August Schell Brewing Company FireBrick

**Aroma:** Grainy, light malt aroma with delicate, floral hops. Clean lager profile. Perhaps a bit catty. Some berry notes. **Flavor:** Upfront hop bitterness, balanced malt and hops in the middle, and a pleasant, bitter finish. Nice pils character. A touch of corn with floral hops reminiscent of gooseberry or white wine. Well balanced. **Overall:** Complex malt-hops balance. Bitterness is aggressive but appropriate. A full-flavored pils that holds your attention throughout. Very refreshing as it is, but a crisper finish would make it even more so.

**Aroma:** Rich, toasty, bready malt aroma with a touch of caramel and a kiss of subtle floral hops. Toffee and biscuits. Very light sulfur. **Flavor:** Sharp, clean hop bitterness overlays sweet, toasted malt with cracker notes. Assertive, slightly resinous hop flavor. Good complexity. Sweet up front, but hop flavor and clean bitterness keeps it in check. Clean lager profile. Finishes dry and slightly bitter. **Overall:** Full-flavored, rich, and satisfying. Hop levels are higher than Continental Vienna lagers. A touch bitter in the finish but a great expression of malt without being cloying. This will appeal to American craft beer drinkers.

Aroma: “Moderate Pils malt sweetness with a touch of sulfur. Very subtle floral and herbal hops with a touch of noble spice, a touch of malt breadiness. More Pils malt on retronasal. Light sulfur as it warms. Overall, somewhat muted.” Flavor: “Clean Pils malt throughout. Falls slightly sweet on the palate, but the finish is crisp and carries enough bitterness to cut through. Floral and spicy hops notes play well with the malt and bring a nice complexity. Finishes fairly dry with a slight grain-husk tannic bitterness.” Overall: “Nice beer, although a touch sweet for some. Easy drinking. A more aggressively hopped Pilsner that isn’t shy about what it’s trying to do with highlighting the spicy and floral hops.”