Faxe Amber
Going strictly on looks, I'd say that Faxe Amber suits the part reasonably well. Its body is a fairly rich shade of toffee, a vintage brown tone that is lightened and made especially attractive because of its immaculate clarity. Despite an impressive showing off the pour, its head turns out to be rather diminutive and leaves no lasting lace. The aroma, I'm pleasantly surprised to say, is not only approachable in its own right but might actually make a half-way admissible bouquet for a Vienna lager. Notably sweet, the beer smells of biscuity, moderately toasted malt and buttery toffee and has the light fruity esters of an ale yeast. There's more character than I was expecting. How much of the caramel and fruity esters was intentional and how much of it was merely the by-products of cheap ingredients or a hurried brewing process I remain unsure. The flavour offers no insights - it is completely neutral. Gone is any flavour of toasted malts or even that buttery toffee that I thought might be diacetyl. There's nothing left!? Nothing good nor bad. Apart from an additional caramelly sweetness and slight, slight toastiness there's nothing distinguishing about the mouthfeel either. This is more a huge relief than minor disappointment, especially considering the brewery is honest enough to list corn as an ingredient right there on the can. Neutral is better than nauseating. This could easily pass as a decent amber lager and the average palate is likely to see it as being just that. While I appreciate the aroma and flavour, it doesn't drink with the right feel that it should; despite the caramelly flavour there is not a trace of hop bitterness nor toasty, grainy maltiness - the telling signs of a pure, honest, well crafted beer. Faxe Amber exceeded my expectations (which, by admission, were quite low given that I've found all of this brewery's other offerings rather disagreeable) despite that it failed at being all that desirable. It isn't something I see myself drinking again, but it's not anything I mind finishing now that I've already started drinking it this time.