Pilsner
AleSmith Brewing Company

PilsnerPilsner
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From:
AleSmith Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
German Pilsner
Ranked #304
ABV:
4.9%
Score:
85
Ranked #21,049
Avg:
3.76 | pDev: 9.84%
Reviews:
36
Ratings:
86
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 19, 2022
Added:
Mar 22, 2017
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  5
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by rawfish:
Photo of rawfish
Rated by rawfish from California

3.59/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Jun 06, 2017
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by AnitaBrewski from Massachusetts

Aug 19, 2022
 
Rated: 3.53 by bankboy66 from New Jersey

Oct 25, 2020
Photo of Gatch
Reviewed by Gatch from Massachusetts

4.43/5  rDev +17.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Made it to the brewery, finally! Huge facility and such a landmark that the damn street was named after them. Didn’t expect to see a Pilsner on the list and man am I glad I did. This is stellar. A truly smooth, drinkable Pils with a delicious malt profile and finish.
Jun 07, 2020
 
Rated: 3.98 by acurtis from New Jersey

Dec 29, 2019
Photo of malrubius
Reviewed by malrubius from Vermont

2.62/5  rDev -30.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Can. Golden with slight chill haze lasting head and lace. Mild leafy herbal aroma. Very thin malt sweetness not much bread or cracker with medium herbal bitterness that bites on fizzy carbo. Light body. Unpleasant.
Oct 14, 2019
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
I am now simply CANtinuing to delve into my backlog, this time seeking out Pilsners to add to The CANQuest (tm)!

From the CAN: "Clean, Crisp, Refreshing"; "German-Style Pilsner"; "Inspired by classic European lagers, our entire brewing team got together to create this truly collaborative beer that captures the essence of European tradition. The result, Spezial Pils, is our take on a German-style pilsner with a pleasant balance between light, grainy malt and spicy, floral hops. We lager it at freezing temperatures for an extended period to round out its delicate flavors and improve drinkability. The finish is crisp and clean with a pleasant dryness and subtle bitterness. Prost!"

I waz anxiouz to Crack! open thiz Spezial Pils, but I knew that I muzt exercise restraint. I beCAN a zlow, gentle Z-Line Glug into the awaiting glazz, watching as it foamed up to form two-pluz fingerz of denze, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with very good retention. Color waz a pretty Yellow-Gold (ZRM = 4 - 5) with NE-quality clarity, zummoning forth The Gelt Gang of Midaz, Croezuz & Mammon to have a tazte. Noze had a definite floral quality of freshly-mown grazz & hay, but it waz accompanied by a malty zweetnezz that tried to run the zhow. Mouthfeel waz thin-to-medium, on par for the ztyle. The taste waz more malty than hoppy, which iz what I expect in the ztyle. That said, the hopz were quite pleasant & I would not mind drinking thiz again. Finish was zemi-dry, very refrzhing & zomething with which I would fill my beach-bound cooler. YMMV.
Oct 01, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by kjkinsey from Texas

Aug 27, 2019
 
Rated: 3.73 by sokol_1993 from California

Jun 01, 2019
 
Rated: 3.71 by QuakeAttack from California

May 20, 2019
 
Rated: 3.72 by prototypic from Ohio

Feb 17, 2019
 
Rated: 3.85 by Karibourgeois from Texas

Jan 24, 2019
 
Rated: 4.73 by JonBoy23 from California

Jan 22, 2019
Photo of Tom_Hoover
Rated by Tom_Hoover from Texas

2.99/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Its ok, nothing special.
Dec 02, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by Hellpop65 from Kansas

Oct 14, 2018
Photo of dcscientist
Reviewed by dcscientist from Colorado

4.1/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I found this one in a six-pack in my area, nowhere close to San Diego. But having recently tried another of their beers while in SD, I made sure to grab this when I saw it. Very solid pils here, not too hoppy or heavy, just clean and flavorful. This brewer is definitely on my list of ones to seek out now.
Sep 24, 2018
 
Rated: 3.19 by CJNAPS from California

Aug 28, 2018
Photo of BucannonXC5
Reviewed by BucannonXC5 from California

4.11/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Type: 12-oz. can
Glass: Clear 15.25-oz. pilsner
From: Trader Joe’s in La Mesa, Calif.
Price: $1.67
Purchased: June 15, 2018
Consumed: June 15, 2018
Reviewed as: German Pilsner
Misc.: Canned on Feb. 16, 2018

Finally picked up a can of this on a trip to Trader Joe’s. Couldn’t believe I hadn’t tried it yet. I love AleSmith (ranked No. 9 for me heading in) and I’d really grown to enjoy pilsners the last three years or so. Can description read, “Inspired by classic European lagers, our entire Brewing Team got together to create this truly collaborative beer that captures the essence of European tradition. The result, Spezial Pils, is our take on a German-style pilsner with a pleasant balance between light, grainy malt and spicy, floral hops. We lager it at freezing temperatures for an extended period to round out its delicate flavors and improve drinkability. The finish is crisp and clean with a pleasant dryness and subtle bitterness. Prost!”

Poured a straw clear color with three fingers of rocky off-white head. Lots of fast-moving bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass. Average watery lacing. Decent spotty retention. (Sight - 3.75)

Smelled grain, grass, hay, pilsner malt, floral, white cracker, light honey, buttered white bread, lemon zest and pear. More pear and even some apple from the can. (Smell - 4.00)

Taste followed the nose. In order got grain, grass, pilsner malt, hay, buttered white bread, lemon zest, pear, cracker, biscuit and pepper late. (Taste - 4.25)

Medium body. Thin-to-oily texture. Average carbonation. Clean, crisp finish. (Feel - 4.25)

Just an outstanding pilsner. Lovely. (Overall - 4.00)

4.11 | 92 | A-
Jun 21, 2018
Photo of RaulMondesi
Reviewed by RaulMondesi from California

3.63/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
AleSmith, like, great brewery. Kind of like going out on a date with Joanna Krupa, you expect the best. But what if she shows up in adidas sweats and Yeezys? It’s like, umm... now don’t get me wrong, Spezial Pils ain’t that bad, but it’s just simply average. Rotten fruit on the nose and tongue... As it warms it actually gets a lot better, but whateva.
Jun 10, 2018
Photo of Holderness
Reviewed by Holderness from Massachusetts

3.2/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Nice and spicy interpretation of a pils, thanks to the generous Saaz hopping. Crisp and clean. Hop bitterness is slightly higher than in most, which obscures some of the pilsner malt character for better or worse

64/100
Apr 18, 2018
Pilsner from AleSmith Brewing Company
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 86 ratings