Beer Review: Deviation 010, Modist Brewing
When do I not have a good time here? That’s the question I am going to start asking myself when debating whether or not to make the journey into the concrete jungle of North Loop, Minneapolis, MN, USA, North America, etc etc, to visit one of my favorite breweries in the Twin Cities (I suppose if that’s how I feel about it, I should probably just go there more often, eh?). Seriously, their selection might not be as large as other breweries, but in this reviewer’s opinion, they always have quality, delicious, fresh beer that pushes some serious flavor boundaries. Face it, like them or not, they always have something different (see First Call, pHresh, Supra Deluxe, TOATS er, I mean False Pattern), which I appreciate wholeheartedly. They are masters and modifiers of their craft, for sure. And so when I walked in today to try their latest invention, I shouldn’t have even questioned if it would be good or not. And let me tell you, Deviation 010 is a good lager.
Not only is it good, but it is different, just like Modist. Deviation 010 is a lager with a lovely blend of Denali, Heull Melon, and Bravo hops, but it’s also made with 100% experimental huskless barley. What does that mean, exactly? Well, normally, barley comes with a husk or shell (like grains do), but this time the team at Modist partnered with the team over at BSG CraftBrewing to make a beer entirely of this grain. They can do this because they use a special Mash Filter instead of a typical lauter tun, for their, well, lauter (separation of liquid and solid) purposes. Pretty nifty, huh? I don’t want to steal all the fun, you can read more from Modist’s own blog here.
But this is a GOOD lager here. And I am really only a few years into liking lagers like I like my ales. This crisp beer provides layers of bubbles that dance across the tongue while you inhale a fruity, honeydew melon aroma from the top of the wispy white, single finger head. It has a dull, yellow/orange color that you can’t quite see straight through. It isn’t your typical yellow piss lager, no, this is a craft lager, indeed. Even though it has a great hop lineup, it is only lightly hopped with a slight lingering fruity bitterness that balances nicely with its breadiness. It even gets better as it warms up some. Wow.
Cheers!
