by Brian Wall
It’s a Saturday. You have the day off, no serious projects around the residence and there are no plans. Weather is not an issue. What to do? How about a brewery tour?! The biggest problem is what brewery to take a tour on a Saturday. This week the brewery tour happened in Garland. Lakewood Brewing Company opened in August 2012 and continues to brew some very impressive beers. The brewery itself has a nice lodge-like front area where the majority of the samples are poured. A very large table greets visitors and welcomes friendly discussion about almost anything. The main brew floor hosts live music and a secondary pouring station with two taps. In the back of the brewery, a food truck offered wares for those looking for a bite. Four samples were tasted on this tour for the entry fee of ten dollars and each beer was drank from a Belgian-style beer glass.
The first beer sampled was the anniversary beer, Lion’s Share I. This beer is a double IPA and gave a nice malty-citrus scent. Color was a light caramel and slightly cloudy. Foam was clinging on the top of the glass. The first sip gave a pleasant, sweet maltiness with very little hop bite. There was a strong flavor of alcohol but no alcohol burn or bite as one might expect. Being a double IPA, the alcohol can be expected. This beer does justice as the specialty for their anniversary.
The second beer sampled was the Goatman, a black IPA. Black IPA’s are not as pronounced in the beer world as they should be. The combination of a nice robust dark beer with the IPA hop-bitter combination is young in most offerings but more and more are being made. This beer gave a very strong hop scent and a chocolate colored foamy head on initial pour. A deep black color throughout remained after the dissipation of the foam. The flavor did little to not assert itself as an IPA. Pale, no but definitely a strong hop bite with little hop bitterness in the aftertaste. For a hop-lover, this is your beer.
The third beer tasted was the fall offering of Punkel but this was a cask edition Punkel. Punkel is a pumpkin pie beer minus the pumpkin. There is a very pleasant spice aroma of nutmeg, clove and cinnamon similar to a pumpkin pie. The color is dark but not black, more of a very deep brown hue. Flavor is definite spice with the aforementioned spices and allspice thrown in to boot. This beer could easily be a great winter beer, enjoyed in front of a nice roaring fireplace.
The last beer sampled was the signature milk stout- The Temptress. This milk stout has a great toasted barley-malt scent and is a very deep black color. This beer is offered year-round and offers a slight milk sweetness. There is no hop flavor but a slight alcohol note without a bite. This beer is bottled but to truly experience it, you will need to look for it on tap, preferably a Nitro tapping of this beer. The bottle will give you some idea of what to expect but it loses slightly in flavor.
The brewery does offer beers you may not find bottled or possibly even on tap somewhere. The brewery did start to get more people as the day progressed but did not get overly crowded. Parking was easy enough and plastic was accepted for those that do not carry cash with you. The downside seems to be common: not every beer is bottled for home consumption. Of course, if every beer was bottled, there would be no need to visit the brewery or hit a local watering hole for socializing.
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