Kräußen Pils
Becher Bräu

Half liter vom fass at Manns Bräu in Bayreuth. A bright, hoppy Kellerbier with plenty of that funk and grain you look for in the style. A gorgeous golden yellow with a big head. Citrus and fruit really shine, one of more vibrant Kellers I’ve had. Tasty.

 

 

Appearance: golden yellow under a huge never-ending snow white head of super fine bubbles. It's clear as a bell, totally like a filtered beer; however, the bottle possesses a great deal of yeast sediment, so yes, it's truly unfiltered and likely conditioned post fermentation, eh?

Aroma: lots of toasty, Pils malt aroma, quite aromatic, but only a hint of hops in the background.

Flavor:
Up front: mmm... not much but tartness and a nice but smooth bitterness.
Middle: Pils malt flavors but also a much stronger bitterness settling on the tongue here with some more tartness. The sides of the middle is where the first sweetness of toasty, slight caramel Pils malt takes the fore, but with continued bitterness of a Noble hop. Again, this feels like a 30+ IBU beer, which I'm digging.
Back: Same as the regular Pils - "I get the Pils malt flavors, but as bready, more sweet and it's not as pleasant as Reh-pils. There's a little more bitterness and some tartness, too." The bitterness quality is quite strong and leads to a very refreshing flavor that mixes with the expected sweet Pils malts flavor.
Aftertaste: Tartness, bitterness mixed with toasty, sweet Pils malt qualities making a comeback.

Mouthfeel: Same as above for the regular Pils - "your usual German Pils thickness but even with the strong bitter flavors and slight tartness, it's not dry."

Overall: It's basically the same as their Pils, only all the flavor components are stronger and feel more vibrant, especially the bitterness aspect. Despite my seeming focus on bitterness, it's an extremely well balanced beer: very thick but still almost dry, bitter with enough Pils malt sweetness to not allow the former to overpower. Basically, if you like bitterness pushing and pulling you with your Pils malt sweetness, you'll love this beer. I like it, too. A 3.9 out of 5.