Perla Chmielowa (Hop Pearl)
Perla Browary Lubelskie S.A.

Danzifer from Ohio

3.41/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours clear golden. Nice thick fine head. Smells a little strange, very boozy. Sort of an odd taste too, but I can get behind it. It is from halfway around the world after all, certainly not something we're used to in the Midwest. Mouthfeel is pretty crisp. It's pretty rich in character for a pilsner. Decent.

Dec 17, 2020

Foyle from North Carolina

3.43/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Poured from 500ml bottle into pilsner glass. A thick, foamy white head drops slowly with mild lacing. Color is slightly hazy light gold with abundant carbonation. Aroma is pungent grains, grassy hops, and bread dough. Mouthfeel is light-to-medium and frothy with a drying finish. Flavor is quite sweet, malt dominate with hops taking a backseat. Overall: good but a little cloying. Would not want to drink more than one in a session.

Sep 25, 2020

EmperorBevis from England

2.97/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Canned in a big old 500ml can and purchased whilst waiting at the chip shop for my order at the convenience store next door
Pours a crystal clear light wheat coloured body with massive thick white head
Aroma is glucose and rice powder
Flavour is not much more than the aroma, some slight hempish notes

Sep 06, 2020

JonnoWillsteed from England

2.53/5  rDev -27.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

L- Quite pale gold, clear, pours with a thin head of curiously large (2-3mm) white bubbles that fast clears to a thin ring.
S- So mild, almost nothing, perhaps just just bready grain.
T- Quite zesty and bright, I suspect that is as much from dissolved CO2 as hops as it's edge reminds me of the dry/zesty edge in soda water. The flavour is pretty austere, a bit cardboardy, a bit over-carbonated factory generic lager.
F- On a hot day, at that mountain-top beer-shack you've spent 10 hours hiking towards you would be grateful to have one of these. One word I'd use is refreshing. There are a couple of others too, but I better keep them to myself.
O- The beer has the profile of a brew that's had too much of a monopoly in it's native market, so it's decidely average yet to be found everywhere. Like Tiger Beer in Singapore. Like Long Life/Harp/Double Diamond/etc/ect back in 1970's UK.
There is nothing about this beer that would lead me to buy it again. It's dull and characterless even compared to UK/under-license brewed Stella and Kronenbourg...
Bought from a convenience shop, Oksa Quality Food, 117 Clarendon Road, in London W11. £1.30/500ml can BB: 02/02/2021.

Jul 24, 2020

IceChuggington from Canada (AB)

2.13/5  rDev -38.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2

When I was in Lublin for 6 weeks everyone who had this beer did not want it again. People were resorting to Heineken over this, but our main bar ran out of Heineken after just 3 weeks. This is like a poor mans Heineken, it attempts to be neutral but still leaves a poor aftertaste to it. Eh it ca deserve 2 Smirnoff Ices/10

Jun 19, 2020

tigg924 from Massachusetts

3.36/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours clear, gold in color with 1/2 inch head. Taste is grass, honey, and dark bread. Medium light bodied, sweet, with moderate carbonation. Makes for a nice and clean crisp lager. Could do a couple.

Dec 03, 2018

dcotom from Iowa

3.9/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from 0.5-liter bottle into a flute, Pale golden yellow color, with a one-finger white head that settled quickly leaving no lacing. Lots of carbonation, with a steady stream of bubbles rising from the bottom of the flute. Lovely malty aroma, with notes of dark bread, light caramel, grassy and herbal hops, and tart apple. These characteristics describe the flavor profile as well. Slightly sweet, with just the right amount of pleasant bitterness. Mouthfeel is on the light side, with a finish that is crisp and clean. This is a very good pale lager that would pair well with a variety of foods, but works just fine as a nice, refreshing stand-alone quaff as well.

Mar 06, 2018

Ant777uk from England

3.3/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Great aroma when you open the bottle, very inviting.

It's good to see a stronger pilsner at 6 % for a change...

Seems a bit sweeter than the Perla Export version. There is kind of a honeyness to the overall experience, and there is some bitterness on the after taste. Needs a bit more hops though and if they made it 7% it would be pretty good.

Well made, fairly inoffensive, more interesting pilsner than most. Possibly this unconsciously is receiving a higher mark than it should due to the fact this is my first beer for about a week...

Oct 01, 2017

flyingpig from Scotland

2.03/5  rDev -41.5%
look: 1.75 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

500ml bottle from Express shop, Warsaw (2.69 PLN):
Definitely up there with the worst of the Polish beers that I've reviewed here so far, this one was very cheap & basic tasting with made it a hard one to work my way through. There was some early sweetness but the balance wasn't great & too many adjuncts featured throughout as well making it one that I really struggled finishing & I wouldn't have again.

Apr 24, 2017

biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.54/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

500ml can (@ 6.0% ABV) - the first new Polish brew to show up around here in a long, long while!

