Fitgers Northern Waters Smoked Lager

Brewed by Fitgers Brewhouse
Style: Smoked
Duluth, Minnesota USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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Tap at GABF 2010. Pours a nice light clear golden with a fluffy white head. Aroma is big clean fresh wood smoke, biscuity malts, bread, and lots of smoked meats, beechwood cleanness, slight campfire, sweet pils. Flavor is sweet pilsner malts, clean refined biscuity malt backbone, slight grassy hint, lots of big woody smoke, bacon, cold smoke, bbq, with a crisp clean easy finish and dry. Very smokey overall, but somehow I really loved this one as the delicate lager still kinda held up under the smoke. One of the few beers I kept going back to all fest. Nice!

GABF 2010 - I want to love this, since I loved smoked lagers, but I think the light character of the helles makes it easy to overdo the smoke - that is the case here - the smoke is rich and tasty, but the light malt character of the helles is not enough to support it, making the beer kind of taste like hoppy liquid smoke - I never thought I would say this, but the smoke is too much.

Sampled at GABF on 9/18/2010. This smoked beer pours a light gold color from the tap. Medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is grainy, fruity and slightly smoky. A medium bodied smoked beer. The malts are fruity and sweet, touch of smoke. The hops are herbal. Lively carbonation. Nice balance. The slight smoke flavor is more noticeable at the finish. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Growler from the Brewhouse. Bright golden color, one finger of white head. Aroma is an amazing blend of smokey, malty, bready and the flavor is more of the same with some sweetness that carries through into the finish. I first had it at Fitger’s and it went very well with their quesadilla.

Growler at the RBSG grand tasting on 6/23/07: Pours a transparent pale golden with a wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of slightly earthy smoke and pale malt with a touch of black pepper. Body starts thin with an effervescent carbonation and light pale malty sweetness along with a drier, earthy smokiness. Toward a thinner lager yeasty finish with some lingering toasty dry smoke.

Date: 06/23/2007
Mode: Growler
Source: Tasting, RBSG 2007

clear yellow, fine white head, sweet candy malt aroma well balanced with a light smoke, lots of smoked malt flavor, light sweet caramel provides a nice base for the smoke, a drinkable golden lager bt the smoke adds the character that makes it interesting

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

RBSG 2007 Grand Tasting. Clear gold with a white head. Grainy nose with a light smokiness. Some honey notes. Lightly sweet flavor of grain and caramel, a bit of honey. The smokiness is well integrated, complementing the flavors rather than covering them. Nice.

Growler... RBSG 07... Clear golden lager with a mid-sized, foamy, off-white head. I like what I smell. Nice, understated, campfire smoke nose that doesn’t leave all the beer’s other characteristics in ashes. Additional, subtle notes of honey, caramel and grain. The aroma reminds me a bit of the Aecht Schlenkerla Helles. Woodsy, mildly smoky, faintly acidic flavor. Sweet, but bittered almost perfectly for balance. Light to medium-bodied with a watery mouthfeel and light carbonation. Crisp, thin, barely smoky finish. Too bad the entire drinking experience didn’t live up to the hype of the aroma.

Sample from growler, RBSG Minneapolis Grand Tasting, June 23 2007. Golden, oily body with just a hint of foam, quickly dissipating....faint fruitwood-smoke aroma, grainy but fresh lager underpinnings, a bit of burnt caramel and just the faintest hint of white pepper....sweet, juicy body, lightly oily and nicely smoky/burnt throughout, a bit liqueur-ish in texture though not in alcoholic feeling, obviously....touch of apple, banana....dries out and sharpens quite a bit at the finish....mouthfeel is the major detractor, it’s far too light and watery in the end, though it starts out well. Thanks a lot JK and badgerben.

Translucent golden body with a thick, slowly diminishing white head. Orange and yellowed hues. Very soft appearance. Smoked malt in the aroma is mild but still is the center of attention. Light toasted grains are noted, as well as caramel, lemon and honey. Nice base helles under there. The flavor is unique. Smoke notes are very woody, rather than a typical sausage/bacon combo. Bourbon inflected woddiness. Definitely an original take on a sessionable smoky lager. Incredibly tasty peppery yeast. Heavy esters, tastes very young, maybe not fully attenuated. Finishes mildly drying, lightly malty and smoky, smooth and actually pretty satisfying. As far as the palate is concerned, I really wanted something softer, or more twisted, or a little bigger, but it still works well. This is a good case of when it’s hard to be exacting in procuring a sense of refinement and it’s diffucult to figure out if they have achieved it to their satisfaction; or matbe they didn’t quite get to the level of aromatics or intensity of flavor they set out for. Rough around the edges. It’s a fun beer anyhow.