Bewilder Big Crispy and Red Rock Swan Lake 

• Mike Riedel

Bewilder - Big Crispy: IPAs still rule the craft beer scene around the world, but the universal appeal of pilsners continues to grow among craft-brewing audiences. Taking all this into consideration, brewers are creating hybrids to bridge the two styles and create greater appeal. Our first beer this week is one of those beers, and stylistically is referred to as a West Coast Pilsner.

It pours a very pale straw color with a rocky white head, featuring vigorous carbonation with small, medium and larger bubbles. The beer is essentially clear, but it may have a very faint haze. The nice aroma for me presents the impression of a lager with a definite IPA vibe; I get dank notes with peach, mango, pineapple and some strawberry as well. There's also some herbal perfume, and a subtle, toasty malt profile in the background.

The taste proves interesting, in that there is a lot of citrus character, but it's not juicy; it's more about the pithy, rindy, bitter nature of the citrus, bringing a lot of aromatics. There is some juiciness, but not a lot. The beer is pretty simple in its flavors, and everything works well together; it's a dry, crisp lager with lots of hop character. There's a good deal of bitterness here, but it does not linger long on the finish. A subtle peach sweetness comes through from the toasted malt, especially after the quick finish from the hops subsides. The beer also has a touch of juicy acidity, which is nice. It's light- to medium-bodied, nicely carbonated with a clean, crisp, dry finish. Very drinkable and refreshing.

Verdict: It can be hard to tell the difference between a West Coast Pilsner, an India Pale Lager (IPL) and a Cold IPA. I had previously thought that IPL and Cold IPA were very similar; now, I think that a West Coast Pilsner and a Cold IPA are even more similar. What distinguishes the West Coast Pilsner is that it has a bit more malt balance coming through. It's very drinkable and refreshing, and would be amazing on a hot day.

Red Rock - Swan Lake: This rum barrel-aged Baltic porter was brewed to celebrate Red Rock's 30th Anniversary. Baltic porters have many qualities of an imperial stout, but with smoother and more refined lagered qualities.

We're looking at a pitch-black lager with a moderate amount of bubbles. A big two-finger tan head slowly fades into a thinner creamy layer. It starts off with a rich, roasty, and sweet dark malt-driven aroma, with good hints of chocolate, coffee and rum. You also get dark-roasted barley malt with big hints of dark chocolate, coffee, cream, vanilla, toast, biscuit, caramel and toffee. Hops, however, are pretty light.

Like the nose hints at, you get a nicely rich, roasty and sweet dark, malt-forward taste with notes of chocolate, coffee and rum. Dark roasted barley comes next, with rich notes of dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla and toffee, along with notable barrel notes of rum and oak. Dark fruit undertones with notes of fig and prune also emerge. It's full-bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Some boozy heat is detected, but it feels smoother than expected.

Verdict: There aren't many rum barrel Baltics porters out there, so this is a very tasty treat, with loads of rum barrel character. It's a nice offering from the 30-year-old brewery, as there's some solid complexity going on here. Overall, a great brew.

Red Rock's 20th Anniversary Ale is still being made, so I suspect this Baltic porter will be, too. You can find it at all Red Rock locations in 16-ounce cans. Big Crispy will likely be around through the warm-weather months—and from what I understand, it will be eventually showing up at DABS stores in addition to Bewilder Brewing. As always, cheers!