Honey Pilsner
Amherst Brewing

Nice aroma and mouthfeel. Honey not overpowering but masks alcohol nicely. Enjoying it.

Poured from a can into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a clear golden amber color with a small head of white foam. The head fades quite quickly leaving a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is strong of a honey and biscuit malt smell mixed with notes of a graininess and a touch of wheat. Along with these smells comes some caramel and toffee as well as notes of a floral nature.
Taste – The taste begins with a nice moderately sweet honey and bready flavor mixed with some cracker and biscuit malt. The malt is lighter overall, but very supportive of the flavors. With the honey, comes a bit of caramel and some light notes of orange. At the same time there is a moderate floral note with some light doughy flavors. Toward the end some hay and a touch of grain join in, and with a bit of an increase in the honey, one is left with a semi-sweet and smooth honey taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium to light in thickness and chewiness with a moderate carbonation level.
Overall – A rather nice honey centric brew with a good easy drinking nature. I would certainly come back to this again, especially during the warmer summer months.

 

 

"Honey Pilsner" was in interesting idea to me, but I'm not sure this really tasted like either. Its malt is sweet and bready, but it the yeast flavor is noticeable and there is a general musty quality to it. While the honey is present, it tastes artificial. Hop bitterness is more than your average pilsner as well.

And yet, it all comes together to create a cohesive beer. I found it crisp and refreshing. It's a little obtuse, but I still enjoyed it.

A- Tallboy can poured into a pint glass with a mostly clear deep golden body and a one finger head. The cap makes it to a finger high at its peak with fairly good retention. Some small islands remain on the beer and lacing is spotty.

S- Straightforward but to the point and pretty well composed. Honey and pale grainy malts open things up for slight floral and spicy notes as well as a bit of bread and pale fruit, which is fine in this type of lager.

T- Personally I find this this beer is cleaner and has more depth in the taste. Malts throughout with crackery, bready and grainy light barley notes. The honey adds a bit of a floral and herbal flavor that blends in with spicy and earthy hop notes and overall it has a light sweetness. A touch of the pale fruits from the yeast with a hint of apple/pear but just a touch.

MF- Light-medium bodied for the style. The texture is a bit fluffy and frothy and the carbonation is at a medium level. A light herbal bitterness throughout.

I have had this beer many times over the past 12 years living around Amherst and visiting the brewery/now the Hangar. I feel like ABC has leveled up their game a lot in the past 5 years and the beers are just more consistent on the whole compared to the old brewpub. Simple lager with a touch of honey and hops.

 

Enjoyed this Pilsner on tap at the brewery and, given my satisfaction, purchased a 4-pack that has now also been consumed. I'm surprised that the ratings for this beer haven't been higher on an overall basis. In general, I think Amherst's products have been on an upswing and this Pilsner is a good example of that statement. "Honey" in the title might indicate excessive sweetness but that's not the case - sweeter than some Pilsners I've tasted but definitely not excessive as the honey is offset somewhat by the hop bitterness. Nice crispness that helps to make this a solid brew for any season.
I definitely enjoy IPAs (including some brewed by Amherst) but this is a refreshing addition to my future product mix.