Bohemian Riot
Arches Brewing

 

Appearance: Clear deep gold. Frothy white head with very good retention. Fast rising bubbles.

Aroma: Pronounced floral/spicy aroma.

Flavor: Big spicy hops with bready malt note. Moderate bitterness. Moderate sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied. Soft with a clean, crisp moderate length finish.

Overall: Reviewing vs other Bohemian Pilsners. Pours to a gorgeous, clear deep gold color forming a big frothy white head with very good retention. Big spicy hops aroma and flavor, which make it obvious a load of Saaz hops was used. Sweet malt backbone but finishes fairly dry. Nice soft body. Clean crisp finish with trailing bitterness. I think this is one of Arches Brewing's best beers. About as close as you can get to Pilsner Urquell. It's loaded with Saaz hops, which I personally love. Good looking beer in the glass. Demonstrates good head retention. Made with maltings from Riverbend Malt House in NC. Good quality ingredients. Good attention to water chemistry and careful brewing are obvious. Very well crafted.

 

Before I get started let me say that I was pleasantly surprised by this offering from Arches Brewing, so much so that I have gone through almost four cases at the time of this writing. With that said it pours a beautiful clear deep gold producing 2-3 fingers of frothy, somewhat lasting, bone white head that diminishes to a nice, lasting surface cap and collar with scattered wisps of lace. Aroma is clean and bready with a hint of cereal; the hops in character with Saaz are herbal and faintly spicy. A little on the delicate side the aroma diminishes in intensity as you drink. Taste is sweet malt bready (but not too much so), herbal, honey and grassy with a pleasant and lingering but delicate bitterness. The malt is the highlight of this beer and a fine one it is. Simple and straight forward, it's not complex but well made. Mouthfeel is clean and smooth with a body that is on the high side of moderate. Moderately carbonated. Slightly dry with a thin spicy prickle it has nice weight on the tongue. A pure delight, it's more reminiscent of a Vienna lager than a Cezch pilsner. Touche Arches!

Ehh it’s alright. I enjoyed it but I was expecting a little bit better flavor and the best part was the feel which isn’t exactly what I’m looking for in a beer. The feel is important but not the most crucial aspect.