Gilroy Lager

Brewed by Gilroy’s
Style: Premium Lager
Muldersdrift, Gauteng, South Africa

Serve in Lager glass

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Dull gold. Soft body, not much aroma. Mainly malty on the palate but the mouthfeel would benefit from more carbonation. There is, however, a little juiciness in the finish.

Draft at brewpub. Golden with small oily head Grassy aromas and flavors arent bad at all but the mouthfeel is oily and flat so needs more carbo to brighten it up--the nitro does not work! Some oily plastic mixed with diacetyl artives late unfortunately, forcing a downgrade

340ml bottle purchased from a bottle shop in Pretoria, South Africa. It has a clear bright golden body with a small white head. The nose and taste is typical sweet grainy malts with an average Saaz-type hop bitterness to the finish. Nice clean palate with a light-medium body. Certainly better than the macro lagers that so dominate the South African market. Micro-brewing does not seem to have taken hold over there yet.

Bottle. Medium-gold appearance; very little head. Malty aroma and slight hop. Quite refreshing, with a good balance of malt/hop elements, adequate carbonation and sweet malt finish. Pretty straightforward. A good summer quaffer.

(On tap) Clear golden with a small, white head. Fresh and flowery hop aroma. Medium body with rather sweet, clean malts. Rather light with a dry hopping. Very fresh, tasty and quite flavoursome - especially considering the low alcohol. I have a sneaky suspicion that it’s actually stronger though.... 040508

Bottle: Cloudy, rich gold color with fluffy head. Aromas of tropical fruit and hops. Flavors that range from apple to yeasty zest, but lacks rounded body. Finishes dry and refreshing. Good summer cooler.

Bottle: Pours a hazy yellowish golden with a fading white head. This is fairly aromatic. Has a crisp, grassy lemony zing with a hint of Saaz in there. There’s also a hint of yeast. Has a light body, smooth subtle carbonation, and a nice crisp flavor altogether. Light lemon-y hop presence.and a clean fruity, slightly tart finish. Very quaff able, refreshing and bright. Impressive for 3.5% ABV

(12oz bottle, many thanks to my friend Barrett from bringing it back with him during his recent trip to S.A.) Minimal off-white head atop hazy straw body. Aroma is medium sweet, orange, bread. Taste is medium sweet, orange, some bread, light lemon. Undercarbonated, soft light-medium body.

Cloudy pale orange with a minimalist head that was strange and frothy. Some sour sherbet lemons in the aroma. Slight sourness, but not much body. Like a piss weak lambic really. Quite weird, but in some ways it makes it very interesting. The brewer is obviously making an effort using the all natural approach, so it’s a shame to see the result. Or maybe the result is what he was after?

I really wanted to like this. The brewer has used no additives or preservatives in this unfiltered lager. His slogan is "120 Years Behind The Times". And the label features the brewery crest, which has an armoured knight’s gauntlet giving the finger. (Explanation on the label: "The gauntlet on our shield is a friendly challenge to other brewers to brew a better beer".) So far so good. And then you pop the cap and it all falls apart. There’s no "best before" on this, so I can’t date it but Omhper picked it up in South Africa in November/December last year. In the glass, it’s a murky gold with a myriad of chunky proteins and scant head. The aroma raises hopes. It’s a unique mix of caramel shortbread and pineapple. It has some zest and a gingery note. But all hope vanishes at first sip. This is like fruit juice, or as Bridge put it, a watered-down lambic. In fact you could almost use this as a sorbet between dinner courses. There’s faint caramel and an acidic finish that really gets the mouth-juices flowing. It’s drinkable but plain odd. The carbonation is minimal. (340m bottle courtesy of Omhper and Bridge - thanks fellas)