329 Lager – Golden Road

Golden Road has made a decent name for themselves with their IPAs and hefeweizen, but have never ventured into the bottom fermenting world of lagers. That changes with the introduction of 329 Lager, an easy drinking beer that pays homage to our generally agreeable climate here in Southern California. The name of the beer comes from the statistic that Los Angeles averages 329 days of sunny weather a year, a fact to which most of the rest of the country shakes their fists at us for.

Though not exactly a very adventurous beer in style or ingredients, that’s kind of its mission. Golden Road hope to appeal to those who may not be accustomed to some of the more intense styles and flavors that have become synonymous with the craft beer scene. That being said, they still wanted to make a beer they would enjoy. To keep things interesting they used Bravo, Tradition, and Opal hops to give the beer a nice mix of grassy, floral, and citrus notes.

The beer pours a clear golden-yellow with a small amount of bubbly white head. The aroma is strong on the pale malt with a hint of citrus and grass and a distinctive lager yeastiness, kinda like bread dough. Its got a nice medium body but with enough carbonation to stay refreshing. The flavor follows the aroma pretty closely, starting with a brief pale malt that moves to fresh lemon and wraps up on a mildly bitter grassy hop. The aftertaste has a lingering pale malt accompanied by a hint of grassy bitterness.

This beer accomplishes what it sets out for, an easy drinking lager that is approachable but also enough character to stay interesting. It is actually pretty similar to Flying Dog UnderDog Atlantic Lager, but then again it’s hard to stand above the crowd with such a bare bones style. Where it does excel is that it is a very well executed lager and I’d recommend giving it a shot before Summer begins (or the next sunny day). Though currently available at The Pub At Golden Road and at Tony’s Darts Away, you will start to see this beer on draft at the end of March 2014 and 12oz and 16oz cans hitting shelves around mid April.

Cheers!
Jeff Prosser