On our Cranky Old trick or treat countdown we’ve dealt with ghouls and goblins but we are about to take on perhaps the scariest fictional fright of fancy yet. Could it be the extremely malnourished gentleman that graces the can of Kryptonite 7.0? That zom-boney on ice is not that scary, he’s just a no body. My childhood nightmares were those creepy cackling Wicked Witch of the West winged minions, those sinister simians, those frightening flying monkeys. However, I do like the Flying Monkeys Brewery, so I’ll assuage my fear with a beer.
But I do have a bone to pick with this skeleton. I always like to try a new beer and I had definitely not seen this one before, what looked to me like an ideal Halloween countdown quaff. A 7% solution after an unauthentic Mexican light. But it was the “All hail Zod” on the can that was the tip off. Zod? Not a name that comes up every day in normal, or even abnormal, conversation. Then it all came back to me in a flash! My visit to FM. The bestowment upon me of the prestigious title of “Beerologist”. * And sampling a brand new high ABV lager, as yet unnamed but with the working title “Zod Time”. ** Is it Deja brew all over again? Time to, as FM so tactfully puts it “pour this irresistible liquid in your face.”
A golden semi clear pour with a textbook head. Full malt assault on the nose, a very malty aroma, it smells thick if that’s possible. First taste is quite a full mouthfeel for a lager, lots of malt and a bit of malty backend finish. It is creamy like a high ABV Belgian, malty like a dunkel, and smooth like an amber without the caramel. It’s all those things and a bag of chips too. Smooth and tasty, I wouldn’t call it refreshing, the word satisfying seems more apropos. And now the 7% starts to kick in.
If this is the production version of Zod Time, it’s been refined for less fizz and more smooth. The purveyor of wild and wacky IPAs has a high ABV smooth and soothe lager that may not help the dry as bone bag of bones on the can, but I certainly enjoyed it. Just like Superman, it appears I have a weakness for Kryptonite as well.
Damn that is a smooth lager. Sneaky strong beer. Like something you would drink in Belgium or the Netherlands.