Bohemian Pilsner
von Trapp Brewing

4.44/5  rDev +15%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Drank from a 12 fl oz/355 ml can purchased at Craft Beer Cellar, Belmont, MA
Best by 04/11/20
Served in a Willi Becher

Pale lemon yellow appearance. The body was capped by a frothy, finger-tall, bone white crown that fell to a thin, lasting film. Streaky lacing stuck along the glass.

The nose was super crisp and bright. Lemon notes came through big time. A touch wheaty. Bready pilsner malts were also detectable.

The flavor was really lemony and bright as well. Fairly tart. Big wheaty presence. Pale, crackery, Pilsner malt notes were apparent. Grassy Saaz hops came through as the beer moved along the palate. The beer finished crisp and clean with a notable earthy hop bitterness.

Outstanding mouthfeel. Super creamy, soft and supple. The liquid contained a medium bubbled but rather lively carbonation that fluffed up beautifully on the palate.

Von Trapp’s Bohemian Pilsner is a terrific crisp, bright and highly crushable take on the style. This would be especially enjoyable when the warmer weather arrives.

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3.9/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Gold in color with a light haziness. There’s a fingernail of eggshell white around the rim and covering the vast majority of the top. The aroma is of light crackery malt and the classic grassy Czech bittering hops. I’m tasting just a touch of the laughter malt and then there’s a gentle kiss of the grassy hops. The mouth is smooth and refreshing.

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4.45/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Picked up at the brewery during a ski trip through NVT. Canned, BB 05/20/20. Just a damn good example of the style. Easy to drink, easy to see the craft and skill of this brewery. Because the malt bill is vital and exposed and such a “simple” style can quickly go downhill, this is a prime example of talent.

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3.82/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Best buy date : 5/12/20

Slightly hazy deep gold, with moderate, quickly-dissipating white head.

Smell is doughy malt and fruity/floral/slightly spicy hops . Actually smells much like a blonde.

Taste is toasty bread crust,slight tang, and peppery/coriander-ish spice. Medium bitterness.

Feel is light-medium with very fine , sharp carbonation burn.

Overall , quite good. Not a typical pils, in that it has some of the favor characteristics of a Belgian witte. (Think Allagash White) I like it, ymmv.

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3.22/5  rDev -16.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

A growler of von Trapp Boh. Pilsner was purchased in early 2020. Beer was poured at 45F into a sham pilsner beer glass. Beer looked and smelled fine. Taste was slightly deficient in malt body. The hop character boasted a combination of a modern fruity flavor and noble hops. This is a good pilsner in which the noble hop bitterness comes out best in the aftertaste.

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3.63/5  rDev -6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Slightly hazy golden body topped by white marshmallow head that stays. Aroma of herbs, grain, honey, grass, light pineapple. Tastes of honey grains, herbs, light grass, mild hop spice and mid bitterness that’s quite refreshing. Light bodied, medium carbonation.

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4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I tried this beer off the tapper at the Hilton hotel in downtown Burlington, VT. It poured a clear golden with white head that left some lace. The scent had grain notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with subtle grass and harvest presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall its a solid beer.

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4.17/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

12oz can with a best by date of 02/04/20, opened on 9/28/19.
Pale golden, bright but not 100% clarity (keller?)...active carbonation visible. 2 finger white head that crests over the rim of the glass with amazing retention, great looking beer. Thick, fresh lacing.
Bready, doughy, crackery pilsner malt, faint grain aroma...soft spicy, grassy hops.
Pilsner malt goodness, bread and grass...earthy, zesty hops.
Medium body, medium to a medium-high carbonation. Long zesty, spicy, hoppy, and dry finish.
Drinkability is high for my tastes, really well done.
Great.

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3.49/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Straw color with decent head, great carbonation and spidery, clingy lacing. Light bodied with floral.hop aroma and quite a bit of bitterness on the back end.

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3.94/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Best by 11/24/19

Pours a slightly cloudy golden straw topped with a rocky head of soapy white foam; excellent head retention leaves behind a lasting cap while layers of lacing cling to the glass.

Aroma holds a long note of grassy hops and wet hay, deepening with crackery malt, a tinge of black bread crust, and earthy, spicy floral tones interspersed in between.

Taste opens with a healthy dose of Pilsner malt and wet hay, with fresh brown bread fluffs up the mid-palate, robust but well-maintained hoppy expression builds, and a light, grassy bite on the finish.

Mouthfeel shows a light body boosted by medium carbonation carrying a drying prickly grit smoothing to an immensely crisp but surprisingly bawdy and semi-bitter finish.

A bluntly expressive Bohemian-styled pilsner offering equal parts malt and hop punch while maintaining the style’s signature easy-going quaffability.

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4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

von Trapp Bohemian Pilsner
12 oz. brown bottle
Served in a Pilsner glass

Pours a light golden yellow with a frothy head. Little carbonation bubbles race upward when the beer is closely examined.

