Frenz: Holy Mountain
Bale Breaker Brewing Company

Appearance is clear golden with abundant foam, but marred by an alarming amount of floaties. Peach in the nose. Along with the pleasant resiny tang there is some odd winey taste and a hint of apricot. No clue as to the hops but they are not overdone. Quite drinkable. From the 16 oz can purchased at Elizabeth Station and the same 06/23/25 canning date as noted.

 

a fresh and tidy modern lager done in collaboration with the revered holy mountain, way cool. this is delicious but honestly somewhat restrained compared to what i was expecting from these two in a style like this, its clean and easy, citrusy and breezy, but it didnt totally smack me the way i thought it might, a fine summer drinker through that checks all the boxes in this booming style space. bright golden on tap and close to perfectly clear with rushing bubbles and a decent little crown of thicker white head on it. the nose is zested lime, white tea, fresh apricot, and maybe dill or something, citrus first but herbal behind it with a kiss of summery stone fruit in its most subtle sense, very fresh and full character pils malt right there with the hops, and it doesnt smell exceedingly bitter or overdone, a tad nutty and mineral driven, light lager yeast character is also appreciable. the flavor is like the nose, this is hoppy and bright but also balanced and still a pils in every sense, which i dig. hints of kiwi fruit and honeydew, that green light lush fruitiness running with a citra type lemon curd note, a wrinkle of pineapple, maybe mild berry too, would love to know the hop mix on this. bitterness does pick up right on the swallow, but it doesnt slow this down any, and the recall on the palate is lovely, summery and hoppy with green grape and more of that apricot thing balancing the bitterness. the grain has a european vibe, the lagering is professional and crisping, and overall this is a lovely warm weather drinker for those wanting to keep it light but still get their hops in. nice execution, not radical beer, but great nevertheless. so much variation in this style right now, but this seems to bring all the key elements together very effectively, well done! this frenz series keeps hitting!

Canned 6-23-25, pour is a clean, clear light amber. A fingef of foam fades rapidly to a skim coat. As with most lagers, aromas tend to be muted. Pick up some fruit and a bit of yeast. First sip is moderately dry, a restrained bitterness and a light, enjoyable sweetness from the malt. Finish keeps a good level of carbonation but the taste profile seems to drift off to one side.

As nobody has come up with a good profile of a WC Pils, it's a bit of guesswork on how to rate it. Enjoyable and well-built,

Collaboration with Holy Mountain Brewing of Seattle, WA. 16-ounce can purchased and consumed at John's Marketplace in Beaverton, OR, in a John's-branded nonic pint glass. Date stamp reads "PKG ON 06/23/25".

Look:
The beer is a pale yellow-gold that's mostly clear but has a bunch of floaties milling around in there. (If that's hop debris, I am 100% cool with that.) The dense white foam head shrinks quickly to a sturdy ring and patchy skin that leaves uneven lacing.

Smell:
Nose leads with lemon-lime character and mildly sweet malt, followed by an interesting note that's floral but not noble.

Taste:
Flavor largely follows the nose, adding a layer of green grape character to the slightly-too-sweet malt. And like the nose, the flavor goes off on a tangent after the initial impression, with pine, mixed herbs, and...roses?

Feel:
The body is light-medium and the restrained carbonation still provides a decent bite.

Overall:
The style circle labeled "West Coast PIlsner" seems to be as large and fuzzy as the style circle labeled "Saison." Frenz WC Pils definitely belongs inside that fuzzy boundary, with some intriguing notes that give it a rather quirky personality. Even though the beer ended up rather more interesting than great, as reflected by my numbers, I'm still kind of a fan. Would drink again, if only to see if the unusual notes are still there.