Pilsner
Bale Breaker Brewing Company

Clean, clear pour; not much head. A light aroma of bread dough plus a hint of dankness. The hops come forward here, which may account for the dankness. Great feel. Taste the hops and malt combine and pick up a new taste. Long-ish finish, clean. Just 4.8% ABV.

Enjoyed on tap at Wichita Pub in Clackamas, OR
Poured into a pint glass

P pours a clear yellow/pale gold w/ just about 1f-worth of frothy white head; lots of active carb; heavy lace left behind
N predominatly clean cereal and crackery malts
T follows nose w/ cereal and crackery malts, punctuated w/ earthy/grassy Noble hops; light malt sweetness and grassiness linger into the finish, w/ a subtle bitter earthiness in the aftertaste
Mf light to light-med bodied, med carb level
O not too bad; nothing super noteworthy, but a decent drinker

Review date: 06.20.25

This is how you make a Pils in hop country: you use the hops judiciously.
Pilsner opens with average Looks, modest foam that doesn't lace. Smells are mostly malt, but appealing to a malt-head like me; plus a touch of grass. Tastes are distinctive: mid-palate the hops enter and finish with a nice semi-dry and crisp. Medium-mouthed. Refreshing.

My second from Bale Breaker, I'm glad to see they are still growing: opening a gastro-pub in Seattle and deepening their distribution. Their story is still unique, hop-farmer turned brewer.

12oz can. Poured out a crystal clear, straw-yellow color with a small, white head of foam. It left thin rings of lace on the glass. It smelled of cracker, bread crust and some floral notes. Sweet caramel and bready malt with a mild bitterness.

I am trying a pint of this beer off the tapper at Leavenworth Pizza Company in Leavenworth, WA. It poured a clear golden with thin white head that is leaving some lace. The scent had faint common pilsner notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with crisp malt base with subtle grain and grass presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with smooth carbonation. Overall it is a great beer.

 

 

I had this beer on-tap in a pint glass at Sam's Tavern in South Lake Union.

Appearance: medium golden hue with a clear body and a finger of dense ivory foam atop, leaving a good lace. Attractive!

Smell: somewhere between a dry and sweet malt character, and a “beery” aroma with a nice yeast character. I like it.

Taste: malty but dry, with a bit of a crackery character. Hops are noble and a little grassy, with a moderate bitterness that’s relatively soft. A good German pilsner.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: tasty and super drinkable. I’m into this.

 

 

Pint at Westside Taphouse in West Salem OR.
$6.00
Pours the traditional golden body. Nice splotchy white head.
Aroma kinda leafy..vegetal. .
Taste... has that vegetal taste. Some floral hops.
Mouth feel is OK for style. Maybe slightly too sweet.
It's OK. But second tier compared to the top PNW Pils.

 

 

12oz can (dated 6/8/21) poured into 16oz tulip. Poured a clean, clear bright gold color with 1/4 inch of white head tat had minimal retention and lacing.

The aroma fairly typical for the style; solid grains and floral hops.

Same on the tongue, earthy grain at the front, nice hops at the back.

The body was smooth, crisp and clean, but may have been a bit fuller than typical, and a medium-dry finish.

Drinkability was good, an easy quaffer for sure.

Overall, a solid take on the style. Worth grabbing if you see it.

Medium yellow body with lovey bubbling present. Nice, sustained head. Smell is straw, fruit esters, and grain. Taste is mild hop bitterness, more of those fruit esters, grass, and a little biscuit. It has a zing in the body that’s pretty acidic. The carbonation is noticeable but not overbearing and the finish is moderately dry.
As usual, Bale Breaker delivers quality. Really nice mix of bitterness from the hops and a non-citrus acidity. The appearance is fantastic too, and really I think the only thing holding it back is that it could finish a bit drier.

its crazy to see this sort of thing from a brewery so known for their hops, welcome to idaho by the way! stoked to have these guys here, they slay. this is a really good lager, the right attention to detail on the old world elements, the ferment is crisp as heck, the grain has an earthy cereal depth to it while staying dry, the water chemistry is right and the minerals are neat, but its also americanized in a flattering way, which rarely is the case for me, but they use some american hops here, as they should in their location, and they work, not green or overdone at all, playing mostly a bittering role, but there is some pine to this you would not find in noble hops, still the necessary grassiness and necessary quickness. its just a neat little tweak to make this lager stand out, which also seems to set itself apart with its freshness, it tastes literally brand new to me, so clean and bright and with all of the elements contributing equally. this is gorgeous lager, clear and bubbly, frothy and heady with some lace, and fully flavored while staying light to drink. impressively balanced and just really good, at the top of the heap even for the region. i respect these guys like crazy, but now hold them in even higher regard for their first rate execution and subtle uniqueness here, ill be buying a whole lot more of this one!

edit: ever so slightly less impressive on tap some years later, a bit more standard, less striking because so many others have entered the game in this style, but it really is well done, snappy and very very drinkable. leaving scores as they are from the first experience with it. now a staple in their lineup and for good reason.

12oz can from Brewers Haven. Clear golden, foamy head, lazy carbonation. Light grainy, bready aroma. Taste offers soft sweet malty flavors, more bready notes. Not much of a hop backend. Crushable.

12 oz can packaged 10/15/20

Looks like a proper pilsner. Clear with abundant carbonation and a soapy head. Again I am going to use the word soapy to describe the aroma. It is herbal, minty, and very soft. If this was not on the sweeter side, I would rate this higher. But still the combination of hops and pilsner malt works here. Just wish it was drier. Very herbal. Good light body and carbonation makes this very easy to drink.

2020-10-17
12oz can served in a big snifter. Canned Aug3120.

Pours a clear light yellow with a smallish head. Smell is light, mostly lager funk and a bit skunky.

Taste is mild, grainy, a little skunky. Grassy bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is very light and crisp. Overall, not great, but not bad.