Table Beer gets canned

Benchmark Brewing Company started canning last month, releasing four-packs of 16-ounce tallboys to all the usual craft bottle shops and liquor stores. The shiny silver cans feature simple bold lettering and the company brand, with single color for easy ID of three styles of beer: green for IPA, black for Table Beer, and a red-orange color (burnt sienna?) for the Brown Ale. They are effortlessly noticeable on the shelf.

While I enjoy Benchmark's surprisingly dry and understated IPA, I was curious about the Table Beer — it's not something you typically find in local tasting rooms. This Belgian-style pale ale comes in at about 4% ABV, which is apparently a little higher than a typical, meal friendly table beer, or tafelbier, which Belgians quite recently considered light enough to serve to kids, even in schools.

It poured blond out of the can with only little foam, though I did fill my glass slowly. With my first whiff, I thought I was about to drink a pilsner, but sniffing deeper I started to get some of the telltale fruitiness characteristic of Belgian yeasts. I got a little citrus, as Benchmark's tasting notes for this offering suggest, but more so I got a sense of banana.

Tasting it, there's a light zesty spice over the top of a thin, bready malt, and as I continued to drink it my palate did find those banana notes I gleaned in the aroma. That's bread and banana, though not banana bread, which I associate with richer flavors — this reads much mellower. It's maybe not something a child would appreciate (in this country), but I was digging it. Knowing Benchmark brewmaster Matt Akin basically came of age making beer for AleSmith, I couldn't help but think of it as a poor man's Lil Devil.

It's not as complex as the AleSmith seasonal, with a thinner body and different range of fruity notes, but seems to capture the same refreshing, drink-with-a-summer-meal feel. My biggest regret was that I didn't think to try it with food, which might have helped with the finish. Instead I was left with a slightly sour aftertaste on the roof of my mouth that reminded me of eating rye bread. Something pungent and savory would likely have gone well.

I guess I should listen to the labeling: "Table Beer" is written right there on the can. Next time I'll drink it with dinner, and when I want something to drink on its own straight from my fridge, grab Benchmark's IPA instead.