This beer pours a clear, bright medium golden yellow colour, with a near teeming tower of puffy, tightly foamy, and caked bone-white head, which leaves a bit of low-lying craggy atoll lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of grainy and crackery cereal malt, a touch of lager yeast, earthy honey, and some decent leafy, grassy, and somewhat perfumed floral green hop bitters. The taste is gritty and grainy pale malt, a further sugary cereal thing, subtle lemon citrus notes, faint mixed peppercorn, and more understated grassy, weedy, and floral hoppiness - the extra point of alcohol doing a very weak petrol fume impression.

The carbonation is fairly benign in its lazy-seeming frothiness, the body a so-so middleweight, and mostly smooth, perhaps a hint of wan hop ingress making for a mild ado here. It finishes off-dry, the general cereal character predominating, while the minor fruity and noble hoppy essences fade to black.

Overall, this is a serviceable enough strong Euro lager, despite the brewer's claims to Pils status - no real off-flavours, a capable hop imprint, and as mentioned, some deftly integrated additional booziness. Plain, yeah, but easy to put back, and dream of Continental vacations past.

Nov 21, 2016

Rand_Schoeb from Connecticut

4.67/5  rDev +34.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

This is a light, biscuity sweet beer that is a fine summer beverage but is eminently drinkable at any time. Light enough to drink for lunch and a worthy alternative to similar German biers such as Hofbrau Munich,

Oct 03, 2016

Cthulhusquid from Washington

4.18/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Look: 1 finger white head, darkish yellow body.

Smell: Light toasted grains, light grass, and light honey.

Taste: Same as above, but with a slight metallic note.

Feel: Light body, medium-high carbonation. Slightly dry.

Aug 12, 2016

TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

2.97/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Poured from a 16.9oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light gold color with a thin white head that fades very quickly and leaves a very thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains light caramelized malts, lager yeast, adjuncts and a very faint touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out bready with flavors of lager yeast, grain and adjuncts followed by a mild malt sweetness. The hops presence is also mild but brings a little bit of balance. The after-taste is slightly bready and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, light-to-medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean.

O: Not very flavorful, goes down ok, not too filling, mild kick, decent representation of style, it’s not too bad for the style but there are still some others in the style that I would choose first.

Apr 09, 2016

Holstenboyclarence from England

3.34/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

500ml bottle from New Kent Road General Store, poured into a latte glass

Pours a light straw colour

smell is that of dried hemp

taste is medium dry with a definite taste of beer. Goes down well paired with sunflower rye bread

This beer reminds me of the early stage of lager drinking, a real nostalgic gulp for me. The flavour reminds me of days past - a sip of beer in the cool summer breeze in the city, a hazy stroll through bustling streets whilst you take a mouthful closer into the unknown.

A top drink for anyone doing street beers with a close friend.

Jan 31, 2016

superspak from Ohio

3.88/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500 ml bottle into lager glass, no bottle dating. Pours crystal clear bright golden yellow color with a 1 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of light lemon, cracker, bread, herbal, grass, light pepper, yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance of earthy hops and pale malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of light lemon, cracker, bread, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Light herbal/spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of cracker, bread, light pepper, and herbal/grassy earthiness on the finish for a short bit. Very nice balance and robustness of earthy hops and pale malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Moderate dryness as well. Very clean on lager flavors with zero yeast ester notes present. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, crisp, and lightly grainy/creamy/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with zero warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice pale lager. All around good balance and robustness of earthy hops and pale malt flavors; and very smooth, crisp, and clean to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

Jan 16, 2016

stevoj from Idaho

2.23/5  rDev -35.7%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.25

Trying to find the qualities listed in "1001 Beers to try" book, but it just seems like a pedestrian pale lager to me. Nothing special stands out in this, aroma and taste of cereal, little but bland palate. Not worth seeking out.

Jan 04, 2016

StJamesGate from New York

3.54/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Loose but steady white finger that leaves no trailers over white gold. 3.5
Macro malt sweetness and maybe a touch of grass. 3.25
Corny sweetness, some green apple snap, and a whack of fresh cut grass. 3.75
Wet straw finish and white pepper linger.
Crisp, fizzy, light, slight tin. 3.5

I wanted to like this - a hoppier version of a macro lager should, logically, be on the road to a German pils - no bad thing. And there is a vegetal, chewing-on-parsley freshness to it. But given that Lubelski is basically Polish-grown Saaz, that's a long way from solid Noble spice, especially with 6% to pack flavour into. In fact, the body's a bit flabby, the malts bring nothing distinctive, and there's a tang of quick-brewed acetylaldehyde. A bit more flavor for the lager drinker, but, sadly, that's not me. 3.5

Nov 03, 2015

Beer_Rabbit66 from England

3.68/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bought this to try it out whilst on the hunt for Kamenitza, really nice beer.

