30th Anniversary Pilsner Series - Mandarina
August Schell Brewing Company

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From:
August Schell Brewing Company
 
Minnesota, United States
Style:
German Pilsner
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.59 | pDev: 10.58%
Reviews:
13
Ratings:
53
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 12, 2016
Added:
Mar 12, 2014
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BryanCarey:
Photo of BryanCarey
Reviewed by BryanCarey from Texas

3.38/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Mandarina Pils is a golden colored beer with a thick head of foam and bubbly body. There is some citrus in the nose and some bread. The beer drinks clean and leaves little or no lacing.

With the taste, this pils offers flavors of grassiness, light pale malt, grain, and some hints of citrus and pear. The body of the beer is medium to light, with a crispness that makes the beer drinkable and refreshing. There is a somewhat off- putting metallic flavor at the end, but not enough to spoil the experience.

August Schell is one of America’s oldest breweries and its Anniversary Pilsner series is an enjoyable one overall. This beer is the fourth I have tried in the series and while it doesn’t rank as my favorite among the four, it is still interesting in its own way. At first, I wasn’t too thrilled with the somewhat metallic taste, but I liked the beer more as I drank more and appreciated the other contributing flavors. It’s a good pilsner from Schell and I hope to see more special edition beers in the future.
Apr 18, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.05 by jakemn91 from New Mexico

Apr 12, 2016
 
Rated: 3 by jpuetz from South Dakota

Aug 06, 2015
Photo of pat61
Reviewed by pat61 from Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From tasting notes. L: Brilliant straw gold with a thin white foam collar. S: Malt, low background levels of sulfur, floral hops. T: Clean grainy malt, no fruity esters, crisp and bitter finish. F: Smooth, light, above average carbonation. O: A flavorful, refreshing beer that appeals to a wide range of tastes.
Jul 29, 2015
 
Rated: 4.28 by Gonzoillini from Illinois

Apr 15, 2015
Photo of Chaz
Reviewed by Chaz from Minnesota

3.43/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Golden in color, and with near-excellent clarity. Slightly hazy. Off-white head settles after a couple of minutes, leaving a touch of lace around the edge of the glass.

Although there is no yeast character (very neutral) on the nose, it still offers more than average fruit esters, being a bit more "Ale-like"than your average Pils. Prominent citrus character, and yes, Mandarin orange-like. A bit odd at first, but I think many might like this -- even in a Pils!

Right away this one is sweeter and more full of malt backbone on the first sip than your average, lighter-bodied and crisper Pils. Lighter bitterness toward the end of the drink, and it settles in and lingers mildly at the end. Bittersweet at the finish.

Citric character of the hop translates to a lemon/lime rind (not quite orange peel, at this point) and there's a slight note of oxidation*, as well.

There's a bigger, bolder mouthfeel, here. I believe this is 6.5%? So it's in Maibock territory, really. When this first hit the shelves I remember getting the impression that I couldn't drink more than two of these in a sitting without having to really -slow down- whereas that wasn't the case for the other recipes included in the 30th Anniversary Pils sampler.

Thankfully, the hop bitterness, although mild,really hangs in there and offsets the punchy-sweet malt in this almost boozy beer.

Overall it is unique and certainly -different- than your average Pils rendition, so I would rate it as being "above average" -- even though I didn't particularly care for it upon it's initial release. Mouthfeel has improved, and drinkability has improved with a bit of age.

Altogether this is a good beer, and this particular bottle (stored in its unopened 12-pack in the back of my 'DBF') held up very well, and perhaps even improved over the fresh rendition. The unique flavor characteristics of the Mandarina Bavaria hop and the alcoholic strength of the beer have finally come to balance one another out, and it is no longer as 'hot' as I found it to be, initially.

*Note: This is another 'year old' bottle.
Mar 10, 2015
Photo of CraigP83
Reviewed by CraigP83 from Minnesota

3.28/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Light as can be almost clear. Metallic grainy smell synonymous with German pils. Dry earthy hop flavor, metallic aftertaste. Nothing special, I'd grab a mass produced adjunct lager before I sought this out again
Feb 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.82 by Bear1964 from Nebraska

Jan 25, 2015
 
Rated: 2.92 by Wer34truh from Minnesota

Jan 11, 2015
Photo of hoptheology
Reviewed by hoptheology from California

3.73/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Deleted my old review.

Appearance : flowing, foamy head, about four fingers tall. Mostly transparent, with a very light golden color.

Aroma : crisp, clean aromas with mild corn and wheat, I mean - this is what I envision a good pilsner should smell like. It's fabulous.

Flavor : it's a bit on the bitter side but its not at all bad. I think when I was reviewing it before (I gave it an overall 2.14) I wasn't used to the style. The hop is slightly dirty, or earthy maybe, but the rest of it finishes clean and just like a pilsner should.

Mouthfeel : like sucking on a cloud. That's the best I can come up with. It's so light, almost nonexistent. It ends a bit dirty and dry, but crisp at the same time.

Overall : I'm not one for bitter but id buy this again. It's a damn good representation of a pilsner and I'd drink them with ease. Nice work fellas.
Jan 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by ovaltine from Indiana

Dec 31, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Sprowe from Minnesota

Nov 26, 2014
 
Rated: 3.1 by Torey from North Dakota

Nov 12, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Justdoit1234 from Minnesota

Nov 10, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by ElJosharino from Nebraska

Nov 07, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by mkh895 from Arizona

Oct 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by bscalt from Minnesota

Oct 18, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by mikerieder from South Dakota

Sep 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by budgood1 from Minnesota

Aug 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by plsmanx from Minnesota

Aug 17, 2014
30th Anniversary Pilsner Series - Mandarina from August Schell Brewing Company
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 53 ratings