Keller Pils
August Schell Brewing Company

050721 on bottom of can. Poured into a shaker pint.

A: Hazy golden with 1-2 fingers of foamy off-white head with decent retention and scraps of lacing.

S: Fruity aroma of lemon-lime with milder floral hop notes. Pils maltiness is cereal grains.

T: Flavor is very fruity, related in part to Calista hops lemon-lime character but also I think the fermentation is not quite right. Pils cereal maltiness is not overly sweet and works well with the fruity hop character. Crushable for sure. Low bitterness.

M: Not nearly crisp or dry enough, body also lacks definition of a lager. Light body with moderate carbonation and has the feel of an ale.

O: An inoffensive easy to drink beer but doesn't really check a lot of lager boxes for me.

 

Appearance: Pours a golden color that is fairly clear with a 40% haze. A mild, white, fizzy head. SRM of 6-7 in the sunlight. (3.75)

Aroma: Grapefruit & peach with hints of tropical fruit on the aroma. Lots of peach, grapefruit suds, lemon, orange, and melon. With some herbs. American hops. Grapefruit, peach, and maybe berry? stand out the most. (4.50)

Flavor: The flavor takes you on a rollercoaster ride. It's evolving. First you get tropical fruit similar to the nose. Lots of tropical fruity hops of lemon, peach, grapefruit, green grape, & honeydew melon as described above. Then it takes a turn. A huge drying yeast component kicks in that is dry and astringent. A solid amount of bitterness too. Some lemon honeysuckle & wheat grain malts peek though, but it finishes fairly astringent & dry. (4.50)

Feel: Medium-bodied. Slightly heavier for the pilsner style I suppose. Huge yeasty mouthfeel that leaves astringent and bitterness on the palate. (4.00)

Compared to Guitar Face from Magic Hat: Pours a much lighter and clearer color. More aromas of peach and tropical fruit. Less lemon, pear, and white wine. Similar body, but slightly more carbonation. Finishes with more of a yeasty, drying bitterness than a floral one.

Compared to Summit Brewing Keller Pils 4/18/20: Pours an identical color with a smaller head. Stronger aromas. More grapefruit & peach flavors. More honey. Less wheat and lemon citrus. A cleaner body and finishes lighter & sweeter. Not quite as good of a body or to style as Summit Brewing, but this one is still delicious. Winner: Summit Brewing

Compared to Founder's Solid Gold 8/1/20: More citrusy aromas. Less malty & creamy. Less rich.

Compared to Surly Hell Lager 8/1/20: More citrusy and fruity aromas of peach and soap. More citrus overall. Less lemonflower & wheat flour.

Compared to Founder's Solid Gold 8/1/20: Pours a lighter color. More citrus and suds. Less rich and creamy malts.

Overall: This beer is a perfect disguise. Looks like a pilsner, smells like a pale ale. Tastes like a traditional American wheat at first. There is a strong peach, lemon dish soap and white/green grape flavor. Then it smacks you with the unfiltered yeast astringency to pronounce this a Zwickel. A fantastic and unique mixing of styles. This beer is unique and extremely delicious. One of the best in the wheat category to date. Yet, you can't really classify it as only a wheat. I think this beer should pioneer a new style. A top notch quality beer here. I'm not a fan of wheat beers, but this stands among the best. (Final Rating: 4.35)
Compare to a peachy IPL

Very solid Keller pils, big and bright hops, grassy and citrus with a crackery malt backbone. The mouthfeel is super effervescent with tons of carbonation. Will be buying this again.

12oz can. Best by date stamped on can bottom is '012820'.
Unfiltered, straw colored body. One finger of white head, which settles down to a thin cap and ring. Leaves behind scattered spots of lacing.
Aroma of citrus and berries.
Taste is a solid base of cracker malts, along with a good chunk of hops that tighten the tongue and provide a little bitterness at the end.
Medium mouth feel. Very good carbonation.
A dry pilsner with solid contributions from the hops.

