Vltava
Counter Weight Brewing Company

 

Appearance: Arrives a clear golden color with a head that is just a bit too tall for a brewery pout; excellent lacing action

Smell: Bready and grassy but somewhat faint

Taste: Bready flavors forward with a grassy element emerging; the finish is a bit too malty

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate to high carbonation

Overall: Not as crisp and hoppy as I would like to see for this style

Poured from a 16oz can dated 2/14/22 to a Pilz glass at fridge temp.
The body pours a clear light gold color. A decent white head sits on top. The head fades quickly though and further lacing is moderate. Tiny nucleated bubbles rise through the body during the entire session.
The aroma is of composting grass with a bready, biscuit note.
Taste is similar with a subtle malt finish.
The mouth feel is crisp but a little oily.
Overall good but not comparable to the best in this style.

Canned: 02/14/22

L: The beer pours a straw to pale gold color with a minimal haze. The pour results in a finger of fine, white head with a bit of retention. After a minute or two the head falls to a 3 mm ring around the glass with a less substantial sheet occupying the interior of the glass. As the beer is drained a light spotty lacing is left on the glass.

S: Prominent bready cereal grain, light notes of grass, just a bit of noble hop spice, and a light yeastiness.

T: Herbal notes, rich bready malt character, light notes of citrus peel, and noble hop spice. This one has a nice medium bitterness.

F: Medium bodied with medium carbonation. The finish has a nice light dryness.

O: This is a great example of the style. This has a good interplay between the hops and malt, but edges towards being malt forward. Counterweight really does an amazing job with their lagers and this one is no exception. The malt bill really shines here and is comparable to the continental examples I have tasted. Highly recommended!

A: crystal clear; pale gold in color; 1+ finger finely pored ivory head that receded to a wispy cap; nice lacing;

S: light malt, a little grass, and a little lemon;

T: a balance between light malt, grass, and lemon from start to finish; mild to moderate bitterness at the end;

M: light to medium bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: refreshing; easy drinking; more complexity than many pilsners;

Sampling a chilled can picked up from the brewery.
Pouring into my beer mug, the beer is a very light and bright straw yellow color with very active streams of carbonation rising towards the surface. A fluffy and frothy bleached white head of 2 cm foams up and keeps me from emptying the 16oz into my glass in one pour. This head fades quickly leaving large pockmarking craters on the surface.
Aroma is some grainy and scone dough malt scents, a little bit of lemony note and some hay or straw. I get some herbal tea hops balancing this out. Nose is good and clean and matches up with what to expect from the style.
First sip reveals a clean and crisp textured body with fine and tingly carbonation. Easy drinking physical traits on this beer.
Flavor is what I expect for the style and what the nose tells me to look for up front.
The start is some sweet grainy toasted biscuit or scone dough maltiness. I get a bit of a sweeter note here than on the nose, but this rolls to an herbal unsweetened tea hit that has a little bite. The finish also really dries out and asks me to take another sip.
QUite a crushable, clean beer. Glad I picked this up at the brewery.

16oz can. Pours a clear, very light yellow color with an inch of frothy head. Some lacing. Malty, bready aroma with hay and some herbal hops. The taste is lots of the Pilsner malt flavor along with some dough, hay, cut grass and herbal/spicy hops. Malts and bread crust finish with a bit more herbal hop bite. Light to medium body with a creamy mouthfeel.