Herman Joseph's Private Reserve
AC Golden Brewing Company

Had on tap at the Columbine Cafe & Bar in Golden.

On arrival there wasn't much of a head to it, but I think their keg might be a bit under-pressure. Body is a brown brass/amber, and some lacing is left.

Aroma is sweet and malty but not syrupy like most coors products. There is also a bright but reserved and traditional hop bitterness and aroma. Still quite crisp, but full bodied.

Taste is damn solid for a coors product. This is reminding me of a few craft vienna lagers I've had. Not the biggest flavor in the world, but the malts are malty verging on nutty, and the hops are bitter and fresh with a nice floral piney flavor.

Feel is crisp mostly attenuated, and drinkable while being full bodied and having a medium long finish. I don't know if this bar has this problem often, but the carbonation is low and I just wish it was a bit more. Maybe a brand new keg? I'm not sure how commercial tap systems work.

Overall I want to come back to this either somewhere else or just on a different day, because this is good, but I just don't know how to get it in its full potential. For a coors product, this is exceptional, even compared to Barmen Pils.

L:. Pours a deep Amber orange with a small white head and no lacing on the glass.

S:. Freshly baked bread, fresh cut grass, sweet malt and fresh Noble hops, a very nice smelling pilsner.

T:. Fresh baked bread, sweet apple, fresh cut grass and nice Noble hops. A very drinkable Pils.

F:. Higher prickly carb, and light crisp body.

O:. This is a very enjoyable pilsner.

 

 

 

 

i can remember this beer since the early 80's when I was a High School student in Colorado. We drank it quite a bit back then. Yeah, similar to American Graffiti without Viet Nam looming over us. It was a decent premium beer from a major brewer. I'd say that it was comparable to Henry Weinhardt's at that same time. There were several other breweries doing the same thing at that time. I had it again recently, my nostalgic expectations were sharply disappointed. I don't think that Herman Joseph's changed so much per sé, moreover, I changed and it just wasn't up to snuff for me, after drinking beers like; Boddingtons Ale in the UK, Guinness and Harp in Ireland, The Belgian doubles and triple Ales, the German beers like Dortmunders, Helles, Heffeweissens, the Czech Plisen Lagers, the list goes on and on. Franky speaking there are a lot of good beers almost everywhere in the world. It really comes down to paying for the good stuff. We all know that you really get what you pay for...If you go down to your local brew pub and or microbrewery, the odds of you drinking a really good, if not, a great a beer are high. So here's to all those experiments and adventures in trying new beers, wines and foods. Cheers and Saluto, enjoy the adventure of living your life!!!

If you haven't tried Herman Joseph's in a few years I suggest you do right away!
What a remarkable find over christmas. It is available on tap and sold by the case only in Denver Colorado. I now know why. This is a mastery among lagers. A beer of quality that shows what a large brewery can do when they let the brew masters loose.
Clean and crisp, with a dark amber color, this beer is now in my top five favorite beers. A beer to be celebrated, and a beer to be taken seriously. The Moravian 2-row barley just lets the flavors of the other fine ingredients of this beer shine. Watch out micro-brewers, Coors is doing some real magic in them there foothills of Golden!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Private Reserve pours a light, golden-amber with a slightly off-white head of about one-inch, that dissipates slowly, leaving a moderate lace. Toasty and bready aromas are very prevalent, with noble hop notes for the Saaz hops easily distinguishable. In true German Pilsner fashion, bready and toasty malt flavors dominate the initial tastes, with a slight spicy hop bitterness in the finish. Very smooth and slightly creamy in this medium-heavy bodied beer, and a higher then expected amount of carbonation. A hard to come by favorite.

Batch # 058

Appearance- After reading the back of the bottle I poured this into a glass, anticipating the 1 to 2 inch head that the bottle told me would appear, however all there was was a thin film over the dark golden/amber liquid. The carbonation seems quite active, and the beer is remarkably clear for a darker colored beer. Little to no lacing.

Smell- biscuity malt tones arise at first from the glass, with a subdued hop character there as well. Balanced.

Taste- reminds me of grass/grains with a good bit of a bite of hops bitterness. The beer focuses primarily on the malty-bready flavors, but it is not out of balance. The aftertaste is slightly metallic.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability- Feels overall thin, despite being quite bready/malty.

Knowing the origins of the beer, I would say that it exceeds my expectations. It is a good representation of the style, but I would not pay a premium price for it again.

Poured into a Czech antique tall pint glass. Date printed on the neck of the bottle I am assuming is the best by date.

Pours a brilliant crystal clear slightly darker than average straw color. Initially three full fingers of thick white head rise from the pour, and this diminishes over the next few minutes to a tenacious layer that is thin but retains well. Lacing in this glass is so-so, but lacing is often container-dependent.

Smells of biscuity toasty malts (grass, slight hay, toasted white bread) and a good dose of fresh slightly spicy hops of the noble variety. The typical near-harsh bitter bite is present in the nose, but balanced and accompanied by the floral sweet simplicity of this traditional class of hops.

First off, everything you would expect in a German Pilsener is present in this flavor profile. A nice balance of sweet malty grain flavors and a robust and clean dishing up of noble hops. The bitterness wavers on the line of astringent and harsh, but rides the line well and never goes beyond the realm of enjoyable. The aftertaste goes through phases of bitter and sweet and is the best aspect of this flavor profile.

Mouthfeel is lighter (but not watery) and is kept alive by sparkling carbonation, which is actually more compact than I would expect from this style (which in my mouth is a bonus, as I prefer lower carbonation beers). Drinkability is high and wonderful, as this beer keeps me wanting more whenever it isn't in my mouth.

Conclusion: This is a very good beer, especially considering it is coming from the craft division of Coors. Frankly I don't care where it comes from, if it tastes this good I am happy. The whole beer isn't quite as snappy, clean and rich as the leading German examples (what is?), but this is still quite good.