Alsace
Hop Butcher For The World

 

 

 

This is actually described as a French style Pilsner that uses Elixir and Mistral hops. This was a little lighter than most of the Pilsners I've had recently. It was not as carbonated and was smoother and had a nice dry finish. It was a little sweet, I'm assuming from the malt. It had a nice low key floralness to it.

Tasted in a Spiegelau pilsner glass from a one pint can on April 4, 2021.

This one pours a crystal clear golden color. Initially the beer is effervescent which feeds a thin white foamy head. However the head dissipates pretty quickly after forming and then the effervescence settles down and the beer appears more still. The aroma on this really threw me - I honestly wasn't sure what to expect since I was not familiar with these hops, but it was initially very weed-y when I first poured it. And I do mean, it smelled like marijuana. But then, that settled down and there were notes of light lemon and orange citrus, leather, a bit of an herbal spiciness, and some straw.

The taste has notes of straw, lemon and tangerine citrus, dried grass, leather, spicy and a light weediness. The finish gives way into an exceedingly astringent bitterness. It is a weird, unpleasant bitterness that really lingers on the palate. Feel is medium bodied, pretty crisp, bright carbonation.

Overall this is an interesting beer - its more of an American pilsner brewed with French hops. The hops are allowed to shine through on a very simple, mild malt backbone. But that means that the astringent bitterness on the finish from those hops completely dominates and leaves (literally) a bad taste in the mouth. An interesting beer, but unfortunately another "miss" for me in terms of lagers from Hop Butcher.