BBC Remembered
Pub Dog Brewing

 

Poured from 500ml bottle a golden yellow and settled with a slight amber hue and a very nice frothy straw-colored head that laced the glass nicely all the way down. Fresh malt in the nose and a sweetness (nice, not cloying) in the initial taste. Very rich mouthfeel wtih subtle carbonation and medium to heavy body. A refreshingly fruity (again, subtle) hops flavor to round off the swallow and a hint of a bitter aftertaste. If brewer Gary McNamara, Jr. was going for drinkable and "glad you bought it," this one fit the bill nicely. Now I wish I had been able to make the festival. Regardless, excellent beer. Thanks to DOG for their contest.

500 ml bottle into a Pils glass.

Pours a clear gold, with several fingers of slightly off-white colored foamy head. This eventually peters down, retaining with roughly a 3/4 finger frothy cap that leaves back a good bit of spotty lacing. The aroma smells grassy and spicy, with an underlying stiff whiff of toasted grains and some citrus character that gives off a light green feel in the nose. There seems to be a bit of a metallic flavor here in the nose at first but it seems to fade as this warms up.

This has a leafy and spicy bite to it that spreads out green bitter citrus across the palate. This is balanced across the back by a flood of sweet toasted grains before this finishes VERY dry with a strong lingering spiciness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and creamy feeling up front before laying a bit more of a prickle on the tongue the longer this stays in the mouth. This is pretty smooth but seems a bit too soft overall and could have used some more crispness to it.

This wasn't a bad Pilsner by any means but it didn't overly impress me either. The overall package here just lacked that bright thirst quenching forceful crispness to it that I like in a good Pils. The overly dry spiciness of this held the drinkibility back some as well.

Bottle I grabbed today. The label says this won the 2010 MD Microbew Festival Best of Show , brewed by Gary McNamara Jr.

Pouring surprisingly dark for a pilsner, this one's a mildly hazy copper-orange with a dense, off-white head that forms a thick cap, leaving some lace. The nose is decent. I'm immediately struck by an intense, resiny German hop character. Earthy, twiggy and mildly spruce-like too, there's also a mild malt character present with a little sugar. Initially, I get some sulfur, but that fades after a bit.

The palate opens moderately fruity and quite hoppy with a nice balance of bitterness and flavor. However, the sweetness does get in the way of the hop flavor, and keeps this from being crisp and refreshing. The malt really does mute this aspect. The malt character isn't entirely traditional, it lacks that raw complexity of some of the better pilsners out there (maybe this beer doesn't have the undermodified malt?). Mildly sweet on the finish with a strong hop character, this is quite resiny. Again, the hop character isn't completely traditional, it, it isn't as crisp as it should be. Still, despite all these flaws, this is an enjoyable, easy drinking beer. Solid stuff.

A: a hazy orange color into a golden pheasant pilsner glass with a dirty white frothy head about two fingers. It hangs around for a while and leaves a lot of lacing. Its a good loking beer but not what I expect from a pilsner.

S: spicy malt and a little orange. Some citrusy hops.

T: humfh. Not a lot there, and I sooo wanted it to be. There is some bread malt and a hint of the spiciness. A little hop character on the back. Altogether malty and peppery with equal amount of mellow hops that doesn't give enough even for a pilsner.

MF: fresh and crisp with an overall a water downed feel.

D: its nice that its a homebrew recipe from around my home city but it doesn't offer a whole lot of flavor or a great mouth feel. I'd pass on this one again.