Schonramer Pils | Private Landbrauerei Schönram
Brewed by:
Private Landbrauerei Schönram
Germany
brauerei-schoenram.de
Style: German Pilsener
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.40%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by DogFood11 on 03-15-2006
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 96 | Reviews: 45
4.34/5 rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
I was at Hunger & Thirst yesterday for a hoppy beer event & when I made a tour through the bottle shop, I saw this 500-ml bottle at a VERY attractive price point. I had drank one on draft over there once before, but since I seldom do field reviews any more, this seemed like a good one to bring home.
From the bottle: "Brewed According to the Reinheitsgebot of 1516"; "The Big Beer From the Little Brewery"; "Since 1780"; "Brewed exclusively with the finest Spalter and Hallertauer aroma hops by the Private Landbrauerei Schönram".
Having Pop!ped the cap & with a Pilsener glass at the ready, I gave it a heavy-handed pour. This raised two-plus fingers of dense, puffy, bone-white head with excellent retention. Color was a Pale-Straw (SRM = 1 - 2) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was an interesting combination of cattiness & grassiness, but as a self-avowed, self-described hophead, my mouth was watering in anticipation. Mouthfeel was medium, actually kind of big for the style. The taste was less catty than on the nose, very grassy, but with a lemony biscuitiness, undoubtedly from the malt. This was really close to being a Czech Pils, IMHO, but I was fine with it. Finish was semi-dry and very refreshing. I would be elated to find out that they also CAN this one. It would be great on a hot summer's day.
1,315 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
I was at Hunger & Thirst yesterday for a hoppy beer event & when I made a tour through the bottle shop, I saw this 500-ml bottle at a VERY attractive price point. I had drank one on draft over there once before, but since I seldom do field reviews any more, this seemed like a good one to bring home.
From the bottle: "Brewed According to the Reinheitsgebot of 1516"; "The Big Beer From the Little Brewery"; "Since 1780"; "Brewed exclusively with the finest Spalter and Hallertauer aroma hops by the Private Landbrauerei Schönram".
Having Pop!ped the cap & with a Pilsener glass at the ready, I gave it a heavy-handed pour. This raised two-plus fingers of dense, puffy, bone-white head with excellent retention. Color was a Pale-Straw (SRM = 1 - 2) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was an interesting combination of cattiness & grassiness, but as a self-avowed, self-described hophead, my mouth was watering in anticipation. Mouthfeel was medium, actually kind of big for the style. The taste was less catty than on the nose, very grassy, but with a lemony biscuitiness, undoubtedly from the malt. This was really close to being a Czech Pils, IMHO, but I was fine with it. Finish was semi-dry and very refreshing. I would be elated to find out that they also CAN this one. It would be great on a hot summer's day.
1,315 characters
3.53/5 rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
2.5/5 rDev -35.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25
BOTTLE: Purchased at Ambrosetti in Berlin. Best before: 26.05.16. 500ml. Brown glass. Traditional German label (with cliche Bavarian font). Branded pry-off crown cap.
Served chilled into a pilsner glass. Expectations are high given this brewery's reputation, though this is my first Schonramer beer. Reviewed live as a German pilsner for obvious reasons.
5.0% ABV.
HEAD: ~10+ cm wide. White colour. Quite frothy (to style). Average thickness. Has a decent consistency and complexion. Leaves cobwebby lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes, which take a good ~4 minutes (not great retention for a pilsner, but certainly above average).
BODY: To style, it's a clear straw yellow. Vibrance is merely average. Clean, with no visible yeast or other particulate.
Appears well-carbonated. It's a classic conventional pilsner appearance, but certainly more vibrance, better retention, and a softer looking head would improve its liveliness.
AROMA: Soft. Straw, pilsner malts, naunced Noble hop grassiness, a kiss of herb (also from Noble hops), and even a hint of kellerbier-esque must.
Suggests a crisp, clean pilsner with a surprisingly varied and subtle hop presence. Aromatic intensity is average.