Clean nose, a bit floral that is reminiscent of a fresh bouquet of flowers.

The flavor presents a toasted malt profile with a nice hop snap on the finish. Very clean tasting and super drinkable. Hints of grass, cereal and wheat are a recurring theme as my sips begin to increase in frequency.

Solid.

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3.77/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Clear, slightly hazed, pale yellow with about a 1 1/2 finger head. Hits all the characteristics typical of this style from the malts to the toasty sweetness. Carbonation is medium but I do detect bitterness/hops to be slightly elevated. Nice tasting, crisp pilsner.

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3.81/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

12 oz. Can, best by 9/29/19
Golden with a light haze, 2 cm. w hite head, quickly reduced to scant islands.
Grass, melon, white grape, yeast aromas
Floral, bread, some spice from hops, lemon flavors
Light hop bite, dry finish, low carb for the style
Very pleasant and interesting bohemian pilsener perhaps degraded by age due to distribution to Virginia. Someday I'll try it on draft at the source.

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4.22/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clear medium golden, with a fast receding white head which leaves lacing. Smell is spices,hops,bread, Taste is somewhat hoppy for the style, some spicy hops finished by delicious caramel malt, slight buttery taste. Feels well carbonated , refreshing ,crisp and clean, Overall a great Bohemian Pils-

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3.98/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

An aggressive pour yields about two fingers of foamy white head. that fades slowly leaving nice lacing around the glass. Hazy yellow golden in color. The nose is grass, lemon peel, with some cracker malt notes. Taste is more grassy lemon flavors with some bitterness and a nice crisp finish that lingers. Light-medium body and carbonation. Overall a nice pilsener.

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4.03/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I don't have this available locally, but I travel to upstate NY often and always bring me back some. This is a cut above so many of this style. If you are a pilsner drinker, seek this one out. Best buy date of July18, 2019.

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3.92/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

First time I've had this beer, but BA already had a review from me. I have no idea which beer the previous review was for.

L: golden wheat with a thick eggshell colored head, which coats the sides and leaves a long lasting film (fed by a steady stream of fine bubbles) across the top.
S: fresh bread, grass, some citrus
T: Malts, bread, wheat, lemon, with some hop tartness at the end
F: smooth and full. Mild, but long lasting carbonation. The hops at the end clean off your tongue.
O: a very good American version of a Bohemian Pilsner. True to the style and less hoppy than it's German counterparts.

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4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The lightly hazed golden yellow colored beer pours out into a Duvel glass with a 1” white head that slowly recedes to cap and then a thin irregular island of foam on the surface and a ring around the glass while leaving a nice web and rings of lacing. Sipping creates lots of small patches and leggy lacing.

The light aromas are mostly about the floral, herbal and spicy hops backed up by some biscuity malt.

The flavors are similar to what is expected from the nose with the floral, herbal and spicy hops and some biscuity malt. In addition, the light malt sweetness is balanced nicely by some earthy, herbal bitterness from the hops.

The mouthfeel is on the light side of medium bodied and lightly crisp with the moderate persistent finely bubbled carbonation. The moderately long finish begins as the malt and sweetness fade to leave the dry ending to the light spicy, earthy herbal hop bitterness.

An enjoyable, drinkable beer that I’ll be happy to have again. It’s a nice example of the Bohemian Pilsner style and worth trying.

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3.94/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Surprised I had not reviewed this favorite before now 3/25/19) 12 oz. Can Best by: 6/11/19. Poured into a TALL pilsner glass.

Classic look: Clear golden and bubbly. A pure white foam looks like snow-capped mountain peaks as it slowly recedes.

Buttery bread and fresh herbs are very aromatic right out of the glass . Green leafy and spicy saaz and perle hops are easily defined, along with some golden grains and sweet corn style aroma makes it spot-on .

A very crispy malty bite kicks in first for the flavor. The malty edge quickly becomes smooth and medium bodied as the liquid slides down. This is not nearly as light and delicate as I was expecting. Seems to me the malt is very complex and maybe a bit rough around the edges for the style. Full of excellent old world hop flavors: Green veggies and dried leaves mostly but layered deep as the herbal spices taste kicks in later. The malt and hops pretty much dance around eachother as the lager yeast charecter brings a bready, herbal funk that really sets the Pilsner style apart.

A very complex pilsner, not as light..European style exactly, but full of fresh flavors and a healthy approach. A bit surprised this one is as American as it is, usually Von Trapp nail the classic old-world lager styles...Im going to give them a pass on style points because of the overall depth of charecter.

