Let me begin by dropping some factoids that I just know will blow your mind:
1) I love Vienna lagers.
2) It is highly likely that I've never had a Vienna lager
from Vienna or any other part of Austria.
Should I pause here so you can gather yourselves together?
The invention of the Vienna lager is a story worthy of an episode
of James Burke's Connections as its genesis drew upon a myriad of
technologies and techniques from outside of Vienna and invented in the past. Burke
would, no doubt, start several thousand years in the past somewhere in deepest
Mesopotamia. I am not.
Instead let's go back to the first time a Vienna lager made
its way into the Kuchen hole of a paying member of the public: c. 1840. This
was made possible by one Anton Dreher, proprietor of Brauhaus zu
Klein-Schwechat which I think translates into English as the Klein Schwechat
Brewery. (Klein Schwechat is a town near
Vienna.) But before taking over the brewery from his father, Anton had a few adventures
with his Freund Gabriel Sedlmayr, Jr. (Sedlmayr the Senior was the Braumeister
at a little brewery in Munich called Spaten.)
Trekking through Germany and eventually Britain, Anton
learned about bottom fermentation, speedy wort cooling, and kilning with
indirect heat which yielded pale, non-smoky malt. He even used the humble
thermometer which was, I have read, eschewed by early 19th century
Viennese brewers because apparently they were a bunch of zymurgological
Neanderthals.
The merger of new-fangled technology and new(er) methods in Dreher's brewery yielded the Vienna lager.
If we jump ahead to 2016 in Chicago's Ravenswood area,
Dovetail Brewery is opened by two Chicagoans who met in Munich while studying the
art of brewing. Together they brew continental European style beers with the
occasional American technique or ingredient thrown in for good measure. This is
not my first encounter with Dovetail's beer as I enjoyed their Rauchbier at
their taproom a few years back and, more recently, their Helles. However, this is my initial taste of their
Vienna-style lager and I didn't have to go to Chicago to get it as Dovetail started
appearing on select Madison store shelves late last year or earlier this year,
I cannot recall.
Its delightfully biscuity malt scent caressed my nosehairs and
stimulated my olfactory bulb. Ooh la la! I also caught a little toffee and some
grass from the hops.
The liquid was medium-bodied and featured a little toffee
flavor. But the pièce de resistance was the rich biscuit taste that
melded with melanoidins giving that lightly toasted flavor that my tongue covets
so. My understanding is that Dovetail decocts, hence the melanoidins. When I finally
stopped gushing over the grainy goodness, I noticed there was also a moderate
fizziness and a tad of grassy-floral hoppiness.
At the finish there was a touch of lingering sweetness but
mainly it was a bit dry with that fizz and some bitterness from grassy-spicy
tasting hops.
As with the other beers I've had from Dovetail, their
Vienna-style lager is superlative. I don't know exactly how close it is to the
ur-Vienna lager from back in 1840 but it's at least on the right track with
having the malt up front. Indeed, it's masterful in its melanoidin, terrific in
its toastiness, and scarce in sweetness. This, along with the subdued hop
presence, jibes with what I've read about Dreher's brew.
In the end, though, Dovetail isn't obligated to brew a beer
that tastes like one from 180 years ago. It is however, obligated to brew tasty
beer and they've certainly done that here. The sweetness is toned down and the
bready/toasty malt flavors shine through, as is my preference in such matters, with some Noble tasting hops lending a little balance and dryness.
Junk food pairing: This beer is up for pairing with what is
one of the best potato chips out there – Jay's Hot Stuff with its prominent paprika
flavor and its heat.
**Hahahahahahahahaha
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