Ok, I thought I should try reviewing a few beers outside my normal comfort zone, so I took a little trip back to the Beer Store (when will I learn you ask?) and looked for “different.” How about a few lagers, I thought? Well, if I wanted “different” I sure found it in this box because here it is: “pepper and lime.” Now that is different.
I know full well that this isn’t my normal beer and it is certainly not of the typical hoppy beers I’ve reviewed, but there were a couple of factors that suggested, what the hell, let’s have some fun.
First and foremost, I was blown away by the first and only beer I had previously sampled from this brewery and so I trusted Dead Frog to deliver again (see Fearless for previous review). Secondly, it was “Taco Night” and I thought, again, what the hell …. This couldn’t be worse than a Corona with a twist of lime shoved down its neck. Could it?
The real question was: would this beer deliver the goods? Could they pull off “Pepper-Lime” … or was I going to be proven stupid for trusting in their experiment? The answer was a very pleasant, “Hmmm, interesting: pepper and lime.”
The closest thing to compare would be lemon-pepper seasoning – you know, like lemon-pepper chicken wings? (Mmm, chicken wings).
Out of the bottle, the beer pours without almost no head: it’s lightly carbonated at best. Crisp up front, light through the middle with a none-too-sweet aftertaste which I hate about other mass-produced lagers like Molson. This was nice … surprisingly nice. While it doesn’t have the body or spirit of Beau’s exceptional lager, Lug Tread, it otherwise compares well with other craft lagers and has that tell-tale yeasty aroma common to lagers.
The lime and the pepper are subtle, but you don’t need imagination to taste them. They’re there, in balance, and it doesn’t taste unnatural, though I assume it probably is. But really, the beer tastes like black pepper and lime zest. Very refreshing and quite lovely, actually. Both lead up front, the lime in particular, but the pepper is there as an earthy and slightly pungent chaser … light and zesty through the middle with a bit more zest to finish with just a hint of a spicy aftertaste. All in all, a very well-crafted and layered beer and there is no false advertising here. Don’t get me wrong: this isn’t an everyday beer, but for something different, for something that brings Cancun into your Canadian home during this long winter season, and for something that pairs perfectly with taco night, you could do a whole lot worse. I’m definitely looking forward to my second bottle for sure ….
Stats: Flavoured Lager. Aldergrove, BC.
Colour: Light gold, crystal crystal clear.
Mouth Feel: Light to medium carbonation, refreshing aftertaste, crisp.
Purchased: Beer Store
Pairings: Ground Beef Tacos with Persimmon Salsa
87.5 points
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