Abnormally Czech
Abnormal Beer Company

16 oz. can. Clear golden. Smells of spicy hops and some doughy malts. Tastes of pleasant Saaz hops throughout. Doughy bready malts with some sweet honey malts. Hops build into an aggressively grassy finish with a lingering oily texture. Medium body. Tastes good. Maybe a bit too much sweetness, but I like it.

Impressive. Abnormal has 72 beers active on BA and only two are lagers. Abnormal almost nailed this. but I suspect this is more than beginners' luck.

I bought my can from Tavour. Looks offer a voluminous head that actually stuck around pretty well (blonde and clear, color was still average.) Smells were bread/biscuits and grass and then a tiny bit of bitter. Those priorities were largely reflected in the Tastes, but the hops created a semi-dry finish. Medium in the mouth. OA, Abnormally Czech shows respect to the classics, but a little hoppy innovation also.

At only five years old, Abnormal shows lots of promise. First, they know enough to be versatile in a professional and thoughtful way: they make money mostly selling western IPAs, but have a cellar/barrel program for darker tastes; they have a limited food menu, but I'll bet most items are good and pair with certain beers. Second, Abnormal has to compete in one of the most competitive markets for crafters in the world. That can only make them better. I'd like to visit in my next trip to San Diego; but it has so many great gastro-pubs and I have so little time.

A: The beer is crystal clear golden yellow in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high bright white head that left a large patch of bubbles covering the surface and a narrow collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of bready and toasted malts are present in the nose along with grassy and spicy aromas from the hops.
T: The taste is a mirror image of the smell and also has a moderate amount of bitterness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied, clean, crisp and rather dry on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: I thought that this pilsener had a good balance between the malts and hops.

Serving type: can

Bright golden body with a foamy white head. Honey dipped grains, pilsner malts, toast, grassy hops in the smell and taste. Finish is snappy, adding to a crisp and bready body, stays bright yet frothy. No real weaknesses, good czech pils, pairs well with wings

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: Czech Pilsner
Glass: Clear 16-oz. Bruges beer glass
Price: $2.19
From: Windmill Farms in Del Cerro (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: July 9, 2020
Consumed: July 12, 2020
Misc.: Canned on May 21, 2020

Spent way too much at Windmill Farms and then at North Park Beer Company, but happy with my selections. Had been wanting to try this, but I think it was the first time I’d seen it in stores. Abnormal’s website called this, “When it comes to the classics, we treat them with the utmost respect. The Czech Pilsner style is no exception and may just be the pinnacle of all things lager. A rich, toasted, bready character from the Bohemian Pilsner malt forms the backbone as grassy and spicy Czech Saaz hops round it all out. Light bodied and full flavor makes this a crusher worthy of sharing with friends and food. Na Zdravi!”

Poured a medium yellow clear color with two fingers of off-white fizzy head. Noticed a few bubble streams coming up from the bottom of the glass. Average watery lacing. Poor retention. (Sight - 3.25)

Smelled sweet grain, fresh baked bread, floral, Saaz, Honey Nut Cheerios, grass and light peppery spice. Much the same from the can. Was really looking forward to trying it. (Smell - 4.50)

Tasted almost as good as the nose. In order got fresh baked bread, sweet grain, Saaz, black pepper, dry grass, floral and Honey Nut Cheerios. (Taste - 4.25)

Light body. Oily-to-creamy texture. Average carbonation. Dry, spicy finish. (Feel - 4.50)

Wow. This was just awesome. I’ll be having more of this soon. (Overall - 4.50)

4.33 | 96 | A

 

A nice beer to enjoy in the sun! I really enjoyed it, but would say it is a little too bitter for a Czech Pils. The bitterness doesn’t let much of the malt to come through in that subtle way a Czech pils does- I’d call this a German Pils. Try it out, it’s a nice crisp beer!

Yeah. Alright. Hey there...

Now, Raul ain’t never been to that Czech place (the birthplace of classical music he has not been). That being said, he doesn’t mean that he hasn’t dreamed about it. And right here, does this Abnormal beer bring me to the depths of my dreams? I think. A lil. It’s good enough (which sometimes is enough). But Raul definitely ain’t gonna call this one a Brahms Concerto. It’s more like some guy who works for TNT and does the music for like Crime Scene Bakersfield. Which is perfectly fine, but it’s not the best.

See ya!