Gerst Amber - Yazoo Brewing Company

TomAtoMusic

Tennessee

3.88/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Nice clear and deep amber hue with about a finger of white, creamy head that left a small bit of lacing on the glass as it dissipated.

S: Rather muted, with some floral, caramel, and malty notes. It gives a pleasant fragrance that pairs well with the flavor.

T: Very smooth, not a bitter beer in the least. I tasted a very slight caramel, but more noticeably a delightful malty bread taste with a noticeable bit of sweetness.

M: medium/light bodied with just a hint of the carbonation and a very soft and smooth aftertaste/feel. Comfortable, pleasant, and clean.

O: A very pleasant beer that is incredibly easy to drink, if you prefer malty flavors with virtually no hoppy bitterness that I could detect. Definitely glad I got a growler full to take home!

Serving type: growler

12-15-2011 19:56:23 | More by TomAtoMusic

John1985

Tennessee

4/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I've been wanting to try this beer for a while since Yazoo took over the brewing of it. The staff at Mount Juliet beer company where I purchased it said it was a lager beer.

It poured an dark amber (almost a brown) with a good one inch head that slowly dissipated. Malt dominated the aroma. Taste was clearly a malt fest of flavors of sweet malt and caramel but not cloying. Dry finish with low bitterness. Not really crisp but very drinkable, balanced and pleasant. Gerst was light-bodied enough to go well with food (pizza) and was very sessionable. This would be a great bridge beer for relatives not sold on craft beer.

Serving type: growler

06-12-2011 11:13:32 | More by John1985

sommersb

Tennessee

4.03/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is Yazoo's version of the Gerst Amber beer, for the Gerst Haus restaurant. The Gerst family owned Nashville's William Gerst Brewing Co., which opened in 1890 and closed in 1954. The restaurant has had other out of town breweries contract brew their house beer for years, but have now brought it back to a local brewer in Yazoo.

This beer is difficult to pin to a particular style. I think it falls somewhere between an Amber Ale and a Cream Ale, based on the color, IBUs and ABV.

My serving was from a growler fill at the Yazoo taproom, poured into a Yazoo pint glass.

A: Head is creamy, white-colored with 2 fingers of height. Immediately evident are lots of streaming bubbles from the bottom of the glass - carbonation is very lively. Color of the beer is a clear, sparking amber.

S: Crisp, floral aroma, not very strong. Some caramel and bready smells from the malts. Also get some lemon character and sweetness from the grains. The hops lend a soft herbal smell.

T: Malty but light, with a slight sweetness. Bitterness is low. Nice bread taste from the malts. Very well balanced and easy to drink.

M: As seen in the appearance, the carbonation is high. Medium-light body with a somewhat dry, but not bitter, aftertaste. Finishes very clean.

O: Very refreshing; great as a session beer. I can see this being a perfect house beer for the Gerst Haus, served in their large "fishbowl" style glasses. Now I just need some bratwurst and sauerkraut!

Serving type: growler

03-25-2011 03:49:18 | More by sommersb

woosterbill

Connecticut

3.93/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle into a Duvel tulip.

A: Clear medium amber body under two fingers of fine white head. Ok retention, good lace.

S: Malt-forward, with bread crust, toffee, mint, and figs. Really well integrated.

T: Follows the nose: mildly sweet maltiness, with both toasty and fruity notes ahead of a clean finish. Really smooth and easy-drinking.

M: Soft and frothy. All right.

O: Satisfying, well-balanced brew. Easy to throw back multiples.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2012 22:01:05 | More by woosterbill

secondtooth

Indiana

3.48/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a semi-cloudy amber, not surprisingly, with a minimal head of carbonation and little retention at all.

Nose is chewy grains -- malty and toasty. Pretty standard amber ale.

Taste is, again, toasty and grainy, with a tinge/hint of citrus hops at finish. Overall, a sturdy and session-worthy ale, but not a game-changer.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 15:09:00 | More by secondtooth

LXIXME

New Mexico

3.25/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Small off white head quickly dies with much lacing and that goes away after not to long a span of time on this clear lightish copper colored beer.

A very light sweet lightly roasted caramel malt aroma.

A light roasted caramel malt taste that borders on sweet and yet bitter with it's slight hops touches coming through.

