Northwest Pilsner (w/ Von Ebert)
Occidental Brewing Co.

another wonderful collaborative take on this pils they do, this time with belma and styrian wolf, its both herbal and juicy, modern and classic, and despite how hoppy this is, the killer base lager still retains its identity to the necessarye extent, this drinks summery and clean and pure, and i want more immediately! great looking beer with high clarity and shine, a lasting inch plus of bubbly white head, and persistent carbonation as i drink it. the aroma and flavor really show the hops up front, slightly noble and classic still and with some finishing bitterness that i think the style needs to be crisp like this, but also super nuanced, well beyond what is commonly found in these, lush leafy herbal character up front, some berry aspect in the middle, and a mix of everything from juniper to green pear to elderflower in the finish, the layers of hops are amazing, not only interesting but dosed expertly, not dominant but robust, all in service of the base beer, but they are totally transformative too. i like that the yeast and the simple cereal grain can still be tasted through the hops, and how the mineral profile here seems enhanced by the hops as well, brisk and snappy in feel, clean to finish, but infinitely interesting to me. so often when brewers strike out in this direction, its overdone on the hops and turns into an india pale lager type, green and bitter, or its just dry hopped into oblivion with modern varietals that take over the base beer. this brilliantly avoids both of those common pitfalls and might be my favorite in this excellent series so far! not to be missed if this is your sort of thing, it certainly is mine! this is a beer i wish the whole world could taste, it will be lost to history before it ever gets a fragment of the attention it deserves...

Canned 30 Sept. Finished with Belma hops and dry hopped with Styrian Wolf from Slovenia.

Crystal clear light yellow with a dense white head with decent retention, this looks solid. The nose is bright, soapy, hoppy, bitter and pungent, with mild lemon peel notes. Minimal malt character, just a light straw like pils malt character. The palate opens bitter, resiny and oily with lemon, earth and mint oils, coating the palate with a prominent bitterness. I can't say I'm familiar with Belma hops, but there's a distinct fruity note that works, a blend of kiwifruit and mild passionfruit, but expressed in an old world way, if that makes sense. Bitter, drying, oily on the finish, this is quenching, clean bitter and bright. Quite excellent.