Rancho Cowabunga
Grains of Wrath

Clear golden amber brew with long-lasting foam in the Maredsous goblet. Lush and sudsy on the tongue. Rather sweet, and very fruity in an appealing way. Flavors of mango and orange with a hint of onion. This is really different from any other Pilsner I've encountered. It's more of an IPA with the sweetness and the big fruit. Still, it's a pleasurable hoppy beer with a little less alcohol than the typical IPA. From the 16 oz can purchased at Elizabeth Station. Dated 11/27/24.

16oz can

Pours two fingers of fluffy white head into a Willi. Retention is great, and a finger of head still remains after a few minutes. Lacing is fabulous. Body is golden, slightly cloudy, with no real nucleation. Looks really nice.

Nose is very big, dank, and tropical. Notes of orange marmalade, pineapple, and papaya. Smells wonderful.

Taste is much the same. Dank mixed with tropical. Super flavorful.

Carbonation is medium. Body is also medium, bigger than a Pilsner should be. Bitterness is elevated, also higher than I would like for the style, even a west coast. Sweet perception from the hops, but this is relatively dry. Overall the mouthfeel is a little too thick and bitter, especially for the style, it seems bright at first but that fades.

Drinkability is ok.

Overall very flavorful but the beer gets a little sticky after a while, not crisp like you would want in a Pilsner. It’s a tasty IPA, there are zero Pilsner characteristics here.

Had this beer today at Playmakers Taphouse in Vancouver. Pour a nice clear golden color with a small head. Aroma is malt, sweetness and grains with a hint of citrus. Taste is standard pilsner with a fair amount of hops. Well balanced beer and very enjoyable. Quite different than most Pilsners. Rated 8-3-2024

another well executed beer in a cool style from these guys, west coast pils here and quite hoppy, although without insane backend bitterness, flavorful yet still drinkable, which i think is important as long as we are calling these pils at the end of the day, we have to retain that, unless we go back to calling them cold ipa types, in which case i think it matters less, but this one is so obviously made with crispy pils malt that it fits, and its somewhat new school to me on the hop profile, pleasant beer top to bottom, ideal for hot summer weather. blonde colored and a little off from full clarity but still pretty bright. the nose and taste drip with ripe melon and papaya, tropical as these go but still with some higher alpha varietal punch, just never quite ramps as high as it seems like its going to. pungent then on the hop side but not a palate crusher, and with great flavor balance from the grainy earthy pils malt, somewhat european to me in this. its balanced yes but it comes in waves, the grain is up front, dry but distinctive, while the hops and the lager yeast are later, snappy overall, with late bite. hops stay tropical, green melon rind, light floral honey, navel orange and its zest, delicious and plenty fresh. a little late dankness driving home the west coast thing, but nothing is overbearing here. good carbonation, some heft as these go, but interesting enough to drink quick. i drink their beer too infrequently, its pretty much always interesting and good!