Pours a very light yellow colour, smell is earthy, almost grassy. Taste follows smell, with a grassy, carbonated, almost weird carbonation taste. Not bad, but not one to seek out.

 

 

Poured from a 12 ounce can into a Shaker pint glass, "best by" date "071819".

APPEARANCE: pours a slightly hazy, light yellow color with less than one-finger white head that quickly dissipated until a thin, broken layer of small bubbles remained, there is light lacing on the glass, medium carbonation.

SMELL: bread, fruity citrus and an earthy dank note.

TASTE: the taste follows the nose, initially sweet and fruity then bread and an earthy taste.

PALATE: a fuller body for the style and medium carbonation.

OVERALL: this is very different from traditional pilsener so it may be offputting to some but I thought this was a tasty beer and would have it again no problem.

 

Clean this is. Strong streak of bitterness tones down some as it warms, but a sharpness throughout and a sharpness in the bite too. Initial dough like aroma but followed by a light floral and citrus hop presence. Also some clean malt. Largely clear for an unfiltered brew. Golden yellow with bubbles arising. Nice very white head.
Boy there is a carbonic bite on this. Full of bubbles too. Smooth malt at first and then the soft hop flavors are followed by the clear streak of bitterness.
Some nice hop flavors beyond the traditional noble hops. A nice shot of fruit and citrus are included. Soft and delicate like the herbal and floral ones.
As I think of some of my favorite German Pils they had a little more malt character and blended a little better.

Can with EB date of May 30, 2019. The aroma is slight biscuit and a pretty decent dose of fruity hops. Like the label says this is crisp and dry, and while the hops are there in the flavor they aren't as prominent as I would expect based on the aroma. It's unfiltered but clear, not a bit cloudy. Great Pils from Schell's, so glad this is a year-round offering from them. It's beautiful.

S: Medium floral, grassy hops, traces of DMS, and traces of diacetyl.M edium low yeast and malt aromas.

L: Pours hazy straw under a white to off-white foam cap with a very fine bead and good retention. Streams of fine bubbles rapidly rise to the surface to refresh the cap.

T: The palate starts with moderate grainy to cracker malt flavors, a moderate to moderate high hop bitterness, moderate hop flavor, moderate green apple, moderately low DMS, and low diacetyl. The yeast flavors are medium to medium low.

F: Keller Pils finishes crisp and dry with a malty hoppy aftertaste with moderately low linger. It has medium body and carbonation.

 

A very hazy lemon in color with an inch of foamy white head. Very mild grassy notes in the aroma. Crackers, or biscuits, and a mellow amount of citrus, mostly lemon. Like lemon drop candy. Basically same in the flavor, there is a bit of pleasant bitterness that comes out mid way through the sip. Spotty lacing down the glass. A good amount of biscuit malt, lemon, and a building mild bitterness. Well carbonated, medium thin body, a little slick up front and drier on the finish. Not a bad brew at all.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a chalice.

Appearance: Pours a bright yellowish orange. Moderate amount of bubbles and a big two finger white head that settles into a thin creamy patch.

Smell: A bready and juicy aroma with some biscuit malt and grassy hops. Malt scent of biscuit, cracker, and grains with some yeast. Good scent of grassy hops. Citrus hop hints of orange and lemon zest. Pretty solid aroma.

Taste: Like it smells, a bready and grassy balanced taste with some biscuit, grass, and citrus. Bready malt notes of biscuit, grains, and cracker with some yeast. Grassy hops along with some citrus notes of orange and lemon zest. A pretty nice taste.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Crisp and very smooth.

Overall: A very solid hopped up Pilsner. Nice mix of biscuit malt, grass, and citrus notes.

 

 

Hazy straw color with a finger of solid head. Aroma that reminds me of snus. Notes of tobacco and spearmint. Compared to Schell's Pils, this is much drier and more hoppy but the bitterness is not overbearing. I like it a lot. Notes of grain, wood, and mint. Light body and lively carbonation that pairs well with this light, crisp beer.