Poetica
Hill Farmstead Brewery

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From:
Hill Farmstead Brewery
 
Vermont, United States
Style:
German Pilsner
Ranked #4
ABV:
5%
Score:
95
Ranked #1,507
Avg:
4.48 | pDev: 4.02%
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
19
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 27, 2023
Added:
Oct 20, 2021
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  0
A blend of single decocted and step mashed, Old World German-style pilsner, lagered in wood for 3 months, and gently carbonated naturally via krausen.

Per Hill Farmstead, this version replaces the one off variations Poetica 1, 2 & 3 which are all now retired.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by rodmanfor3:
Photo of rodmanfor3
Rated by rodmanfor3 from Vermont

4/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Apr 03, 2022
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.44 by jcoleMA66 from Massachusetts

Oct 27, 2023
 
Rated: 4.51 by SadMachine from New Jersey

Sep 02, 2023
Photo of mothman
Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota

4.55/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
On tap at the brewery. Thick, frothy white head. Lace. Cloudy golden color.

So smooth. Bready, biscuity, honey crackers. Grassy, fresh cut. Earthy. It’s incredible how well they do their pils. The mouthfeel is perfect. Every flavor you’d expect is there. It’s like drinking in Germany, but maybe even better.
Aug 10, 2023
Photo of Huhzubendah
Rated by Huhzubendah from District of Columbia

4.71/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Draft at Hill Farmstead. Life is good.
Jul 29, 2023
 
Rated: 4.57 by Bhubbard34 from Pennsylvania

Jan 12, 2023
Photo of ScaryEd
Reviewed by ScaryEd from New Hampshire

4.79/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
64 oz growler.

Pours a lightly cloudy pale gold color with a massive, creamy white head. Good head retention. Leaves a ring of lacing around the glass.

Lots of damp grass and straw on the aroma, with notes of cereal grains, fresh biscuits, spicy noble hops, and some faint oak.

The flavor is just...wow. There's a perfect balance between the sweet, grainy malts and the spicy noble hops. Very grassy, with tons of sweet dough and a hint of honey and oak. About as clean as a beer gets. So good.

The feel is medium-light bodied with pretty good carbonation. Creamy, yet has a nice bite to it. Exceedingly drinkable and refreshing. Finishes fairly dry.

Overall, this is probably the best lager I've ever had. It does everything a German pilsner should, with the oak adding a delicate, subtle rustic character. Ridiculously clean and refreshing with that magical Hill Farmstead tap line mouthfeel.
Dec 18, 2022
 
Rated: 4.28 by not2quick from Missouri

Oct 13, 2022
Photo of Holderness
Reviewed by Holderness from Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Growler from the source

Probably the best lager I've had to date. Super clean, fresh, lovely balance between the lightly doughy malts and the hint of spicy hop. So refreshing and delicious

90/100
(rating transferred from Poetica 2)
Oct 11, 2022
 
Rated: 4.75 by chippo33 from Vermont

Sep 12, 2022
Photo of brewme
Reviewed by brewme from Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Had a single draft at Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, Vermont for about seven dollars. My tenth brew from these guys. Not my favorite style, but very well done.
Aug 31, 2022
 
Rated: 4.5 by bigred89 from Maryland

Aug 20, 2022
 
Rated: 4.5 by PhineasMcClintock from Massachusetts

Aug 11, 2022
 
Rated: 4.5 by Ajlvt from Washington

Aug 08, 2022
 
Rated: 4.41 by mattmarka1 from Minnesota

Aug 03, 2022
 
Rated: 4.43 by hopley from Massachusetts

Dec 18, 2021
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

4.47/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Draft at the brewery
Big frothy dense head with great retention and layers of lacing very clear light golden pale color

Nose grainy sweet pilsner malt, light cereal and straw, light herbal spicy noble hops, soft layered decoction

Taste cereal grainy sweet pilsner malt, light straw and bread dough, soft layered complex decoction, med bitterness with herbal floral noble hops that get a little spicy on the dry finish, crisp bitter bite, hint if wood

Mouth is med to lighter bod, very soft lager, lighter carb but just right for natural beer

Overall very nice German pilsner, the real ale kind of beer with great decoction complexity and softness
Nov 03, 2021
 
Rated: 4.58 by acurtis from New Jersey

Oct 30, 2021
Photo of Sabtos
Reviewed by Sabtos from Ohio

4.3/5  rDev -4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Lightly hazy sunshine yellow with a tall and dense bright white foam head that retains well, leaving wide sheets of layered lacing after each sip.

A fairly assertive bitterness of grassy herbality runs along the finer and lightly sharper carbonation than I expected to feel, lifting the medium-light body into a bone dry finish. The exhale is clean, with the faintest hint of bright oak, but then an additional bitterness that's almost metallic crops up. It also seems to have skunked fairly quickly, even under the mild Greensboro sun, which is a characteristic that is primarily picked up on the nose.

For the first half of the mug, I detected no malt whatsoever. However, as the temperature increased, a little cornbread may have bloomed ever so delicately.

This was enjoyed on draft at the source on 10/15/2021, but I'm honestly not sure which entry to review, considering Hill's menu no longer distinguishes Poetica as a numbered variant, and its description doesn't completely match any of the 3 entries here on BA or on Untappd. We've decided to create a new, base entry, as it seems the public experimentation phase is over.
Oct 20, 2021
Poetica from Hill Farmstead Brewery
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 19 ratings