Pilsner
Manor Hill Brewing

Manor Hill Brewing "Pilsner"
12 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating
$2.79 @ Total Wine & More, Claymont, DE

Notes via stream of consciousness: It's poured a lightly hazy straw gold body beneath a short head of bright white foam. The aroma displays a little bit of an apple-like fruitiness over a sweetish and grainy malt base. On to the taste - it's sweet, fruity with apple, and hoppy with some floral character, a distinct spiciness, some grassiness, a touch of mild citrus, and a subtle woodiness. Then its stiff bitterness kicks in to dry it, along with and a little bit of slate-like mineral character that lingers in the finish. It's fairly unusual for a Pilsner, and I think just calling it a 'lager' would have suited it more appropriately. All of the components for a Pilsner are there, don't get me wrong, but the fruitiness, citrus, and woodiness are extras that you normally don't find. The balance between sweetness and bitterness is also somewhat off and it feels a bit blocky. It's sweet and then it's bitter, but you'll normally find that a Pilsner offers both sweetness and bitterness a little closer together. In the mouth it's medium-light in body and gently crisp. All in all it's not a bad beer, but it doesn't really cut it as a Pilsner.
Review #9,509

 

 

 

Hazed straw with decent effervescence and a fat finger of dense, yellowed head. Good retention and lacing.

Some hints of cake and cornbread sweetness under a fairly crisp, grassy aroma.

The taste has a floral hop quality — giving an Italian pils vibe — again with with a fairy crisp, grassy finish. A little sulfur in the mix, too. Moderately bitter.

Prickly mouthfeel from the carbonation.

This is a very tasty pilsner. Nice hop profile and pretty easy drinking.

A very nice German pilsner with a dry and bitter profile. Light in body and a rather crisp finish. It pairs very well with food but it's is very pleasant to drink as a thirst quencher.

 

 

Bright gold appearance with a medium size white head and a fair amount of lacing. Aroma of baked biscuits and floral hops. Taste stays focused in the malt quadrant. Moderately hoppy, Noble if I had to guess. Some bitterness but was expecting more. Finishes with a touch of sweetness. Soft, dry aftertaste

 

 

A buddy asked me if I would go on a Maryland excursion with him last week & having nothing better to do, I agreed. He is married to his GPS & took us on a winding backroads tour that left me with a headache. I finally got him to agree to follow my directions going home, on the direct route that I would have had us take in the first place. My route took us to Fallston Liquors, where I got several CANned Pilsners, one of which I downed immediately. The CANQuest (tm) CAN be hell at times! 8=p

From the CAN: "Family Owned, Farm Brewed (tm)"; "Keep Cold. Drink Fresh."

I pulled some verbiage from their site & submitted it for Notes, but I was jonesin' so without further ado, it was time for a Crack! of the vent & a slow, steady C-Line Glug into my fave Pilsner glass. The foaming action was a bit too much to CANdle, so I backed down & off & allowed it to form two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with great retention. Color was an oh-so-slightly-hazy Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4) & if it clarifies, I'll chalk it up to chill haze. Nose had a lemony breadiness, not quite dry enough to call biscuity, but close. Mmm. Lemon pound cake? With lemon icing? Sold! Mmm.

Man, as a kid, I used to love baking. Both of my grandmothers were mistresses of their ovens, but Grummy ChANdler (paternal) was the one for desserts. She had a raspberry bush in her garden & pies & cakes were a standard. She was right up from the high school & I got both her permission & my teacher's to bring in a couple of quarts of fresh-picked raspberries. We put them in the reefer & then my kitchen-mates & I made a raspberry-lemon pound cake that I CAN taste to this day!

This had the taste of the base lemon cake. Mmm. I CAN see drinking a mess of these on a hot Summer's day. Finish was semi-dry so if you don't like bone-dry, such as the Union Skipjack BoHo Pils, then this will be more your speed. Mmm. YMMV.

From the can, pours a clear golden straw color and a large frothy head with good retention.

A clean aroma opens with hoppy notes of grass and bright citrus. The malt aroma evokes bread and lightly toasted straw.

First impression of the taste reveal the hops forward and assertive bitterness of this beer. Flavors of lemon, grass and strong earthy spices balance well with the firm cracker, doughy and bready malt backbone.

Light bodied, crisp and lively carbonation. The finish is crisp, dry and bitter.

This is my 2nd beer from this brewery and I’m thus far impressed. Straight forward, finely crafted and very refreshing.

 

 

 

 

 

Pilsners are my preferred style for weekly fridge stocking, and this is one of my favorites. Hits all the right notes and at 5.3% ABV, it is perfect for extended sessions. Likely not widely available given the size of the brewery, so if you see this one, grab it. Perfect for serving to a crowd of friends.