A light dry aftertaste with some slight sweet caramel notes on this medium bodied beer.

This is a light caramel beer, kinda like a washed out Amber Bock or Shiner Bock.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 23:31:22 | More by LXIXME

Josiah2729

Tennessee

3.88/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle poured into pint glass...

Appearance: Amber red with minimal head and no lacing. Clear with medium effervescence.

Smell: Smells of sweet toasty malted grain

Taste: Sweet grains with slight hop bite, smooth finish

Mouthfeel: Medium carbonation, light texture

This beer came highly recommended. I enjoyed it and I think it is a great easy drinking brew.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2012 14:28:51 | More by Josiah2729

NODAK

Tennessee

4.33/5  rDev +21.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Aroma is sweet...a little creamy perhaps....with some bread there as well. Pretty nice.

Pours a clear amber color in the glass as anybody would expect. Nothing too outstanding there.

The taste makes this a real easy drinker. Quite delicious. Has a predominant grain sweetness on the body along with a bready component to it. The finish is pretty heavy on the fresh grain all the way through...hops are pretty much completely absent on this one. Again, just a real easy drinking beer. In fact, it could be a good gateway beer to craft beer.

I haven't always been a huge fan of Yazoo, but I think this beer was done pretty well.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2012 00:43:25 | More by NODAK

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.3/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to JonnyGalt (Reddit) for this one. I haven't really hit any good Yazoo beers yet, a couple decent ones I think, and a few bad ones, so let's see if this can break the curse.

Ug, screw cap, already losing points. A super aggressive pour yields just a small fizzy head covering that disappears very quickly... really?!?! This is already starting really bad. The color is a very clear orange apple juice color, barely even resembling what could be called amber.

Nose brings some toasty reddish amber malts, bready cracker like malts, dried yeast aroma, hint of caramel, light Munich or Victory like cracker malts, and a light herbal maybe grassy hop like.

Taste continues where the aroma left off, with light bready toasty reddish malts, cracker flavors, some reddish Munich or Victory bready like malts again. A light dry yeasty flavor with a very dry cracker flavor, probably American Ale yeast (1056), which I've used a few times in my beers and got the same dry cracker like taste. A light fruity taste as well which is different, although the hops bring a light herbal taste, little earthy too, and bit fruity. Finish is dry and crackery, light fruity herbal hops with a hint of bitterness, and grainy feel.

Mouth is med to lighter bodied, lower carb.

Overall bleh. Not really an amber ale taste, bready and cracker tasting, herbal earthy hops that barely bitter it and just add meh flavors, over dried finish with a cracker taste, and not really enjoyable. This continues the streak of bad Yazoo beers. I really think the brewery just pumps out cheap beer... or maybe they only bottle the lame ones. Don't know but still haven't found a good one.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 02:26:32 | More by jlindros

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

a nice clean light amber color with 2 fingers of head which quickly dissipated. smells bready, grassy, and a sweet smell of malts, earth notes, and a hint of raspberry.
a very average tasting bready amber ale with a wheat like after taste. barely any sweet flavor and very bland compared to the scents.

very low amount of carbonation, light body, .. really not much else.

a very nice looking pour with some nice complex smells, however it falls short in every other aspect. kind of a disappointment.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2012 02:59:09 | More by facundoCNB

jsprain1

Minnesota

3.28/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A- Red-amber with a two finger off white head. Decent retention and lacing.
S- Smell is fairly muted with some light caramel and floral aromas. A bit muddled and non-descript but, not offensive.
T- The first taste is toasted wheat bread with a light buttery note. Fairly sweet with just a hint of bitterness in the finish. There is a slight tinny undertone.
M- Carbonation is aggressively high, too much so in fact. Body is medium, maybe a little light.
O- It's an ok beer, but I've come to expect better from Yazoo. Not offensive, but not memorable.

Serving type: on-tap

06-04-2012 20:47:56 | More by jsprain1

Merkur

Tennessee

3.95/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Beer pours a nice reddish amber color with a slight amount of light red foam on top.

Beer smells very malty and hints of sweet caramel.

Beer tastes malty on the first part of the sip, followed by a bready and slightly caramel aftertaste.

A bit carbonated, but very easy drinking.

Serving type: on-tap

02-13-2012 12:33:06 | More by Merkur