Tonight's Sunday Night Suds looks at Lakefront Brewery's Cattail Ale. To me, Lakefront Brewery had always been an enigma. I knew that in January 2007 it had come under the kashrus supervision of the Star-K, but I had not been able to find it in New York. Well, let me rephrase that, I had not been able to find Lakefront Brewery beer in New York. Perhaps a brief introduction is in order...
As you may be aware, in order to constitute beer, a beverage requires hops, malted barley, water and yeast. There are a number of brewers that make a 'beer like' beverage that does not contain any barley so that those who are intolerant (like those people who suffer from celiac) can still enjoy something that tastes like beer. The first brewery that I knew of that made this type of beverage was the Ramapo Valley Brewery who brewed a kosher for passover beer called Passover Honey Gold that contained no barley or yeast. A number of years later, Lakefront Brewery also began to make a barley free beer that they called New Grist. I had seen New Grist at specialty stores like Whole Foods, but never had the desire to buy a six pack.
After having searched many of the comprehensive beer outlets in the New York area (and having made requests at some of my more frequent haunts), I had pretty much given up on finding Lakefront Brewery beer in NY. Then one day I happened to have been on their website and saw that they were carried at American Beer on Court Street in Brooklyn. Since I needed to be in court in Brooklyn the next day, I figured that it was worth a shot to stop in. I was cautiously optimistic that I might find Lakefront there (I have been burned at this store in the past as they never update their website and frequently do not carry varieties that the site says should be in stock). This time, I was not disappointed. I purchased an eight pack with eight different varieties of Lakefront and then mixed a six with some more.
So what does Cattail Ale taste like? The website indicates that it is a Wisconsin Pale Ale. Well, I've never heard of that variety, but this tastes almost like a lager, but with some nice fruitiness. In some ways, it reminds me of the Pete's Cream Wanderlust Ale that I had tried a few years back. It has a nice color and carbonation, with an interesting fruitiness, despite the fact that it is unflavored.
Lakefront Brewery Cattail Ale is under the kosher supervision of the Star-K. Although the LOC on the Star-K site says that this (and about 15 other varieties) are kosher, but only with the Star-K on the label, I was unable to find a Star-K on the label of any of the varieties that I purchased. This seems common with the Star-K as many of the Sam Adams beers that are listed as under the Star-K do not have the symbol on the label. Concerned that I had wasted my money, I contacted the Star-K to confirm that they are permissible without a Star-K on the label. I spoke with R' Rosen (really nice guy) who said that the beers on the LOC are permitted even without the Star-K on the label. He also said that he had tried one and thought that the beer was quite good. (I didn't have the foresight to ask him which variety he tried).
For the experts' take on the Cattail Ale please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/741/9386 . As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.
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