Smart little bottle with a traditional label. Typical golden colour, pours like any other pils, the head is prominent at first but vanishes quickly, the smell is wonderfully fresh, with hints of honey and a little apple. Feel is smooth and fresh, light and easy goes down well. The after taste is mild and ever so slightly bitter but nice and malty. Great beer =) cheeky 6% er

May 16, 2015

magpieken from Australia

2.33/5  rDev -32.9%
look: 2 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.75

500ml can. 10.04.15. Pours a pale gold colour. Very tall, frothy head which quickly disappeared and left absolutely no lacing. Aroma of green apples, grass and honey. Light/medium sweetness and light bitterness in the finish. Light body, thin texture. Not offensive but nothing special.

Dec 25, 2014

DefenCorps from Oregon

3.3/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Can for $2 from New Seasons.

Pouring a clear golden yellow with a dense, white head with decent retention and minimal lacing, this looks solid. The nose opens with a big, dusty, lemony hop character, mildly doughy, and fairly clean. Honey and a mild buttery note are present, appropriately so. The palate opens crisp, moderately hoppy with lemon, earth, dust, wet twigs and a mild resiny bitterness. The mid palate is distressingly watery but as this beer warms up and the carbonation dies off, the doughy and mildly honey like malt character are noticeable. Drying on the finish with a mild bitterness and a perceptible alcohol character, this beer is medium light in body, highly carbonated and decent on the palate. Decent stuff.

Nov 10, 2014

Chris_Burton from England

3.37/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

I'm not much of a lager drinker these days but I decided to try something new and this strong, Polish beer caught my eye.

The appearance is fairly typical for a lager: golden honey with a foamy head that disappears quickly. The aroma is sweet and malty, with hints of bread and honey and no obvious hoppiness.

The flavour is reasonably good. A little sweet for my tastes, but nice and malty with hints of honey, like the aroma. The mouthfeel is rather thin, but perhaps no more than one would expect for a typical European lager. I have to admit, I'd never guess it was 6%! Very smooth.

If you're a fan of lager I definitely recommend it. It's a decent beer. Not one that I'd go out of my way for personally, but better than many more well known brews.

May 30, 2014

LagerCognoscenti from England

3.72/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This is widely available in corner shops in London now. Not as common as Zywiec, Tyskie or Zubr but still quite often to be seen in international shops.

It has a typical lager appearance and the can I reviewed had a good big head with lacing that was quite good. I poured it very aggressively as past cans have had poor head retention

The smell is sweet and malty with a bit of hoppiness and some boozy notes. Quite nice and better than most lagers.

Taste is really pleasant. Tangy and a little sweet with a bit of a munich helles kind of flavour. There's a nice noble hop type bitterness at the end which justifies the "pils" tag. The 6% alcohol is noticeable and well integrated into the overall flavour.

Mouthfeel is correct for a lager. Thin but a bit fizzy and refreshing.

This is a really interesting beer that may lack the refined character of German pilsners but has a subtle complexity all of its own that makes it well worth trying. It's also very cheap so makes a good way to offset a few more indulgent "craft" purchases in any session. Polish lagers almost deserve a category of their own in my view. They're industrial beers with flavour and clout that are way better than standard big name euro lagers but quite different to German or Czech Pils. Novel and interesting and pleasant. Try it if you see it.

My mark out of one hundred would be 80.

Nov 22, 2013

Spikester from Oregon

3.27/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Clear golden with one finger of rapidly vanishing white head. My pour yielded no lacing whatsoever.
Smell is husky grain with a touch of apple peel. Taste is very mild euro hops with a big push of good malts.
Taste is sweet and malty with very little hop presence. Easy drinking smooth lager but a long ways from a good Pilsner. More like a Miller High Life brewed in Europe.
Mouthfeel was quite good with plenty of carbonation and a neutral finish. A bit of euro hops sneak in at the end but the malts will have none of it. Wet sweet finish.
Overall an easy drinking not very memorable beer.

Sep 04, 2013

Reidrover from Oregon

3.13/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

500ml can from "Lifesource" in Salem. $2.79 Pours a nice clear corn golden colour small white head..dissipates but leaves lace. Corny,bready aroma hint of floral hops..OK. Taste very balanced between the bready hop and floral hops..blends remarkably well..at the end a bit of a spicy hop kick and malty cereal. Palate is fine and smooth for style..also low carbonation which works for me. Not a bad little lager..enjoyed!

Sep 02, 2013

BierStein711 from Illinois

2.08/5  rDev -40.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2

Bottle poured into pint glass!

Pale gold in appearance, four finger, fast reducing off-white head.

Heavy carbonation

Smells: skunk, wet grain, cereal

Taste: wet grain and grass

Mouthfeel: watery

Overall, this is a boring beer. Not too bad, but definitely not too good. I bought it for $2.50 at the local chain liquor store. This is not worth your time.

Jun 01, 2013