Top of the Hill Leaderboard Trophy Lager

Brewed by Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery
Style: Pale Lager
Chapel Hill, North Carolina USA

Can into a snifter. Yeah, okay, wrong glassware, it was what I grabbed out of my friend’s cupboard. Anyway, the pour is a transparent gold with an abundant white head. The aroma is a cross between Fruit Loops, Sprite, and bread with a weird metallic presence. The flavour is actually quite good for this style. It’s very bready with very subtle citrus qualities. NachlamSie mentioned "leathery" and I’ll have to agree with him, there is a weird leathery note to it. I can’t say I’m as fond of the leathery qualities as he is, though. But it is interesting. The finish is slightly dry and very bready. This isn’t terrible... actually, it’s very drinkable especially for this style.

Can into a lager glass. Pours rather light and see-through, but has a well formed, tall white head. The aroma is heavily doughy and bready with a bit of corn and fruity notes. A light metallic twang is noted as well. Mouthfeel is light, but not quite watery. The flavor is much cleaner than the aroma would let on and not too bad, really. An interesting leathery note is apparent, reminds me of some English hop strain, malts are bready and appropriately sweet. Any corn flavor here is buried and not really noticed. I drank the other two on previous occasions straight from the can and enjoyed it more that way due to the suppressed aroma. This is the best pale lager I’ve had and that can be attributed to the existent, clean flavor and unique meaty quality.

Can, as Leaderboard, shared by NachlamSie. Pours gold with nice white head. The aroma is lots of strawberries and some other fruits. The flavor is also strawberries, with some honeyish malts and some hoppy bitterness. Not bad for what it is.

My can says Leaderboard Trophy Lager Thanks to Colin for this one. Hazy yellow straw with a one finger creamy bone white head, pretty good retention, actually. Light floral and citrus hops up front, some sweet bready malts finishing it up. Flavor was a little bit more floral, though the soft citrus is still present. Again, sweet bready malts are about the only other thing. Bitterness peaks around a 2 in the finish. Light body with low to moderate carbonation. Pretty much everything about this beer is subtle, and it works quite well. This was a nice surprise to the boring pale lager category. Would be great on a hot day. That said, it did well on this twenty defree day as well.

Can, labeled as Leaderboard Trophy Lager. Pours a light golden-amber color with a small, fizzy, off-white head. Smells sweet, with caramel dominating. A strange, slightly vegetal scent creeps in and seems to cloud what is a decent amount of floral hops. The flavor is one-dimensional, showing caramel and mildly spicy hops. The body is on the watery side, though certainly more substantial than your average pale lager. Like the Ram’s Head IPA that I consumed the same day, this one is just dominated by sugary malts that attempt to cover up the beer’s faults with sweetness. Not good.

Thanks to emacgee! Pours a hazy honey colour with a large foamy white head. Initially very active carbonation which died down slightly apon the finish. Nose of yeast, floral hops, caramel malts, grass and citrus fruits. Initial taste is very light bodied, but demonstrates grain and mild hops. Finishing with clean mild malt and wet palate. An extremely light bodied brew which is not usually what I enjoy to drink, but definitely enjoyed this one for sure!

Can of Leaderboard Lager; poured a light gold/yellow with pretty large white head. Aroma was unusual, but good for style; aroma of yeast, orange/lemon, grain and flowers. Probably deserves its high ranking by style; but still is not great overall. Aroma was better than the flavor. Flavor of lemon, grain, yeast and vegetable.

Date: 12/19/2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

pale yellow, fine white head, drippy lace, light floral hop aroma, sweet malt flavor, nice light bittering hops,

Aroma: 4/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 9/20
Rating: 2.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4