Party Wave Pilsner
Lanikai Brewing Company

 

 

From the pint can, it pours a clear to slightly hazy yellow color with a nice white head that diminishes to a thin layer and a ring. The nose gets a grassy scent with grain present. The mouth gets a light bitterness with an island accent, possibly due to some mamaki tea. Decent island interpretation.

really impressive beer here, even if it took me a couple cans to fully get it, i couldnt quite figure this out, like what are the hops, its so different, subtle, but truly unfamiliar, then i realized its brewed with mamaki tea, which i dont know much about, but its a unique and brilliant addition to this clean german pils, by the last can i was calling this one of my favorite beers from our whole trip! near clear with nearly two inches of high white head, looks gorgeous in the glass, perhaps a half shade deeper in color than many, but this isnt grainy or heavy at all, it has good structure, a faintly toasted note from the malt, and still hits relatively european there, just quite mild really, and fermented dry enough to be right on with drinkability. hallertau hops are a nice choice for this, they bring light citrus fruitiness along with the noble bitterness on the swallow, well dosed, fresh as heck, and this would be a great beer even before the mamaki element is brought in, new to me, it adds layers of green tea, white flowers, verdant lemongrass, white coconut flesh, lime candy, and honeysuckle, so compatible with these hops its crazy, the bitterness is beautiful in this, none of it dominates the base beer, and the flavor climax is super late, so this builds the whole way. rushing carbonation on it too, feels almost can conditioned, very jovial and refreshing. a unique approach to a traditional old world style where usually there is very little room for innovation. i think they did a masterful job of infusing a local ingredient into a beer where its essence plays so well, its perfect with these hops, and its totally organic and unforced. i love the flavor of this, it warms up well, and the overall quality is real high. only had two beers from these guys while in hawaii, and they both ruled, need to search out more next time, hopefully it wont be too long, this is a total winner, do not miss it! this will be with me for awhile, really clever.

We’ve got a gusher! With careful pour a half can (16oz) is white mixed rocky bubbles and pale gold liquid with ok clarity; good cap retention; solid ring and medium heavy lacing. Herbal chamomile tea nose. Herbal, floral taste followed by semi sweet biscuit base; a little earthy bitterness in the finish. Medium light body; moderate carbonation; clean feel, but not crisp. Overall, not bad, just different; dull earthy herbal tea linger - not what I want in Pilsner.