lacing. Aroma of earthy hops and some fruity esters. Medium bodied. Bitterness becomes a bit harsh at times, perhaps some husky/tannic notes mixed in. Modest malt background IMO which seems much different than the description given. A fair beer.

12z bottle. Hazy and golden brown. Vanilla nose, along with a biscuit, bready, yeast note. Sweet, vanilla, malty flavors. Citrus and caramel. This one capped off a long night o’ boozin!

Light malty aroma, hops evident. Not much head. Color is brown/red. Round, medium body mouthfeel. Developed malt taste. Slightly fruity, a little bitter in the end. Not bad.

Malty, slightly hoppy aroma. Flavor of dark fruit and oatmeal, with a dry finish. Ample carbonation helps cut down on the malty sweetness.

Piney hop aroma, which threw me off a little after reading the "ALL MALT AMBER LAGER" note right in the middle of the label. Amber lager's or Viennas, for that matter, are not known for their hops, and with a statement like "All malt" I expected no hops. Promising. Body is an attractive reddish amber with a small, whispy off white head. There are some visible particles, but not enough to make for as much as a cloudy appearance per se. Excellent lace. Initial mouthfeel backs up the aroma in that there are indeed hops. There are hints of thinness in the finish, but there is enough substance here to carry it. This beer is totally falsely advertised. It is a sweet hoppy beer, albeit with an abundance of caramelly roasted malt. Is it balanced? Yes. However, it's primary flaw would be that it is a little overly sweet. Still, this is very enjoyable.

Rating #1000.

12 oz. Bottle purchased at Metcalf Discount Liquors on 91st St in Overland Park, KS. Mar WK4 notched on side of the bottle. Pour is clear copper ruby with a two inch dirty white head that fades to reveal nice lacing. Aroma of sweet caramel biscuit maltiness and some nuttiness. There is also some faint chemical dirtiness present. Taste is muted sweet hazelnut and maltiness. The palate is slick, thin and quite drinkable. The aftertaste lingers a bit long, once again with the chemical dirtiness. Nice, quaffable beer.

Why did I choose this beer for #1000? Simple, it was the first craft beer I ever tasted, and it had a profound impression on the way I looked at beer. Previous to sampling this beer at one of the early Lakefront brewery tours in 1991, I thought beer was pissy yellow stuff that was consumed solely to remove sobriety. This beer was different, and the approach of the brewers was different. The Lakefront guys taught us about what beer was, and how they, as an extremely small brewery at the time, had gotten to where they were. I was completely consumed by the story, and the beer was fantastic. Granted, Lakefront was far from the first to do this, they were just the first one I noticed. Would I have become a craft beer enthusiast without this beer? Of course, I think that was inevitable. However, this beer is singularly present in my mind as the beer that showed beer could be something more, and something important. In a not so small way, this singular experience opened my mind to exploring food, wine, coffee, etc, the list could go on and on. Thank you Jim. Thank you Russ.

Small light tan head, short lived, spotty lace. Clear amber brew. Sweet malt nose, caramel, lightly hopped. Medium body. Medium sweet malt flavors, caramel, grainy, faint toffee notes. Good malt flavor. Fairly dry, faintly roasty finish. A very nice lager beer, impressive. Thanks mrfacto!

Thanks Phil for another good beer! Deep orange hazy body. Medium sized frothy beige head. Mild roasty aromas with caramel malt and apples. Sweet malty taste is combined with apples, and slight roasty almost smoked hints. Bread crust too. Good bite in the finish. I liked it. Thanks again Philip!