Rabbit Island
Greenpoint Beer & Ale Company

 

Seems this beer is out of retirement since I bought a can at Whole Foods in TriBeca, NYC and the can showed artwork that had the artists signature (Paul Richard) and the year 2016. Pours slightly hazy yellow gold color that had active carbonation and bubbles racing up to a 1 finger foamy while head that was full of bubbles and faded slowly, leaving minimal spotty lacing.

Smells hoppy up front with floral hops and piney hops hitting first, then some toasted grains, biscuit, earthy accents and light peppery spices. A hint of lemon zest adds some fruit to the hop profile, but it's mostly floral and herbal smelling.

Tastes like it smells with hops up front that are a mix of floral hops, piney hops, lemon zest, biscuit, dry yeast and then peppery spices which seem like Saaz hops with those earthy, herbal and spicy notes present. The nose came off as more powerful and the flavor gets maltier with each sip, so it wasn't as hoppy tasting as I'd hoped for since the can states "Dry Hopped Pilsner". Don't get me wrong, this tastes very good but I expected more since the can lists Motueka and Wai-iti "hop varitals" were used.

Mouthfeel is light and almost watery, but with a little texture which keeps it from being thin. Mild carbonation and faint sweetness drive this down easy, covering up the 5.5% ABV well before it fades semi-dry and quite grainy. Overall a pretty good Czech Pilsener that I'd have again.