Brooklyn Pilsner

Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn, NY
Pilsner

Brooklyn Brewery’s pilsner, like their lager, is a highly- but specifically-hopped brew. BB never ceases to impress, so let’s go.

Brooklyn Pilsner

Not an overly lively pour, but what head does appear is crackling and snowy white. The brew itself is crystalline in clarity, and steady effervescence marches up the glass. The color is hay-and-straw with some golden orange highlights that just barely show up in the denser portions of the glass.

The aroma is mostly floral – lavender and clover rise up over cut grass. The mouthfeel is pretty good, though the Hallertau and Saaz hops impart a water-biscuit snap that hits the palate immediately and washes out any fullness or creaminess that might ordinarily be noticed.

Towards the back of the swallow, there is a very dry papery quality that begs another sip right away. This is as fine an example of a classic pilsner as you can find in the US.

Hurricane Reef Caribbean Style Pilsner

Florida Brewing Co.
Melbourne, FL
Hurricane Reef Caribbean Style Pilsner

“Caribbean Style Pilsner” is a bit of a bizarre designation. Though pilsner is the world’s most imitated (or reproduced) style. It’s from the Czech Republic but is often credited to the Germans. A lot of international breweries with a flagship pils were started or overseen by a German brewmaster. I’m not sure this is the case with something like Carib (to take a popular Caribbean pilsner as an example), but it’s still odd to credit the Islands. I guess that’s Florida for you.

Pouring the beer into a narrow Kolsch glass, a pure white head inflates to an inch but rapidly suspires to almost nothing. The clarity is impeccable, showing slow and even carbonation. The color is golden blond beechwood with no hint of any muddiness.

The nose is very grassy – all Hallertau hops. A green branch snap and a lot of clean vegetation are promising odors.

The mouthfeel is very good, the carbonation is far more fill than I would have thought which helps along the subtle flavors of this pils. There is just enough of a bitter tang from the hops which rise up and cross the palate fairly pervasively. A mild sweetness evens out the sip, proving that the brew’s got a good malt background.

Good beer, and a fine alternative to any macro pilsner choice you might be making,

Sam Adams Noble Pils

Boston Beer Company
Boston, MA
Sam Adams Noble Pils

Using all five of the Noble hops, this beer is sure to be a crisp and grassy refresher

The pour is full of effervescence, and a clean white foam bolts to the rim of the glass. Through the excellent clarity, steady streams of stocky bubbles make their way to the top and retain a quarter-inch of head.

The color is a gold to make Midas proud, clear and yellow with just the faintest hint towards a luster.

Drinking it all is a Noble pursuit

The nose has tart lemon followed by wet, mown grass, just as you’d expect., and a faint aroma of olive oil towards the back, too.

The mouthfeel is very good, initially providing some skim milk body, but with nice ebullient carbonation. Water crackers with honey, and parsley show up quickly, but disappear just as fast in a wave of grassy hops with just a touch of citrus.

Sam Adams has made a beautiful beer here, and this rivals just about any pilsner made in the US. . I believe this is taking over for their old spring seasonal, and I think it’s a fine replacement. Love the blue and green cap, too.

Pennsylvania Penn Gold

Pennsylvania Brewing Co.
Pittsburgh, PA
Penn Gold

A beautiful straw pour gives off a similar aroma of wet hay, indicative of crisp hops. The head is rocky but dissipates quickly. The clarity is not quite perfectly transparent, but good, and shows even carbonation from the base. The nose is an outstanding medley of hops and barley, giving a real aroma of a pub or beerhall. There is a fresh woodsy odor in the back but the hops are just dying to come out. The hops really do pop on the tongue like an authentic German or Czech lager. They linger with the bitter straw flavors all of which is balanced by a full mouthfeel. All in all, the beer finishes extremely cleanly and is complex and full-bodied but, at only 4.0ABV it is supremely drinkable. The only think I feel this beer is missing is a larger glass for me to drink out of.

Koenig Pilsener

Koenig
Duisburg, Germany
Pilsener

I tried this one a few months ago. The supermarket evidently had a huge shipment is as they had tons and tons of half-liter-can four-packs. I picked up four pack and gave it a whirl.

A beautiful white head is billowing and leaves a very nice lace. The color is straw with steady carbonation and good clarity. The nose also has some hints of straw and hops, probably Saaz. The first sip is very clean with a faint metallic taste that is, oddly, not unpleasant. The hops are evident through the grassiness which lends an odd, sourness through the swallow. It would be a good session beer, as it is a crisp, low-ABV pils, but the strength of the grassy notes in the finish might be tough to deal with in excess. This beer might be best when paired with a meal (like a classic German pretzel with mustard) which might make the green tartness a welcome palate cleanser.

Pilsner 89 SUCCESS!

We waited and waited, but the day finally came. We chilled a few bottles of the suds and waited some more. I was a bit nervous as there didn’t seem to be much carbonation in the bottles themselves. I wasn’t too worried about any CO2 leaks, as our bottler was pretty rugged, but I wondered if the process of final fermentation was screwy.

Anyway, we brought out the bottle opener…

So far so good. It opened with a nice rush of gas and left an enticing fog in the neck.

Still good.

 

Sweet.

It was a bit thin at first, due to the refined sugar we used as a catalyst with the yeast, but it tastes like beer. Like pilsner. Like a decent pilsner. More to come, I promise. God, I am the worst. blogger. Ever.