Another can from the great state of Michigan. Atwater Block Brewery brought two cans to market simultaneously – Atwater’s Lager and Grand Circus IPA. According to sales and promotion rep Matt Cebula, Atwater wanted to release their beer in cans as soon as possible and contracted with Latrobe Brewing for the first run while they work towards securing their own canning line.  They promise “more cans to come,” and we have it on pretty good authority Dirty Blonde will be next up in the spring.  In the meantime, let’s give their lager a test drive.        

From the Atwater site:

"Atwater Lager is the first beer we ever produced in our Detroit Rivertown brewery.  Though the process was tedious, the results were tasty.  Now, this refreshing Munich-style Helles Lager – made in the Detroit tradition of German-Style lagers – is available in the can."

From the can:

 “We drink all we can and then sell the rest.” 

Here we go...

Pour - straw/pale yellow color, with a large and strong white head.  When judging to style this one gets good marks for clarity.

Aroma - dry, salty cracker aroma; some mint and some spicy yeast notes emerge as it warms.

Taste - Atwater Lager is crisp and clean throughout.  It has a dry malty start, some hoppiness in the middle and the finish, and light malt lingers in the back of the throat between drinks.  It is unlikely there are adjuncts present in this brew, and if there are then they are very well hidden.  

Overall - A tasty and well balanced lager, though temperature played a significant role in our overall rating.  We started this one off ice cold and the moderate complexity of this lager didn’t show up until we got it to somewhere around 50 degrees, and then we started to really enjoy it.  Drink it straight from the chiller or the ice bucket and you’ll miss the hoppy middle and the pleasant minty/spicy aromas.  If you let it get above 60 degrees you’re on your own – ours were drinking so well they didn’t last long enough for us to find out. 

Note - According to Matt at Atwater, the logo design is part of an overall marketing shift that is consistent with making their brews Detroit’s blue-collared working man’s drink of choice. 

When asked about the similarity between their lager can design and that of another Detroit brewing icon, Matt admitted it is not a coincidence.  After all, the Atwater Brewery is located within a stone’s throw of the old Stroh’s downtown building.  Cheers to Atwater for giving a tip of the hat to their fire-brewed Detroit predecessor! 

Atwater's Lager's can design pays homage to Detroit's brewing past