Toast Northern Monk Dry Hopped Lager
I was intrigued by the name of this one, it's a bit weird. I'm sure I've never had it before and I was interested in finding out what dry-hopped lager is like.
Details
- Lager, 4.5% ABV
- 440ml can
From the website:
Our Breaking Bread Series is a line-up of limited-edition collaborations with iconic UK breweries.
Following the launch of our inaugural beer in the Breaking Bread series with Tiny Rebel, we're proud to introduce the next beer in the series ....
This time it's with the brilliant team at Northern Monk.
The sequel is a 4.5% dry‑hopped Lager, with classic hops giving herby aromas of freshly cut grass with a citrus-led bite.
Like its predecessor, it’s crafted using 19,000 slices of surplus bakery bread. That’s a stack reaching the height of 12 Angels of the North! The bread substitutes part of the malted barley to avoid waste and lighten the beer’s environmental impact.
Expectations
A lager made from leftover bread sounds weird, but I suppose it makes some sense when I think about it. I'm hoping for a decent yeasty taste, though preferably not quite like a can of alcoholic Marmite.
Experience
The beer is a pale, creamy yellow, a bit cloudy. There's not much head on it and not a lot of bubbles. There's not much smell either, just a little bit of a citrusy hops aroma.
The taste is more prominent, with a little bit of citrus, quite bitter and slightly sweet. I quite like it - the hoppy flavour is there, but it doesn't taste like any particular fruit and it isn't overpowering.
The aftertaste is just a bit acidic. Not too acidic, just enough to make me want a salty snack to go with it.
I don't think I have tried any other dry-hopped lagers before, but I'm open to trying more after enjoying this one.
Verdict
4/5 : Tasty, quite refreshing, and I would happily drink it again.
