Napa Smith Crush Beer

Brewed by Napa Smith Brewery
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Napa, California USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Stein

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

bottle. hazy dark gold with a large, foamy, white head. smell has some tart purple grape notes. flavors are like a pale malty lager with a spoonful of grape jelly.

Bottle from Scott for my 34th... Poured a light copper with limited head that settled into a thin ring. Aroma of grapes, grassy hops, and toasted sugar. Flavor of grapes, resin, sweet malts, cereal grains, bitter earth, grass, and soap. I have to say that although this beer was odd and the rating was rather low, I enjoyed it and would probably drink it again. I will coin this "the Kool Aid effect." Pretty good beer.

20 dec 2011, bottle. light orange, clear, steady bubbles, foamy head. sweet lagery, slightly viney nose. light/med body and fizzy. i wouldn’t say it tastes like a sweet lager but there’s not much more. there are some bitter, maybe grape skin, notes and a faint sweetness that isn’t lagerish. but not much to talk about.

(bottle) coppe rwith off white head. Slightly fruity aroma with mild malt. Flavor is sweetish caramel malt, hint of fruit.

12 oz. bottle from Suttree- thanks, Phil! Napa Smith stuff just started showing up in St. Louis but I haven’t seen this one yet. Label just says "Crush" and not "Crush Beer" like the photo. Pours a clear copper color with a tiny off-white head that settles into a thin ring. Aroma of grapes, grassy hops, earth, dusty grains, crackery malts, and toasted sugar. Flavor of grapes, resin, sweet malts, cereal grains, bitter earth, leaves and grass, and soap. Medium-bodied, with a smooth mouthfeel and dry finish. Modest carbonation. Odd beer.

Pour form a 22oz bottle. Amber yellow brew with a big fizzy soda-pop head that settles down into a quite nice creamy frothiness on top of the brew. Aroma of mild malts, grassy hops, a little soap, a little caramel. Taste is fairly light but distinctive - a bit of caramel malts at the start, a herbal and grassy hops in the finish, a little tartness in the finish also that works with the hops to balance the malt. Overal a really nice lager / marzen.

Tasted on 10/8/11 from a 12oz bottle. Pours cloudy light orange with a thick off-white head that leaves thin, spotty lace. The nose is bitter resin and herbal hops with some earthy yeast, and a dusty malty aroma. The flavor is dusty, nutty malt up front, moving to lightly bitter herbal hops, and an earthy yeast note as well. The body is light with average carbonation, and a long, earthy yeast, and lightly bitter, herbal hops finish.

Amber colored, with a thin ring of foam. Grainy, caramel aroma. Flavor is pretty much standard Amber or Oktoberfest, plus a subtle fruity note, which I assume is the grapes. Taste a little better than it smells. Not bad.

12 ounce bottle - $2.39 at Olde Crabapple Bottle Shoppe in Alpharetta, Georgia. Appearance: Pours a golden-copper body, slightly hazy, and with a small-sized, near white head. Smell: Toasty, caramel-sweetened maltiness in the nose paired with a touch of grape-like fruitiness and sprinkling of dried herbs. Taste: Toasted maltiness with a fair amount of candied caramel sweetness going on. Just an additional low hint of fruitiness from the grapes, nothing more. Herbal, lightly earthy hops with a restrained bitterness. Still fairly malty on the back end with an addition of light brown sugar. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-plus carbonation. Overall: Not great, kinda pricey for what it is, but it’s still one of the better beers I’ve had from Napa Smith (though that’s not saying a whole lot, really).

12oz bottle. Copper color, light tan foam. Thick bodied, creamy texture. Aroma of earth. Toasted malts, autumn leaves. Crisp flavor, earth, leaves, dry caramel malt. No detection of any grape flavors. Tastes like a hearty bodied American Oktoberfest/Märzen.