Grandma's Pilsner
Oskar Blues Grill & Brew

 

Before the days of America's bastardization of classic German Lager beer; before the days of prohibition and the monarchy that the light lager industry abused, the early pilsners took on a refined and honored brewing tradition, but used some of the more rustic grain and hops that grew domestically. Its flavor was full but kind.

Grandma's Pilsner revisits those flavor and skills, opening with the scent of fresh-baking bread, cereal and herbal hop spice. Its initial taste is grainy-sweet and pleasantly starchy, showing why bread is dubbed, "liquid bread".

But across the palate, its full pilsner malt complexities shift from fresh kilned barley, light bread and biscuit and into a dry, cracker-like finish. Resembling honey and confectioner's type sweetness along the way. Its floral hop upstart trends spicy, delightfully vegetal and eventually just bitter enough to balance the sweetness of malt, corn and barley.

Herbal, minty and with a peasant grassy bite, the medium bodied beer seems full for the lager style, but is still gentle on the palate with a semi-dry finish with the mild evaporative cooling from pronounced alcohol character. Its grainy-sweet, herbal finish is highlighted with an afterglow of lemongrass.