Light
The Alchemist

LightLight
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From:
The Alchemist
 
Vermont, United States
Style:
German Pilsner
Ranked #25
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
91
Ranked #6,644
Avg:
4.13 | pDev: 5.57%
Reviews:
20
Ratings:
44
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 14, 2024
Added:
Oct 09, 2018
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by musicsherlock:
Photo of musicsherlock
Reviewed by musicsherlock from New York

3.64/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
straw yellow to golden with a chill haze
billowy white two finger head that lingers
mild bananas, straw, and grass
Sweet!...too sweet
cloying
damn near a drain pour
Go with Suarez, Crossroads, or Pivo Pils first
Oct 29, 2019
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.14 by AlpacaAlpaca from New York

Feb 14, 2024
Photo of cyclonece09
Reviewed by cyclonece09 from Wisconsin

3.94/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a can into a pint glass. Pours hazy yellow with a fluffy white head. Smells of sweet wheat predominately. Tastes of wheat and sweet grain. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, a very good beer.
Aug 04, 2023
Photo of superpete93
Reviewed by superpete93 from New Hampshire

4.67/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Great Pilsner. Pours a beautifully hazy yellow, nice head (2 fingers of so) and tastes like malty goodness with a touch of hops. One of my favorites!
May 07, 2023
 
Rated: 4.13 by HarlotBronte from District of Columbia

Jan 29, 2023
Photo of BEERchitect
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

4.12/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Largely responsible for turning bitter IPA into something more aromatic, hazy, flavorful and smooth, The Alchemist looks to transform the Pilsner in much the same way.

Simply put, Light pours an uncharacteristic strong hazy appearance before crowning with a dense and creamy froth. As a floral scent of flowery bouquet, nectar-rich fruits, botanical grasses and a soft baking bread drift onto the nose, the first sip is also bready but with accompanying honeysuckle, powdered sugar and vanilla that evaporate effortlessly from the early palate.

Remaining plump with cereal and bready flavors, the soft undercurrent of grains provide a pillow of creamy starches for the hops to skirt gently above. What was floral turns spicy with hops and their more grassy, herbal, leafy impressions. Bitter enough to offset the linger of grain sweetness, the late palate leaves the character of tea, mint, lemon pepper and verbena on the tongue.

Medium bodied but also finishing crisp, drying and quite refreshing, this new take on Pilsner offers a much more plump impression but also delivers more of the promised aroma and flavor in return.
Nov 03, 2022
 
Rated: 4.38 by mattmarka1 from Minnesota

Aug 04, 2022
Photo of smcolw
Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This is, perhaps, the most "yellow" beer I've seen, slightly off from straw. There's a light haze. Strong four finger initial head. It recedes slowly and in a lumpy fashion. Plentiful ring lacing after each sip.

Excellent aroma of the palest of malts with only a touch of raw grain. The hop bouquet is floral with a bit of spice. Well blended.

The malt is soft but never gets overrun by the hop bitterness. Slightly higher body with ample carbonation. The finish becomes bitter but retains some of the sweetness from the start. Still, there's a lengthy aftertaste. Overall, this is a solid entry for an American made Pilsner which belies what the name, "Light", has come to represent in America.
Jul 22, 2022
 
Rated: 4.1 by swierczt from Connecticut

Jul 10, 2022
Photo of thebeers
Reviewed by thebeers from Pennsylvania

4.01/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Hazy pale yellow with two fingers of yellowed foam head. Solid retention and soap bubble lacing.

Straw and maybe a little citrus in a relatively clean nose.

A hint of lemon carries over to the taste. Maybe a hint of water cracker mid-palate. Clean, fairly bitter finish.

Soft, medium-bodied feel with sharp carbonation.

Very quaffable. Flavorful without being off balanced. Nice bitterness, too.
Jul 02, 2022
Photo of Alieniloquium
Reviewed by Alieniloquium from Florida

3.95/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
16 oz. can. Cloudy pale orange. Smells floral with some light grass and lemony hops. Tastes aggressively spicy, herbal, grassy. Sweet bready malt and floral hops in the middle and back end. Lingering earthy bitterness. Medium light, easy to drink. Aggressive and certainly not any sort of traditional Pilsner, but very tasty either way.
Jun 18, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by smartassboiler from Illinois

Jun 04, 2022
 
Rated: 3.8 by Mwt from New Hampshire

May 13, 2022
Photo of ryan1788a5
Reviewed by ryan1788a5 from Massachusetts

3.84/5  rDev -7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
16oz can poured into a lager glass.

