Rock Bottom Munich Gold

Boston's only lager?

By JASON + TODD ALSTRÖM

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Aside from Boston Beer Company's brewing of small batches out of their Jamaica Plain pilot brewery, the fine city of Boston offers us one locally brewed lager: Rock Bottom's Munich Gold. That's pretty sad when you think about it. Lagers can be just as tasty and diverse as ales, but due to longer maturation periods and inexperienced brewers, most don't find them cost efficient. The longer a beer sits in a tank, the less beer is being brewed, and less money being made. And that's a damn shame, as there's nothing better than well-brewed lager—whether it's a Pilsner, Doppelbock, Rauchbier or American Macro Lager.

As for Rock Bottom's Munich Gold, it's a Munich Helles Lager, a style formulated in the 1800s that allowed German brewers to compete with the growing popularity of the Czech Pils. "Helles" is German for "bright," which is apropos, as beers in this style are a light, brilliant golden color and a bit malty with a spicy noble hop note.

And though it's a staple offering for the massive Rock Bottom chain today, Munich Gold was actually first formulated by the Brew Moon chain of brewpubs in Massachusetts. The beer was so good it won a Gold at the 1996 Great American Beer Festival (GABF), and the beer became a Rock Bottom standard when they purchased and converted Brew Moon.

Medals schmedals! Let's find out for ourselves.

The Taste

Pours a vibrant, golden-colored brew; a very thick, creamy foam head sticks to the glass and retains a respectable lacing. Aroma is soft and bready with just a kiss of herbally hop. Body is soft, medium and smooth with more bready malts up front and a slighty sweet profile. The sweetness provides a good backboard for the soft hop bite that's a bit salty, rindy and snapping with citric lemon. Herbal beneath. Dry and biscuity in the finish, which cleans up very well, less a bready linger.

Final Thoughts

Listen up, beer geeks. Drink more lagers, like this one—a solid example of its style. Head down to their Stuart Street or Braintree locations, grab a growler with some friends and enjoy it on its own or with some food. Prost!

FOR MORE INFO: ROCKBOTTOM.COM

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RESPECT BEER.

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