Strange Fruit Brewing Company’s Approachable Guys calls itself a “German Style Pilsner” and it’s the brewery’s first lager. Their first beer, Subtle Nod, is a hazy IPA, and was released in June. Coming back for their sophomore release, Strange Fruit has chosen a beer style, which, in my humble opinion, is more enjoyable than their first.
According to Strange Fruit founders Justin Broady and Austin Eason, their wives always tell them they’ve never met a stranger and thus a beer with the name “Approachable Guys” was born. With a person on the can whose bearded face could be Broady or Eason, it’s clear the beer is a representation of the duo’s welcoming aspects.
When we last spoke to Broady and Eason, they let us know that their beer company’s name, Strange Fruit, is in fact a reference to the famous song, recorded in 1939. The song is based off a protest poem, a reaction to the lynching of Black people in the 1930s. The song is also a key moment in the struggle for Black civil rights. Billie Holiday’s recording of Strange Fruit debuted in 1939 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1978. Prolific record producer Ahmet Ertegun called Strange Fruit “the beginning of the civil rights movement.”
“It means a lot to the Black community,” co-owner/founder Eason tells us. “Because we’re a Black owned brewery, a Black operated brewery, we definitely wanted to pay homage to our culture.” While the founder recognizes that not everyone may be familiar with the song Strange Fruit, “it does give us an opportunity to educate people with the different beers.”
The newest Strange Fruit beer is certainly different from the first. Straw in color, and quite clear, the pale golden color looks like hay that’s been heavily dried, drenched in kisses by the sun. It’s definitely lighter than the Helles I had before it, but also darker than the average American light lager; certainly several shades darker than something like Coors Light.
The smell is reminiscent of a northern German style pilsner, my wife thinks it smells hoppier than the average pils and I largely agree. We tend to drink a fair amount of German, Czech, and Austrian pilsners and while this stands out, it’s not an outlier the way New Zealand Pilsner or some of the American dry hopped pilsners tend to be.
The smell reminds me of the soon-to-be classics produced locally like DC Brau Brewing Company’s Brau Pils, and Manor Hill Brewing’s Pilsner. While Brau Pils is an all malt beer, and the Manor Hill Pilsner contains corn. The mild sulfuric and earthen notes of barley, hops, and yeast, remind the nose that while Approachable Guys is a Pilsner I’ve never had before, it’s in the same vein as beers I’ve long loved.
The pilsner, like so many other pale lagers I enjoy, is a test in nuance. Can you pick out the hop aroma? Can you separate the malt from the minerality contributed by the yeast and water? Maybe yes, maybe no.
Does it pair well with white cheddar and sour cream chips? Sure does! Any fatty and savory foods we put up against Approachable Guys held up well. We threw potatoes with crushed black pepper and garlic and a hit of ranch dressing, as well as sweet potatoes with sesame oil, tamari, and white balsamic vinegar of Modena, and this pilsner punched above its weight class with the food.
“It’s bitter at the end,” exclaimed my wife. “But it has a clean finish at the same time. It doesn’t linger for too long and makes me want to go back. It is drinkable. It probably tastes different when warmed up, like once it got to room temperature. It would probably be more bitter than I’d want to chug it at, but that’s classic for pilsners of that style. For me anyways.” And who could argue with Mrs. Stein?
Spritzy and light upon first sip, the mid palate gives way to a taste of floral hops, if not German, Czech, if not Czech something American that is void of the pine needle and forest floor that even the freshest Mount Hood, Crystal, and Sterling variety hops can contribute.
There is a bitterness that is offset by the aromatic compounds present on the tongue. I taste bready malt, a light and earthy peasant loaf that is so mild it’s void of the funkiness and yeasty-character that some sourdough loaves can contribute. Certainly more salty whole wheat from your local bakery than a tangy San Francisco sourdough loaf. In a word: bready. In two words: nicely light. The kind of sandwich loaf I buy Sunday that still scratches that bready itch Friday or Saturday.
Once the light bread slides off the tongue and retreats, the German-style pilsner is all about the green, flowery hops. A floral, earthy, hoppy aroma rounds out the beer as I notice a pleasant bitterness. Not as strong as cedar, and not as bracing as rosemary, but certainly in the soil and earthen hop flavor category; the hops are subtly there and the more you consider them, the more you want. This pilsner is one that can really go the distance. If “West Coast Pilsner” and “Cold IPA” are sprinters, this beer is built as a marathon runner, a pilsner that could withstand the New York City Marathon.
Now you do you, but I’m not about to run a marathon. But in honor of the last winner, Tamirat Tola, finishing the NYC marathon in 2:04:58, I’m wildly confident I could finish a four pack in the time it took Mr. Tola to run from Staten Island, through Brooklyn, the Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan.
The beer retails for $13.99 a four pack at The Brew Shop in Arlington. You can also find Strange Fruit in Herndon, Reston, Tysons and further afield in Northern Virginia.
