Summer’s Coming | The J Street Beer Review

Brew Review-Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning Uber Pils

Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning Uber Pils, Golden Bock Lager, 7% ABV

It’s getting to be that time of year again, the time when my favorite style of beers come back into ‘season.’ I’m talking about Pilsners/Lagers. (This one is a “golden bock lager.”) Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy a great stout, porter, and tasty IPA, but there’s something about sitting outside in the sun at the ballpark, local biergarten, or my backyard and enjoying a crisp, refreshing lager. Consequently, I was stoked to see those types of beers starting to make their way into the beer aisle.

First up, the Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning Uber Pils. One of my favorite beers (and I’m sure my fellow J Street-ers would second) is Heavy Seas Loose Cannon, which was my first real love with this Baltimore-based brewery. Since then, I have tried others and can’t remember ever being disappointed (their chocolate stout is delicious, mostly because it tastes like a chocolate shake). I saw a sixer of the Small Craft Warning at D’Vines and knew I had to give it a try.

The beer pours a nice gold-orange color that hints it’s not going to be better than that “triple-hopped pilsner” we all drank in college (and still do for drinking games…). The head is white and starts, say, 3mm thick but dissipates in about 10 seconds.

The aroma it gives off is quite mellow with a bit of fruit and some sweetness.

The sweetness comes through on the taste; maybe a bit too much since I was initially expecting a crisp flavor. You do get some malt towards the end of the drink.

The body is a bit heavy and does not leave a ‘clean’ feeling. Instead, it seems to hang out and you can still taste it after a couple of breaths.

Overall, this is nowhere close to the worst beer that I’ve had, but when I see pilsner, I do expect something crisp and easily sessionable, especially when in the sun. I don’t think this is the beer for that. That said, if you see it on draft somewhere, give it a try. I’m not the end-all-be-all word on beer and maybe this one is right in your wheelhouse.