Olde Saratoga Premium Lager

Brewed by Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Saratoga Springs, New York USA

I’ve never seen a pale lager pour like this one - deeper reddish-amber color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of nothing (seriously, I do not get 1 thing out of sniffing this beer). Tastes of toffee, caramel and some citrus. Thinner body.

Bottle... Barely hazy, amber ale with a small, fizzy, off-white head. Big caramel nose. Malty-sweet, caramel flavor up front with a nice hop kick to follow. Medium to full-bodied with lively carbonation. Finishes malty, but crisp. Quality brew. Pretty darn good Autumn lager!

Bottle courtesy of shadey: Pours a clear copper amber with a large, frothy and lightly-lacing off-white head. Sweet toasty German caramel malty aroma is balanced with some faint noble hops and is fairly true to style. Body starts with a nice sweetness, then a strange seemingly full, yet airy palate before a bitingly bitter and lingering earthy finish. The name definitely caught me off-gaurd, but it’s a decent Oktoberfest bier.

on tap-pours a white head with copper color. Aroma is sweet malt, crisp hops. Taste is sweet medium malt, crisp hops. Good carbonation.

Bottled. I doubt this is a pale lager given that it pours copper with a thin white head and smells of caramel, sugar and yogurt. Tastes of malt, pepper, and orangey. Nice mouthfeel. Sweet finish.

Tap at Hop Devil Grill. Pale amber beer with a thin tan head. Aroma is very nice, pale malt, fresh sweet aroma. Herbal and spicy hop aroma. Flavour is also very fresh and tasty showing great balance of spicy noble hops. A bit of apple. Malts are lightly caramelly. Terrific balance. A tasty pint.

I KNEW this wasn’t going to be good, but it was something I’ve never heard of (rare for VT) and it turned out it wasn’t in the database -- and its cheap and local. So what the hell. And what should I say? Totally bland and forgettable in every way; coppery color, yes, but very thin and watery looking, with a head that dissipates very quickly. Aroma -- what aroma? Faint stale-corn hints, a little grass, thats it. And you have to work to find that. Very smooth on the tongue, but there just isn’t much to glean, flavor-wise. Easy to pour down, easy to forget, I hope I don’t see any more of this brewer’s products soon.

Bottle 355 ml
Rated as Saratoga Lager
Appearance :Clear amber brown with imposing handsome long lasting thick beige crown. Loose yet neatly crafted lace. 4+
Nose : Mineral sweet nose, molasses with central euro hop profile ending in woody toffee wrap.
Flavour/Palate : Medium full bodied. Sweet backbone with nutty alt like ceiling. Front and finish fairly flat only with middle fairly richly represented. Late bitterness shown. Inconsistent, but to soft and limited but with good Marzen set up. Fair to say that you should try one if you into German lagers.