Kinabik Pilsner
Snake Lake Brewing Company

Can purchased and drank at Where the Buffalo Roam in Canmore, Alberta.



This one pours a fairly clear golden yellow color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells fairly crackery, with some grassy hops, lemon rind, and some doughiness.

This is really pleasant and pretty well done, overall. There’s a pleasant crackery and doughy maltiness – not too sweet, just rich enough to stand up to the bitter lemony and grassy hop character. It’s quite well balanced.

This is light bodied, crisp and very clean, with a very good drinkability.

Kinabik Pilsner is crystal clear and pale amber in color, much like the color of ripe wheat. The head is rocky, bone white, and lasting.
Taking a sniff, Kinabik’s aroma starts off with a mild graininess reminding me of a combination of soda crackers and fresh baked bread. This leads into a slightly rounded center where I pick up the faintest hint of lemon candy. Aromas of bread come back in, giving some support to the beer’s nose, before leading into a finish where I pick up hints of peppercorn.
At first blush, Kinabik Pilsner is smooth, crisp, and just a little bit dry. Grainy flavors of soda crackers lead the charge before building slightly in the center. The center is where I get just a hint of fresh baked bread and a little bit of generic sweetness. Sweetness gives way quickly to grainy again, before moving into a finish that is dry and lasting, but not overpoweringly dry. Slightly dry finish blends easily with hints of bitter, European hops before fading into the background, leaving you ready for the next sip.
Kinabik Pilsner walks the line between being genuinely decent and only not bad. The best I can say about this beer, is that it’s enjoyable enough with nothing unfavorable to detract from the thought of drinking it. That being said, nothing about this beer really stands out for me in a positive manner, either. It’s one of those beers that I’d drink if someone else bought it for me, but probably wouldn’t burn many calories seeking it out for myself.

355ml can poured into pint glass.

Pours a clear straw yellow with two fingers of paper white head that leaves undersea cave formation lace as it recedes.

Smells of unsalted crackers, soft citrus zest, green apple and some nice grassy hops.

Tastes of more crackery malt, lemon and orange pith, mild green apple and more leafy, grassy hops.

Feels light and frothy. Light bodied with fizzy carbonation. Finishes dry.

Verdict: Recommended. Goes well with a Cubano sandwich.

 

 

 

355ml can - so named after the Cree word for the region, which when anglicized, became Snake Lake, due to, well, lots of snakes hanging around the lake at the time. Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?!! Anyways.

This beer pours a clear, bright medium golden yellow colour, with three chubby fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and somewhat bubbly off-white head, which leaves some decent layered cloud form lace around the glass as it slowly but surely dissipates.

It smells of grainy and crackery cereal malt, a bit of lemon/orange citrus rind, some further white breadiness, faint petrol notes, and some earthy, leafy, and grassy green hop bitters. The taste is bready and doughy pale malt, saltine crackers, a small earthy yeastiness, some damp minerality, and more leafy, herbal, and grassy verdant hoppiness.

The carbonation is adequate in its palate-pinging frothiness, the body a solid middleweight, and generally smooth, with just a touch of hop astringency perhaps not playing well with the other children here. It finishes trending dry, the crackery malt and grassy hops leaning that way, as such.

Overall - this is a fairly well-rendered version of the style, nice and full of flavour, with a pleasant crispness that makes me want to go right back for more. This nascent brewing concern is more or less killing it, right out of the gate, which is always a great thing to see.

I am so pleased that central Alberta's newest brewery went with a pilsner as part of their core lineup. This beer is crisp and refreshing - the malt and hops do a nice dance to keep the flavor true to the German style. This is an extremely drinkable beer and I foresee purchasing many growlers of this on the way to Grandma's this summer! Prost!