Schell's Fresh Hop Pils 2016: Cascade
August Schell Brewing Company

 

 

12 oz bottle Pours a clear yellow color with a fresh white head . smell is bready and slight dank with caramel malts . Crisp an clean dank and hoppy this lager is very easy to drink, always enjoy these every fall,

12oz brown bottle, sample from the brewery.

First off, I have some reservations on a "German Pils" using Cascade but coming from a brewery that knows a bit about lagers and such I'll give this a respectful try. Extremely pale with good lacing. Smells of fresh orangey Cascade hops with some bready malt backing. So much hop character that the pils character on the palate gets lots a bit, the crispness is there though. Very drinkable, would have been better off just calling it an American Pils with such a loud hop in use. Regardless, not a problem knocking this back.

 

Clear yellow/straw, strong carbonation, 1/2 inch creamy white head. Aroma is a nice mixture of bready malts and hops. Excellent flavor, earthy, very well balanced bready malts transitioning to a nice bittering in the clean finish. Smooth feel. Most fresh hops beers are ales, predominately IPAs. Leave it to Schell's to brew fresh hop lagers every year. This 2016 edition has wonderful pils flavor enhanced by the hops.

 

 

 

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a chalice.

Appearance: Pours a bright golden orange with a moderate amount of bubbles. Good finger of white head which settles into a thin creamy layer.

Smell: An earthy and bready aroma with a balance of Cascade hops and Pilsner malt. Earthy hop hints of grass and pine. Citrus hints of orange and lemon. Malt scent of biscuit, cracker, grains, and straw with lager yeast. A pretty nice aroma.

Taste: Like the aroma indicates, an earthy and bready balanced taste of Cascade hops and Pilsner malt. Earthy hop notes of pine and grass. Light citrus taste of orange peel and lemon. Malt notes of cracker, biscuit, straw, grains, and wheat along with some lager yeast. A very solid taste.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with a moderate level of carbonation. Crisp and fairly oily with a drying finish.

Overall: A very solid hopped up Pilsner. Nice balance of hop flavor with the bready Pils malt.

From a single into a pokal, this pours a clear pale gold with a big 2 finger white head and great lacing. This one grew on me a lot over 10 minutes or so...at first, though it looked great, it was a little disappointing for a fresh hopped beer, notwithstanding the differences to be expected with a lager. But then the things I like about Schell's regular pils started to show a bit more -- the grassy hops, the mineral water, the bready malt (though here it is a little more crackery and a little less doughy) -- though it is married to an interesting but not overly aggressive green, flowery, and slightly piney hoppiness that provides a really nice bitter edge from the middle to the end of the mouthful. It makes for a really nice pils, if a little more flowery (in a green way) than usual. Very crisp and very dry on the end. Really enjoying this one...wish I would have got more than just the single. Maybe I can find more!

 

 

 

This is a perfectly fine glass of German Pils, I'm just not certain how much the cascade added to the experience. It has a smooth bitterness with a long lingering finish. Nice mix of hops and malt in the taste, but nothing that makes it distinct from the cascade. Less doughy taste and aroma than in the past versions (and that may be a hop thing, maybe). Nice and clean. Good looking with a somewhat cloudy hay color.

Delicate but yet features the fresh Cascades greatly. Oily and resinous with notes of hop fields, citrus, and earth. Light body, easy drinking, a very nice pils indeed. I think this is their best fresh hop pils yet.

 

White head. Clear straw yellow color. Lace.

Bready malts. German pils flavor all around, but earthier and hoppier. Green with a light bitterness. Hop oil.

A very easy drinking pils. Great flavor.