Canterbury Brewery - Canterbury Lager

I sit here drinking a beer that was made around 5 to 10 yards away from where I work. There isn't a road between us, nor is there a path, nor doors, just a jerry rigged metal fence that's been tied to a support strut for when I'm not around. I'm talking about Canterbury Brewers, the guys from The Foundry Brew Pub just off the high street in Canterbury. We share the same warehouse, you see? It was, however, when I was taking a leisurely lunch break at The Foundry that I discovered Cantrbury lager. Now you all know how much I do love GOOD lager, and you all know how I'm so terribly depressed that there isn't enough good, bottle/cask conditioned lager around, nevermind local stuff. Well, it was when I was tucking into a BBQ pulled pork sandwich that was as BIG AS MY FREAKIN' FACE that I found Canterbury lager. All I wanted was a pint that I didn't mind leaving a third of if I had to rush back. I had to rush back in the end but I didn't want to leave a partially full glass behind. I told the guys when I saw them next and they gave me a bottle conditioned version to see what I thought.

Well I know there's a market for this, Curious Brew has shown us that people will go for local lager regardless of where it ACTUALLY comes from. I thought Canterbury lager was on a par with Curious on tap, but how do they compare in the bottle?

On the nose Canterbury is sweet and honeyed, just as you'd expect a good lager to be. It has a pencil thin head that sticks around and leaves light speckling which sits atop a hazy and slightly darker amber hued pool of effervesence. It tastes deeply refreshing, starting with sweet honeyed notes and finishing with a hoppy, bitter, kick. The body itself is light and aides with the perfectly refreshing nature of the drink. It's got flavour, it's got heart, and that's all because it's not simply a lager but a hefty, deep, ale that has simply been given lager yeast.

The yeast is the most important thing, they tell me, and after having tried a lot of their beers it is hard to question their logic.

The only thing that could be improved is the presentation. It's the same problem I had with Wainwrights. The beer tastes fresh and interesting, it tastes like it should be shooting for a younger crowd, a more savvy and experimental crowd or maybe just tourists who want local lager. When given the choice between the sleek Curious bottle and the simple Canterbury bottle your average consumer will go for the fancy one, completely forgetting that you should never judge a book by its cover. All that matters is taste and bottled Canterbury Lager beats the pants off bottled Curious Brew, they just need to sex up their bottle a bit and they'd be all set.

Food suggestion: A refreshing lager with honey notes and a bitter finish?! You know what I'm going to say, right? Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, mash and gravy... And a massive pretzel! (I wrote this during Oktoberfest.)

Drink this if you like: Curious Brew I guess, it's also similar to the Sam Smiths lager and edging towards the Brooklyn lager too.