Lucid Air

Here's a little background about me and Lucid Brewing Company. It was one of those names that floated around as up-and-comings, and about-to-happens in 2009/2010. In October of 2010, some of the principals involved visited the Nile to tell me they were the yet-to-be Lucid folks, and one of them was Jon Messier, who has been a customer at the Nile for several years, as he lives in the Seward neighborhood. I didn't really know him well, since he always visited when I was busy, and in the company of friends, so I just remembered them as those guys drinking the good stuff.

Lucid got the keys to their Minnetonka facility last fall, and released Air, a wheat-based (30%) light ale first, and later got Camo going. It's a bit odd, I think, to do a crowd-pleaser and a geek-pleaser as your first two, especially since they haven't done a regular IPA or pale ale. Double IPAs are notoriously maligned because they can cover the flaws of a lighter beer, with all those hops. And all that alcohol. Where's the middle ground stuff, the brown ales, the ambers, etcetera. As it is, Camo is hitting off with the geeks, even me, and I had a hard start at it. My first taste was at the Nomad, when they tapped them both, where I also got some Air. Not sure exactly what I thought. Nothing bad, though. Second taste was from the Lucid salesman, and I was less impressed. Especially since I had Abrasive on tap at the same time, and just couldn't see it stacking up against a better double IPA. I was straddling the line, sitting on the fence, and wishy-washing all the way, until I decided to just put them on, and see what people thought. So, we had a tapping event, it was well-attended, and opinions were all over the place. Some loved Camo, didn't care for Air. Some found Air perfect and lovely. Some tried Camo and moved on. Some really like boring beers, and others feel the need for booze and hops. Big surprise. 

The idea that Lucid is flirting with both ends of the beer spectrum seems to be very clear and true, especially if they hit that segment of the suburban bars (they are in Minnetonka, after all) filled with light beer lovers, who still want to support the local. 

So, I sat down with a pint of Air, which may be the worst name for a beer, and may be the best, for this beer. Here are those notes.

Lucid Air. Sounds like an appliance. Maybe it is?

I won't quote their verbiage, but I'll give you a link to it. Read that before, or after, but please give it a look.

Very clear, very yellow. Nice white head, starts about medium, trims down quickly.

Aroma: Very mellow, very minor, clean, but not exactly crisp. Nothing wrong, but nothing stands out, either. Inoffensive.

Taste: Smoothness personified. Beer-ified. Wheaty texture is evident, and does much for the mouthfeel. There's a spank of lime in there, and a tickle of pineapple, maybe. The mango mentioned in the house copy is a bit of a stretch of the imagination. There's just enough hops to keep the tongue interested. Just enough wheat character, just enough citrus, and it slides away effortlessly.

Very light in body. Drinkable and likable. Not lovable, though.

It gets the job done. It's beer and you can drink it. It's just the thing for today, which was 77 degree weather in mid-March. But I can't see having more than one, unless you're into that kind of thing. And I'm hoping they find plenty of people who are.