Cisco Summer of Lager

Brewed by Cisco Brewers
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Nantucket, Massachusetts USA

Serve in Lager glass

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UPDATED: NOV 3, 2003 Wow! This stuff is Amazing! Much more than I had expected from a Dortmunder. The color is a glowing golden-orange, not yellow at all. Opaque, but not cloudy. Aroma is somewhat sweet, like honey, but not sickening at all. The flavor, oh my! What a unique beverage. It makes my mouth dance with pleasure! A remarkable product from a local, small-batch brewer. Post-script: Recent bottle poured almost clear. Flavor still great, but the second glass had more "chaff" and solids in suspension, much more interesting this way: I suggest if you've got a bottle that's been sitting upright a few days, tip it gently before you open to distribute the solids more evenly. The character is definately better this way!

A great refreshing beer. For a lager this beer is full of hops. Not too much but just the right balance. Love the label, nice summer theme. Grab a 750ml and share it with a buddy or do it alone. Another great beer from Nantucket island!

UPDATED: SEP 10, 2005 This was such a pain in the neck to track down, but it was definitely worth finding as it’s by far one of this brewer’s best offerings. Pours gold and cloudy with a lazy but persistent white head. Tastes and smells of lemons, lime, grapefruit and just about every tisane or citrus fruit you can think of. Extremely complex with a very nice albeit on the tarte end finish.

Golden yellow/straw appearance with a slight chill haze. Bubbly white head. Moderate hop aroma that is akin to taking a deep breath in field of tall grass and wild flowers. The hop flavor blankets your entire palate. Not as carbed as I was led to believe (but then I made sure I chilled this puppy real good), it was, in fact pleasingly subtle. A very full bodied malt profile as well. You guys make great beers, so how about getting them off that sand bar and down to Jersey!

Clear golden pour with a huge chunky, frothy head. Extensive lacing. Aroma is lemony and grassy. Very fresh smelling. Flavor is fresh, wheaty, citrusy. Delicious and fresh. A wonderfuly beautiful beer.

UPDATED: OCT 26, 2006 2005 bottle consumed on 12/22/05 with Rastacouere and Siroy. Pours a lightly hazy (sediment on bottom) golden-copper color (though rather light on the copper) with a mountainous white head that is well-retained and creates plenty of lacing. Aroma of distinct yet tastefully done English hops (viney, leafy, soily almost). Thick house yeast is dusty and quite mineralesque and layered well on top of a rich dough and honey, with warm bready notes. Hops are dry in the nose, not spicy or sweaty and quite subtle. Flavor is immensely yeasty, with a thick dough sweetness, chewy and redolent of well water. But a light tanginess grows on the end, dry hops but yet a bit of floral or herbal character from them. Baked bread cooling on the stone hearth. Rustic as always, no wateriness and quite drinkable. Carbonation is actually quite low (for a Cisco beer!) but relative to other breweries, it is still a good dose of it. Natural, however, and rather expansive, but not obnoxiously so. Chewy, soft and playful texture. Perhaps some tart nectarine/peach skins linger on as interpretation of the hops. Perhaps the yeast gets in the way, a tad too much of this delicate style. I appreciate the fresh house character, but it dosent quite compare to a classic German example (or the Summer of Lager). Though, I don’t think this is supposed to be quite the same thing.
Earlier Rating: 6/18/2004 Total Score: 4.5
04 bottling, 750mL. Bottle conditioned bright burnished gold, hazy, fiery peach. Just amazing pour. The head begins dark, deep yellow and then mellows out to a beige. Aroma of lovely pilsener style malt, fresh lightly piney hops, some light citrus notes (lemon and tangerine). Wonderful flavor that is full bodied, hugely malty (cookie dough, light yeast, angel food cake) light but refreshing hops, juicy and fresh. Lots of honey, and orange blossom. Mouthfeel, true to cisco starts out hugely carbonated, but if you let it breathe, it mellows out some and really works for the style adding a zesty punch. Good moderate spice on the finish. Torn between giving this a perfect palate, but it came off just a tad bit too sweet for me. Still a wonderful flavor, aroma and appearance. I’d give this one a 6 for appearance.

Golden straw. Fat, one-inch layer of pasty white foam. Sharp grassy hop aroma with notes of lemon cake, white pepper, and minerals. Perfectly airy with perfume, glaze, and toasted pale malt whispers. Pillowy carbonation. Soft and slippery on the palate. Explosive flavors of lemon pulp balanced by immense hop spice. Thoroughly soft and floral, yet with a firm snap of leather and crackery malt nuances, midway. Extremely delicate toasted malt underlay with surfacing chardonnay grape acidity, lemon balm, and some brushing floral hop coarseness. Finishes with less hop poignancy than expected, along with a waning dryness and pale malt flavor, but everlastingly flowery and melonlike, which provides more than enough to hold your attention throughout the glass. Overall, an elegantly crafted, bottle conditioned lager, with an appearance and aroma to die for. Just needs a bolder malt structure to help mask the slight acidity, along with more dryness and assertive hop bitterness. Otherwise, this is perfect. Thanks, PsychProf!!

Great summer beer. I just wish it was easier to get in MD. My bottle had a bit of bitterness to it, but it was very slight and didn’t take away from the enoyment

750ml Bottle: Slightest bit of haze in a dark golden straw color, large thin white head. Head quickly fades to a film over the beer, then to nothing. Light bodied. Somewhat sweet aroma of grass, grapes, butter, pale malt, minerals. Mouthfeel and carbonation are just very pleasing in every respect. Taste is mildly sweet with notes of toasted pale malt, wine grapes, light caramel, lemon, bread, dough, tangy & spicey yeast, grass, earth, and a nice dry & bitter hops bite at the end. I could drink this beer all day and not get sick of it. Do yourself a favor and pick some of this stuff up.

Feb. 2006 - Beer poured pale golden color with huge head and lacing. Very pretty. Aroma was sweet citrusy and spicey. Taste was mild but pleasant. Very enjoyable. A great summer beer (even though I had it in the winter!).