Hoster Amber Lager

Amber colored beer with a heavily hopped aroma. Somewhat fruity with a bit of malt. Decent beer with a decent aftertaste.

I had some from the same batch Dogbrick describes...it was old and really starting to sour. I had a tough time drinking it and hate to rate it based on this experience, but considering that they no longer make this beer, I guess I will have to.

I managed to find what are probably the last 8 bottles of this beer in existence from a beer bar in Newark, OH. As with the other Hoster’s I have tried since they went out of business, this was kind of a bittersweet occasion. This beer’s ’sell by’ date was some time in 2001, and it showed. Poured a pretty amber color with a thin off-white head and minimal lacing. Aroma still possessed a nice malt profile with some fruity tones. Unfortunately the flavor was lacking in that some sour fruit flavor was starting to creep in, so it was not as sweet as most Viennas. Luckily there was still enough caramel and malt flavor to keep it from being a wasted effort. I can’t score it by guessing what a fresh bottle would have tasted like, but this was still drinkable and I’m glad I had a chance to try it.

last of the mohicans here, a sad passing: hoster has disappeared from the columbus scene. i have the word today from the brewer Victor Ecimovich III, that they’re looking for a buyer. any rich people out there wanna pick up a gorgeous brewery? all their beers were grand; but today i have just one last bottle of the amber to rate, (sniff). it still pours, in spite of advanced age, like a race horse-- a brassy gleaming orange like a polished thoroughbred. it’s fragrant, caramel malty, like whole wheat bread baking a deep brown. good body (i mean we’re talkin’ sandra bullock good body), nicely sweet. i wonder if there’s an accountant somewhere saying ’i told you so’-- you know, about how making beers so robust that the budweiser crowd doesn’t get it won’t pay the bills? and yeah, a great finish. alas. and adieu, grand brew.