Back to life, back to reality today, I swear taking time away from work is a killer, in terms of my motivation to return to work at any rate. Unfortunately it's been a busy one for me today. Fortunately though, I don't have to hold out much longer until I get another round of annual leave. After this week I've got a solid two weeks off, two weeks in which I intend to preoccupy myself with some DIY projects, good food and a healthy dose of craft beer - there is an imperial stout out there calling my name, I just need to find it. However, after a hard day's work, there is nothing quite like the refreshing maltiness of a good lager. Let's hope that the boys from Basqueland deliver the goods.
Husk
Style - Helles Lager
Brewer - Basqueland
Hops - not stated and I don't care
ABV - 4.7%
The Beer
To say I'm a fan of Basqueland would be, if not under-selling things, at least stating them with a healthy dose of British understatement. I love their big juicy, hop forward IPAs and Dan (@lushhops on Instagram) and I have sampled more than a few of their wares with great appreciation. However, I don't recall ever having had lager or pilsner from them before, so this should be good.
Husk pours as a beautiful pale amber, somewhere between cheap pine furniture and very inviting honey. While I don't like this colour on a coffee table (my mother knows the very one to which I'm alluding but as she doesn't read these I am unlikely to be rebuked for publicly denouncing her poor form in drop-height tables), I do like it in a beer.
You don't expect masses of aroma from a lager, unless it has been dry hopped or the brewer is expressly trying to showcase a particular hop strain, so you shouldn't be surprised to find that Husk isn't gunking up my nose holes with heady scents. There is though the bready, malt notes you'd expect and which every beer drinker (craft or otherwise) craves on some primordial level.
Likewise, you'd not expect your regular helles to be delivering juicy notes, tart notes or masses of dank. Husk doesn't either. There is malt here, there is yeast here, there is mild bitterness here and there is pleasure here. This isn't an experiment seeking to push the boundaries of the form, this is mastery. If my review seems muted to you, know that I have drained approximately half the can in about three sips - if the term sip can be applied to the greedy guzzling I have been getting down to.
For me Husk demonstrates that Basqueland aren't dependent on big hop hits to demonstrate their brewing chops. This is a damn fine beer, probably the best of the calendar so far. It may seem simple in its delivery, but that simplicity betokens true craft. I just wish I had a plate of pintxos to accompany this, padron peppers and Husk would be a marriage made in heaven.
Score - 5/5
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