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4.03/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

(on tap at Blind Tiger, served in 16 oz pint)

L: Hazy, straw-yellow liquid, persistent gummy foam collar

S: grassy, lemony-citrus peel, doughy undertone

T: bold white bready malt foundation, grassy and floral on the edges, tiny bit of pithy bitterness in the finish... aftertaste leaves lingering floral and grainy, vaguely yeasty bread notes

F: lightly chewy, softly-pudgy body; weak sudsy bite at first, which soon disappears, leaving an almost still, unfiltered texture... could use a smidge of crisp snap to its finish

O: decent at first, but the malt became tiresome halfway through, and as it warms it dies, revealing little depth

EDIT: (22 Mar 2020)... curiously about an exact year later, at home, second time having this... can poured into mug... flavors are popping much more, no flab or pudge... it immediately reminds me of OB's MLYP, or the old version of Troegs Sunshine, plus probably a few others whose names I can't recall, but with a more layered (hop) taste... had 4 of their other lagers over the past week plus, and this one's a winner too... worthy of a sixer, and probably a re-review once I grab said sixer

original ratings (23 Mar 2019): look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 (3.77 total)

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4.04/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

From a growler, pours a slightly hazy straw gold. Smell has fresh grass, floral hops and some earthy herbs. Touch of anise. Taste follows. Finishes with a decent bitterness and grain aftertaste. Great Pilsener, flavorful and drinkable.

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3.94/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 Oz Bottle poured into glass
Look - yellow straw color, thick foam head which is slow to fade and some nice lacing on glass
Smell - I've noticed a lot of the Von Trapp beers smell similar, like a house style. This one smells like lots of grain, yeast and hops, fairly basic beer aroma but the hops are herbal and earthy. A mineral quality as well like mountain spring water.
Taste - Hops show up much more in the taste. It's quite bitter but that's what the style calls for. Grass and tonic water at first, hops finish and linger in the palate. It's certainly crisp, carbonation is medium-high.

Overall, it's got a strong taste..more so than most Euro Pilsners to be honest. It's one of my favorite Pilsners, but I am not a huge fan of this style because it just sticks to the palate and i don't want more than one of these. Grade is a B+

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3.71/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours a sparkling yellow-gold with just a slight haze to it. Fluffy white head dissipates to a thin, bubbly lacing. Can certainly pick up the saaz hops on the aroma, but they are rather faint. Definitely one of the better pilsners out there but, in my book, doesnt compete with Victory Prima Pils (which is one of my favorite beers, period). Missing something on the back end. Still - i wouldnt turn this down in the future.

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4.61/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This will be my fourth entry of/in Happy Loads of New (Mainly) Lager Beers Sunday (Week 718). I purchased several bottles from von Trapp Brewing at Hunger-n-Thirst & as the eradication of the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody rolls on, these are next in line.

From the Bottle: "'A little of Austria[,] a lot of Vermont'"; "A smooth, crisp Bohemian pilsner with a harmonious blend of Perle and Saaz hops"; "By the family that inspired 'The Sound of Music'"; "Brewed on the grounds of Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, this lager is crafted with the finest traditional ingredients and our pure Vermont spring water."; "IBU: 42".

This was the one that I was most excited to try! When I was merely a budding hophead, FerMentor Lew (@therealbeerfly) put me onto the idea that some Lagers were also hop-driven, introducing me to Pilsners. Now, I am much more accepting of Lagers, but back then I was a bit of a snob. I still really like a Czech/Boho Pils & so I Pop!ped the cap to see what von Trapp had to offer. I offered a slow, gentle C-Line pour into the awaiting glass & was rewarded by the formation of two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with great retention, making me wait as it slowly fell back, leaving great lacing in its wake. Color was Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was rich with freshly-mown grass & hay, evincing that they had not held back on their use of hops! Mmm. My mouth was watering as I lifted the glass to my maw. She declined a taste, so I took a drink. Mouthfeel was big & creamy! How did they achieve this in a Lager?!? The taste was wonderfully bitter, very evocative of a handful of Saaz hops. I was not getting much in the way of maltiness, but it has long been my understanding that such is the difference between a Czech/Boho Pils & a GER Pils. Further, I was reminded of Pilsner Urquell, which is one of my favorite CANned Pilsners. Once again, von Trapp, would you CANsider putting ALL of your beers into CANs? Pretty please? With hops on top? I wanted to savor this one, but it was just so good & my spirit was weak, leading to my drinking it down like it was nothing. It had a lovely crisp dryness on the finish & I began to envision myself on the beach with a cooler filled with this beer on a hot, humid Summer's day. My numbers are going to be high, but I feel as though they are justified. YMMV.

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3.9/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

12-oz. bottle needed a strong pour to make a 1/2 finger sized foamy white short-lived head with spotty lacing.
Hazy light yellow-straw color, the yellow fades in front of light.
Grain, grass and herbal hops greet the nose.
Taste begins lightly bitter from hops and grass as semi-sweet malt and hidden carbonation richens the middle. The clean and semi-dry finish features toasted cracker like malt with a pleasing hop presents and a faint bitter/pepper aftertaste.
Medium-rich body with above average carbonation (despite the short head), good balance of semi-sweet and dry/bitter.
Smooth and sessionable, alcohol is well hidden. Great hop flavors yet light and balanced by the bready, grainy and semi-sweet malts.

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