A: Dull golden color with good clarity. Huge creamy white head never budges, plenty of clumpy and sticky lacing.

S: Plenty of doughy pilsner malt, green grass clippings, kaffir lime leaf and lime zest, floral.

T: Green and grassy hops on the attack. Plenty herbal with a stiff and clamping bitterness. Pithy, lots of lime and lemon rind. Floral. Doughy pilsner malt character underneath, but the hops are firmly in the driver's seat throughout. Long, lime-y and bitter hop finish.

M: Light bodied with some round malt texture and a sense of soft creaminess. Fluffy. Hop oils leave some astringency. Ample prickling carbonation.

O: It feels like a jacked up American take on a German Pils, and far more hop-centric than expected. Mostly because of that, it isn't the most more-ish and readily drinkable pils out there. It's one I'd rather enjoy with food, and I'd pair it right up with a good Thai curry.
Nov 14, 2021
Photo of Sabtos
Reviewed by Sabtos from Ohio

4.38/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 1 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
It's too bad I can't actually look at the beer, considering we're only allowed to drink from the can at the source, but what I can see is quite the puffy white foam billowing from the popped top.

Aroma, at least, is that which I can perceive from an exhale, and is quite enticing at that.

Light is right in regards to the wonderful malt expression I get just out of the can. While I'm not a fan of not being able to pour it, that's always been their schtick back since the fish food days, so it's funny to be forced into it on-site in the year of our lerd 2021.

Either way, this is a great semi-bitter crusher, especially after doing a few hikes in the foggy, drizzly autumn forests of Mt. Mansfield.

Insanely fluffy for a pils, the round and filling body also exhibits a sort of toasted Peru corns character, accented by a grassy allium and heart of romaine bitterness.

Great balance and complexity.
Oct 20, 2021
 
Rated: 3.98 by SadMachine from New Jersey

Aug 17, 2021
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

3.96/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Can purchased and drank at the Alchemist Welcome Center in Stowe, VT.

This smells like floral hops, crackery malts, and lemon.

This is pretty solid coming from a very hop-centric brewery. I want a bit more complex malt character, but the hop character is lemony, spicy, and floral, and very tasty.

This is crisp, and very, very clean, with a very nice drinkability.

This definitely hits the spot on a hot day. It makes me definitely want to try Alchemist Dark as well.
Jul 10, 2021
 
Rated: 4.08 by brandonld23 from Massachusetts

Jul 03, 2021
Photo of Tucquan
Reviewed by Tucquan from Pennsylvania

4.06/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Had this on 2021-03-12 near Pittsburgh, PA from a 16oz canned in January, 2021

A - Partially hazy straw color with a 3-finger white head and very good lace

S - Very floral at first, then delicate rising white bread and a honey aroma to finish. Smells great.

T - Lemon, cracker, grassy. Bolder and tarter than suggested by the aroma. Noble hop flavors vie with lemon zest in the finish. I could have used more sweetness at the end to dampen the lingering bitterness.

M - Light-medium body and medium carbonation. Very dry.

O - A good Pilsner with many of the classic German elements. It's a bold rather than subdued brew. Refreshing after almost 10 miles of hiking today
Mar 12, 2021
Photo of angrybabboon
Reviewed by angrybabboon from Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Consumed 2/11/21

Golden yellow, clear, medium white head, fades to a wispy cap, retains a small collar
Pale grains, pale malts, light bread, lots of grassy, herbal, and lightly spicy hops, medium bitterness, an above-average amount of malty sweetness (for the style), a touch of honey-like sweetness, lager yeast flavors, lingering grass
On the light side of a medium body, mostly crisp, medium carbonation

I've been meaning to sit down and review a can of this for months. Light is very good but not particularly surprising given its lineage. The recipe seems to be inspired by the usual IPA protocol for The Alchemist, which is, in a word, aggression. This is not a "delicate" pilsner. It's aggressively hopped and is slightly more malty to balance, but I would have preferred less grass and less sweetness.
Feb 12, 2021
Light from The Alchemist
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 44 ratings