Craftsman 1903 Lager

Brewed by Craftsman Brewing Co.
Style: Pale Lager
Pasadena, California USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Lager glass, Shaker

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Draught at Father’s Office. Without even knowing the commercial description, this beer screamed "corn" at my from first sniff. The thing is, it tastes like if a corny macro lager was actually good. Cool stuff. Hoppy, spicy aroma, with sweet corn and a fruity, yeasty element. The flavor has sweet corn, grainy bread and a medium-bitter, hoppy finish. Higher carbonation fits the style but is a bit much. A pretty interesting beer, but maybe not up to a great pils with the same craftsmanship.

Tasted on tap at Beer Revolution on 2/17/2012. This Pale Lager pours a hazy yellow gold color from the tap. Small to medium bodied white foamy head. The aroma is cereal, grainy, sweet, orange and honey. A touch of corn, but in a good way. A medium bodied pale lager. The malts are cereal and grainy, some orange and orange peel. The hops are floral and citrusy. Nice balance. Good carbonation. I know this beer has a lot of corn in it, but all you can taste of the corn is the sweetness. Light and refreshing. Touch of orange at the finish. Very easy drinking beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter with some residual sweetness.

UPDATED: NOV 11, 2011 On tap at Monk’s Kettle for a Craftsman dinner. What a great pre-prohibition lager! Full flavored. Light yellow and clear with nice white head. Crisp aroma and flavor with some corn as well. Tasty!

Draught at BoHo. Clear yellow with a white head. Aroma light to moderate malty (caramel), moderate+ hoppy (citrusy, piney). Flavor light sweet, moderate to heavy bitter, long duration. Light to medium body flat. Very nice.

Tap at The Tripel in Playa Del Rey. Pours light yellow. Nice fluffy white carbonation. Wow, a really full mouthfeel for a lager. Goes down like velvet. Good crisp taste. A really good lager.

A: The pour is a clear golden amber color with a finger worth of white head that has pretty good retention. S: There’s a pretty nice bready malt character to the nose along with the distinctive aroma of lager yeast. Not a ton of hop aroma, but a nice bit of floral and grassy hop character. T: A solid bread and malt flavor to start this one off. There’s a touch of toasted character to it as well as some very subtle hints of corn. The hops are a bit more pronounced on the palate and give the beer a pleasing bitterness and balance. M: The body is medium, pretty solid for this sort of lager, with a moderate level of carbonation. D: This was one of the better Craftsman beers I’ve had. Quite a solid beer and very easy to drink.

Sampled at the brewery...thanks Patrick! 18 karat golden color with a 1/3 inch ivory foam that left a descent amount of lacing. Nice, slightly herbal and bready nose/flavor with some grassy elements. Also showed moderate fruitiness. Didn’t get the heavy corn influence you would guess from the description. Somewhat sweet for the style but really enjoyed it.

This is actually a very decent pale lager. Draft at Stone 14th anniversary. Grain, bready malt, lightly herbal and sweet, with bits of hops. Very drinkable.

pours a dark yellow color. very easy to drink. corn flavor wasn’t overpowering. really fills you up. nice amount of carbonation on it too. solid if not exciting summer time brew

Draft @ Father’s Office (Santa Monica). Pours a bright, effervescent yellow color; mixed-bubbled white head with great retention and gorgeous lacing; a beautiful pour. Very dry, crisp aroma showing herbal and grassy hop character; refreshing, light graininess; lovely crisp nose. Light-to-medium body: lots of crisp, toasty and bready malt character; juicy herbal and mineral bitterness; an absolutely lovely premium lager (evidently: pale lager); balanced, crisp, perfectly attenuated, pleasantly soft-seeming water: great stuff here. Awesome, and something that I’d love to see more of. Medium finish of toasty grains, hints of vanilla, and plenty of herbal / grassy bitterness; great ending to a wonderful surprise.

On tap at Hamilton’s. Pours golden with a thin white head. This is a very light beer in body. It has a certain sweetness. I can tell there’s lots of corn dextrose here. It’s sort of fun in a retro beer way.