This week on tap: Blue Stallion

By Alex Wright

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When I arrived at the tap room to sample beers for this column I was greeted by a horde of some of the cutest dogs I’ve ever laid my eyes on. I found out that they were holding a Cutest Dog Contest to benefit a local non-profit. It’s difficult to be objective when you are surrounded by cute dogs, so you’ll have to excuse any excessive praise in this column.

Blue Stallion Brewing Company focuses heavily on German-style beers and has the tallest bar of the Lexington breweries. Shorter patrons may feel a bit like a Hobbit when sitting at this enormous bar sipping on a liter of beer. When I asked for the standout beers, the bartender gave me a flight of their German Pilsner, Schwarzbier, Maibock and Munich Dunkel.

The German Pilsner is exactly as the name suggests, a classic German-style Pilsner. If you have spent time in Germany and haven’t been able to find a Pilsner that takes your taste buds back to the streets of Berlin, look no further.

The flavor is crisp and distinctly bitter. The light body makes it a perfect dinner pairing for a white fish, like trout or cod. And with a relatively low alcohol content this is a beer you can drink well into the night.

The Schwarzbier was the darkest beer in the flight. It has a heavy body, but a flavor that falls somewhere between medium and heavy, leaning a bit on the heavy side. On first sip it has a slightly bitter taste, but that is followed by a nutty roasted flavor. This after-dinner beer is perfect for those trying to get into dark beers, but find some of the heavier stouts a bit too intimidating.

The Maibock’s flavor is heavier than its appearance might suggest. You can taste malt but there is also a fairly strong hop presence that doesn’t yield an overwhelming amount of bitterness. This beer is balanced perfectly between malt and hops. Its heavy flavor and medium body would pair quite well with a dinner of steak, mashed potatoes and green beans sautéed with garlic.

The Munich Dunkel has a slightly heavy body with a refreshing flavor. It is dark, but not so much as to scare off those who shy away from dark beers. It has a slight sweetness to compliment its crispness, and the flavor lingers enjoyably on one’s pallet. It balances heaviness, crispness, sweetness and bitterness with quite a bit of finesse. I would highly recommend the liter, because if you order any less you will surely find yourself wanting more.