Brewery: Full Sail Brewing Co. | Beer: LTD 02
Style: Maibock/Helles Bock | ABV: 6.4% | IBUs: 32
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Pilsener glass
Full Sail's LTD series is designed to give the brewers a chance to experiment. LTD doesn't just stand for limited, but for "Live the Dream," and each new beer is one in a series of small-batch brews available for a limited time only. The series is limited to lagers only, which I have to say its a pretty ballsy move.
The second beer in the series is LTD 02, a Maibock (or Helles Bock). The backbone is built with Two-Row Pale, Caramel, and Vienna malt, along with wheat. The hop bill consists of Czech Saaz and Styrian Goldings. Here's how Full Sail pitch the finished product:
A light-bodied nonetheless hella good limited edition lager that is golden colored with soft malt undertones and is nicely balanced with a crisp clean finish.Sounds hella solid to me, let's get crackin'!
Appearance: A crystal-clear, golden-amber body. Up top, a creamy whitish head that features great retention and lacing. Very pretty.
Aroma: Mildly spicy hops over a bready malt base. Maybe some hints of booze if you go looking for it.
Taste: Biscuity, bready malt leads the charge. Towards the end, the mildly bitter and spicy hops show back up to help dry up the finish. The aftertaste is of biscuity malt and a few hints of bitterness. If I had to guess, I think I'd probably have flagged this as an Ale, rather than Lager.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. It dries a bit in the finish.
Drinkability: Rather sessionable I suppose, but I don't really see myself ordering a second.
Verdict: I have to say, this is just a little boring, especially for a limited edition beer. It's inoffensive enough, and might make for a decent gateway beer, but it's just too unremarkable for me.
Grade: C+
Note: While the review above is being posted in 2011, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh in 2008.
