High Priestess
Holy Mountain Brewing Company - Interbay Brewery + Taproom

 

Straight pour from a 16oz can to a stemless wine glass (HPB’s Bottle Friends cat glass). This has no canning date, but I know that this was released on May 3 (just under two weeks ago now), though, so I can reasonably assume that it’s maybe three weeks old-ish, at the most.

Appearance (5.0): This pours out a solid two and a half fingers of creamy, fluffy foam capping a dark golden-colored body with some rich orange-amber undertones. The head dies down slowly, leaving a rocky, pock-marked head and absurdly dense, foamy lacing wrapping all the way around the glass. This is almost offensively attractive, for the style.

Smell (4.75): Right away you notice the big, beautiful maltiness of the malt/grain bill in this beer, which offers warm, honeyed buttermilk biscuit, a touch of light caramel, and baked orchard fruit—kind of resembling an apple dumpling with caramel. But, a much lighter version of what I just described. As it opens up, though, an extremely crisp, floral and herbal hop note floods your nostrils, leaving a beautifully grassy character to linger. Outstanding, and entirely within style.

Taste (4.25): On the palate, the hops lead the charge with a delightful mixture of lean, yellow grapefruit zest, bracing herbal bitterness, and then a slightly soapy character that oddly, I do not hate. Beneath it all, there is a grain/malt body that is dominated by pale, earthy, and just slightly fruity porridge, leaving an impression of equal parts brioche, dusty, multigrain peasant bread crusts, and a hint of sweet pear. That soapiness mixes with the malt in a way that comes off as sourdough, in a fun way. No sign of booze. The hops morph over the course of the drink, starting with clean, herbal bitterness before shifting into soapy and floral flavors, and finishing with a long, slow, grassy bitterness that maintains a dry, approachable feel.

Mouthfeel (4.5): This does a weird thing where it makes you think it’ll feel bigger than it does, thanks to the juicy malt in the nose and snappy hops on the palate. Instead, it comes off as somewhat on the light- side of medium-weight, but with a fuller presence than its weight. The carb feels full, fluffy, and soft with just a slight tingle as it foams up quickly and easily, even though it manages to stick around longer than expected. The body filters down between all of those bubbles, but it’s almost like it never quite touches the ground—it just blends fully and seamlessly into that carbonation. The hops, meanwhile, are sharp enough that they scrape away the body and carb without leaving a peeling or parching impression. It’s like, crazy drinkable, but still complex and full enough—while staying very light—to keep you from throwing it back like water. (But you certainly could if you wanted to.)

Overall (4.25): This is, in my opinion, an impressive beer. It stays within the style guidelines to a T, but it feels like it’s too complex and interesting to be “just” an Export Pilsner. I guess you have to chalk that up to two main factors: quality ingredients and expert brewing. All that is to say, this beer is delicious, and manages to be both a lovely, contemplative, nuanced beer as well as a crushable, “Dad Fuel” kind of drink. It’s so good, and would pair well with a variety of different foods as well as stand on its own. Highly recommended, especially if you’ve been just as tickled as I have been by West Coast breweries’ recent rash of beautiful Old World lagers.