Judge's Review: 86 Rating - Vienna Lager by Double Nickel Brewing Co.

Vienna Lager by Double Nickel Brewing Co. is a Vienna Lager and will be judged as such by BJCP 2015 category 7A.

This style is one of my favorites, but is one you rarely find, so it is great to see a U.S. brewer making one. The style is the lesser-known cousin of the Oktoberfest/Marzen style sharing the same toasty/bready malt character, but less rich in favor of more balance. This one fits the style, but is a bit more subdued than I was hoping for.

It pours a light amber color with a bright orange-y copper color (think new buffed piping), with a lasting off-white head with foam that stinks to the glass and brilliant clarity. It has a light crackery malt with low levels of toasty bread crusts and med-low caramel notes. Under the malt there is low noble-like hops (floral), faint sulfur and very low esters (red apple) to an otherwise clean lager yeast. The flavor is similar but with a little less toast and more caramel/melanoidins. I would like to see more melanoidins vs. caramel, but it's nowhere near as sweet as its Mexican cousins (Modelo, et al). It is malt-forward, but balanced between the malt & hops, with medium-low bitterness and very low floral hops. It has a smooth, crisp mouthfeel with moderately low body and no astringency/diacetyl or other off-flavors. It’s a very crushable beer, perfect for the recent hot weather, but a little more oomph to the malt would really step it up to the next level.