Archive for the 'H. West' category
Hollande 1620 Lager
In my never-ending quest to find new beers to review for you guys (and, thus, to find excuses to drink new beers), I often pick up a sixer of something that, frankly, I’m not that drawn to. This is ESPECIALLY the case when I’m in Georgia, where the only quality local brews come from Terrapin and Sweetwater, and I’ve already had most of those. So anyway, long story short, I picked up a very generic looking lager from Holland, and here it is.
The 1620 looks like any fizzy light beer you’d find anywhere else – it’s effervescent and crystal golden, with the slightest bit of white head. The aroma of this is pure light malt with just the lightest hint of metallic hops. In the mouth, this beer won’t knock your socks off, and you shouldn’t expect it to. However, this is honestly tastier than I thought it would be. There aren’t a lot of flavors involved here, but the simple flavor that sticks out is a light malty sweetness that coats the mouth, is very refreshing, and finishes clean leaving just a light sweetness at the back of the throat. There is just a BIT of hop here – not much, but between that and the carbonation, it gives this beer a light tingly bite that awakens the tastebuds just enough to be receptive to the forthcoming subtle sweetness. Furthermore, the 1620 manages to avoid the overtly metallic or paper-pulp flavors that often invade beers of similar appearance. Really, there isn’t much else to say about this beer. It’s nothing special and, honestly, there are other beers that are similar for a cheaper price tag here in the US of A. But, for a fizzy light beer, this is quite good, and will be great in the coming summer sun.
