old faithful wrote:Pootz is that Northern Edelbrau really good? I have never tried it. I tried Northern's Ale a few years ago and thought it was just an average industrial ale, so I've been passing on the other Northern offerings. The package for Edelbrau always seemed kind of bland to me, not that you can always tell quality by a package, but it never struck me as try to suggest a premium taste. Certainly I'll pick some up if it is a "diamond in the rough". I do plan to try DAB in the bottle soon, I don't like the green bottle but am willing to give it a try. But it is such a shame so many of the Germanic canned beers available here taste so dull (I can't figure out why since Urquel shows it is possible to have a quality helles-type beer in the can).
Northern Edelbrau is a port in a storm if you're a helles/Dortmunder/German lager/malt fancier. It is a fair attempt at a Dortmunder/hells by a Canadian brewer but is a tad thin in malt delivery and the distinct light citrus kiss in the finish that is a true Helles IMHO. All the same it is one of the few all malt, German accented lagers brewed here. Northern makes it in small batches at one location so it is available in 6s only...I buy it when there is nothing else around because I think it will do in a pinch when imports are not handy....besides, I like the woodsy, earthy taste from the hop/yeast mix and it has a distinct sweet malt character.
I recently bought some Northern red maple and was very pleased with it...it wasn't exactly a micro beer but it was full of flavor with a great hop/malt balance and the maple does not over power the drinker's tastebuds.....I'd buy more, and if you haven't tried it I'd recommend you seek it out for a taste.
As for DAB...the offering we get here is a German pilsner with good malt spine....and it's good for such a large brewer and an import to boot....but it is the DAB "export" that is their Dortmunder, and I haven't seen that around in years.
If you're a lager hound, I suggest you find some Stiegl. This is a golden Salzburg styled lager with some good malt profile and attenuated herbal hops...I buy a case or two when I see it at the Beer store.
As for the German canned lagers, at the LCBO, I think there are some pretty fair/good ones like Konig, Wernesguner, Kostritzer but I agree the LCBO has a knack for picking bland lagers to import.