R & R Pils
Rainier Beer Company

 

 

 

22oz bottle served pin a tall pilsner glass, because why not. Beer is pale yellow golden in color and very fizzy, with a thick white head, and a crisp, grassy, fresh hop aroma. Smells pretty good actually. First sip is aggressive carbonated and sharp on the palate. Hop flavor is confined to the back of the palate and the aftertaste, while the body of the beer has kind of a creamy sweetness not entirely unlike malt liquor. But setting aside the carbonation, which I find heavy even for the style, this is quite enjoyable. Not super flavorful, and it definitely doesn't have the crisp Saaz thing that a good Czech pilsner should, but it is clean and tasty. You can be damn sure I'd rather have this than a Rainier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a light to medium golden amber with two finger white head with good retention and lost of lacing. Aroma of grainy biscuit malt, grassy hops and a hint of lemon; lightly spicy. Flavor is grainy biscuit malt, grain husks, continental grassy hops, slight lemon, taste tapers off into an attenuated finish, with light grassy hops. Light to medium bodied. The malt and hop profiles are faithful to the German pilsner style, but the flavor really falls off in the finish, tasting almost a little watered down. I wanted to be impressed with this, as there seemed to be promise in the revived Rainier Pale Mountain Ale they brought out last year and Reuben's collaboration, but this just misses the mark. The flavors are all there, but muted with a bland finish. Certainly a step up from the blandness that old Rainier Ale has become, but not really a contender as a domestic pilsner.