Beer – #134 – Boundary Road – Brewer’s Cut -Ein Stein

This was a gift to me a few weeks ago – Boundary Road Brewer’s Cut Ein Stein. Boundary Road Brewery Brewed at Independent Breweries (New Zealand), And they say that this is in the style of a  Dortmunder/Helles and they’re a local brewer in Auckland, New Zealand.

The label says “Much Lager“, it’s 500ml of a 5.3% ABV beer (2.1 standard drink units)

Dortmunder/Helles :  These two styles are closely related, the former hailing from Dortmund and the latter from Bavaria. Both are slightly strong (5.0-5.6%), malt-accented pale lagers. The cookie-like or bready maltiness should be very much in evidence in a traditional example. These beers are clean and easy to drink in quantity. Some Dortmunders made in Denmark and the Netherlands are stronger.

When you think of Bavaria you probably picture two things. Beer and theoretical physics. Einstein, who invented science in Munich, was not only a brilliant physicist, he was also a brilliant coincidence. His name happens to be German for “one beer”. This Munich lager is just the sort of “Ein Stein” you would enjoy at Oktoberfest. Smooth, crisp and pouring the same large head as its namesake. It’ll satisfy any man in leather shorts.

Well no leather shorts, but I am in need to a refreshing beer while I’m waiting for the bread machine to do all the work in the kitchen.

I’m also going to put out there that this is one of 16 “craft” beers from this brewery that is an acquired company. And that being that I’m going to get something that is competent and palatable if not remarkable.

So pre open hopes: Pale blonde, yeasty, and no alarming flavours, will have a head.

Aroma of yeast/bread, golden yellow colour, and a head like a chuppa-chup on a stick, very happy with that result.  Nice lacing too, they’re getting some thing spot on.

To the taste, which offers that basic hop note you’d expect, a mouthful of fizz, and a slightly sour note in the mix, not disturbingly so, but a reminder that they’ve tried hard to get this right as a homage to beer that is produced by the everyone.

This isn’t spectacular or quirky enough to make you add this to your must get in the shopping beer list, it sits along all the other six-pack lagers as just a lager, no more or less.  It delivers nothing more than you expect.

Not ghastly and rating a 7 on the pdubyah-o-meter as being competent, not offensive and least likely to upset a beer drinker the Ein Stein is a beer from a brewer trying to touch as many market points as possible, some of them well, some not.  I would rather they stuck to producing fewer better more memorable beers, but that wouldn’t fit a commercial venture now would it.

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