Judge’s Review: 93 Rating – Parkville Lager by Dead Language Beer Project

Amber Kellerbier | Year-Round | USA

By Rick Franckhauser

Judges Rating: 93.00
Aroma: 21.00
Appearance: 6.00
Flavor: 38.00
Mouthfeel: 10.00
Overall Impression: 18.00

Dead Language Beer Project, Parkville Lager was judged as BJCP Category 27A, Historical – Amber Kellerbier. 
The aroma opens with a strong dose of grapefruit with some underlying toasty malt. My mind immediately goes to American Amber Ale. As some of the citrus aromatics drift off more of the toasty malt comes through accompanied by a touch of Munich malt qualities. A slight candy-like note is detected reminiscent of caramel but not diacetyl. Everything is fresh, clean and pleasantly inviting. The citrus reappears occasionally with some other fruity notes. Wonderful aromatics but tilts my brain a little when thinking of it as an Amber Kellerbier which should lean more into the malt and present like a fresh Märzen.
The beer is a brilliant amber color topped with a creamy off-white head. Lots of tiny bubbles ascending. Great head retention and an overall beautiful looking beer. The flavor opens with some bready rich malts and background toastiness. The citrusy hops come in and while not as dominant as found in the aroma, they definitely make a statement. The hop flavor reads a little more like mandarin orange, perhaps influenced by the sweet malts. The balance leans toward the sweet malt but the finish is semi-dry.
Midway through, a touch of rich melanodin malt comes in and adds a nice complexity to the overall malt profile. A low level white grape note is found and appreciated. There is enough hop bitterness to keep the sweetness in check. Very fresh, clean beer. A low level floral hop flavor makes its way into the finish. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, smooth and creamy. Lingers on the palate a bit but still manages to leave you wanting more. 
Overall, wonderful beer. I really enjoyed the malt characteristics of the beer and wanted more of them in the overall balance. Nice and rich with some complexity without being in your face. Very fresh hop and malt qualities. As noted the seemingly American hop qualities seemed a touch out of place for me and leaned toward an American Amber but I’m sure are still acceptable stylistically. I just wanted the late addition hops to take a bit of a back seat to the wonderful malt in this Amber Kellerbier. I did find the mandarin like notes in the flavor more integrated than the grapefruit notes in the aroma. When all is said and done, I really want to drink this beer fresh off the tap for the full experience but in the meantime, I’ll be very happy with this packaged version any day of the week.