Name: Archipelago Breeze
Brewers: Finback Brewery (United States)
Style: Fruit Beer (Base Style: International Pale Lager)
ABV: 5.4%
Review Year: 2020
We continue our documentation of the various artistic interpretations of the world’s most familiar beer style– the “lager.” Archipelago Breeze is a “pilsner” brewed with apricot and lemon zest by Finback Brewery from Queens.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Fruit Beer (29A) with the International Pale Lager (2A) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
With the cloudy pale straw appearance alone, you will know that Archipelago Breeze is not your traditional lager. This beer smells like summer– light and pleasant citrus fruit peels blend with ripe apricots with a touch of vanilla and honey. Others interpreted the aroma as wheat and white wine-like.
This fruited lager conforms to the traditional style with its light body and effervescent mouthfeel– crisp. As to the flavor, citrus fruit peels contribute to the flavor sans any acidity, while apricots surface secondarily. Both the fermentation and malt presence are perceived to be clean and neutral, allowing the fruit flavors to shine bright. Light herbal bitterness contributes to the balance and continues into the aftertaste. Dry finish.
THE VERDICT
Great. The selection of fruits really complemented the crispness of the lager, making Finback’s Archipelago Breeze an ideal go-to beer for the summer. The base beer is also well-made as both the body and mouthfeel felt appropriate (even considering the fruit additions) and no skunky characters were noted.
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