Šipka
Solid Ground Brewing

 

fabulous pils here, done with kazbek hops, unique and uncommon for sure. this is really nicely refined, packed with flavor yet still a pounder, very good beer overall and i was impressed with the beers i had from these guys recently! honey colored beer with well over an inch of airy wispy weightless white head with good retention, real high carbonation, and an expansive aromatic palate that ranges from granola, wet minerality, and seed crackers on the grain side to spicy noble hop character that also teases lemon, nettles, and hay in high summer, neat yeast too, not super old worldy but plenty of contribution, good balance, freshness, and really pretty distinct. the flavor is great, somewhat more robust overall than a lot of these, like it has more taste than most, but its not heavy in any way. the grain is complex to me, unique in this style, could be some floor malted pils, could also be decocted or something, its very full spectrum, this base would make a fine saison in another life, rustic like that to me. the hops are all through it not just at the end, a hint of vanilla out of nowhere, then grass and tea, dried citrus, and proofing dough from the yeast, very compelling. its bitter but its balanced, its malty but its dry, and its complex but its easy, hard things to marry up, but this really does it. nice texture and overall quality. i am excited about solid ground after a couple of excellent beers!

 

 

This is a good beer. Beautiful color, smell, and feel, but I taste just a tiny tint of rubbing-alcohol aftertaste. Could be better, but still a good, drinkable beer. Bought at the Sacramento Natural Foods Coop in a 16 oz. can.