The absence of esters indicates cleanly attenuating lager yeast, though no overt yeast notes are present (to style). I find no off-notes or any of the usual pilsner pitfalls (e.g. metallic character).
TASTE & TEXTURE: The promises of the aroma go unfulfilled; this offers only a generic grassy hop profile in addition to somewhat stale pilsner malts. The texture is quite poor however, bordering on buttery and certainly artificial. Not the crisp, clean presence on the palate you'd want in a great pilsner. And coupled with the cheap malt sweetness at the heart of the beer, the effect is off-putting. It comes off more as a Euro pale lager than a proper pilsner. Too sweet to be balanced, though I can't tell if the problem is the malt bill or the yeast attenuation. Maybe they fermented too cold?
Simplistic and cheap-tasting. It's a shame...the aroma suggested a vastly superior brew.
OVERALL: A big disappointment, especially as my first Schonramer beer. I love a great pilsner, but unfortunately one of those this be not. I'd caution others against purchasing it, and given Schonramer's high reputation (and this beer's current 87 rating - which is high for a pilsner amongst BeerAdvocate's American-centric member base) I have to wonder if I even got a bad bottle - but then I remember I bought this at Ambrosetti, a store pretty well regarded here in Berlin. I'll finish the bottle, but it's largely unpleasant.
High D+ (2.50) / NOT RECOMMENDED
2,666 characters
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25
BOTTLE: Purchased at Ambrosetti in Berlin. Best before: 26.05.16. 500ml. Brown glass. Traditional German label (with cliche Bavarian font). Branded pry-off crown cap.
Served chilled into a pilsner glass. Expectations are high given this brewery's reputation, though this is my first Schonramer beer. Reviewed live as a German pilsner for obvious reasons.
5.0% ABV.
HEAD: ~10+ cm wide. White colour. Quite frothy (to style). Average thickness. Has a decent consistency and complexion. Leaves cobwebby lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes, which take a good ~4 minutes (not great retention for a pilsner, but certainly above average).
BODY: To style, it's a clear straw yellow. Vibrance is merely average. Clean, with no visible yeast or other particulate.
Appears well-carbonated. It's a classic conventional pilsner appearance, but certainly more vibrance, better retention, and a softer looking head would improve its liveliness.
AROMA: Soft. Straw, pilsner malts, naunced Noble hop grassiness, a kiss of herb (also from Noble hops), and even a hint of kellerbier-esque must.
Suggests a crisp, clean pilsner with a surprisingly varied and subtle hop presence. Aromatic intensity is average.
The absence of esters indicates cleanly attenuating lager yeast, though no overt yeast notes are present (to style). I find no off-notes or any of the usual pilsner pitfalls (e.g. metallic character).
TASTE & TEXTURE: The promises of the aroma go unfulfilled; this offers only a generic grassy hop profile in addition to somewhat stale pilsner malts. The texture is quite poor however, bordering on buttery and certainly artificial. Not the crisp, clean presence on the palate you'd want in a great pilsner. And coupled with the cheap malt sweetness at the heart of the beer, the effect is off-putting. It comes off more as a Euro pale lager than a proper pilsner. Too sweet to be balanced, though I can't tell if the problem is the malt bill or the yeast attenuation. Maybe they fermented too cold?
Simplistic and cheap-tasting. It's a shame...the aroma suggested a vastly superior brew.
OVERALL: A big disappointment, especially as my first Schonramer beer. I love a great pilsner, but unfortunately one of those this be not. I'd caution others against purchasing it, and given Schonramer's high reputation (and this beer's current 87 rating - which is high for a pilsner amongst BeerAdvocate's American-centric member base) I have to wonder if I even got a bad bottle - but then I remember I bought this at Ambrosetti, a store pretty well regarded here in Berlin. I'll finish the bottle, but it's largely unpleasant.
High D+ (2.50) / NOT RECOMMENDED
2,666 characters
4.25/5 rDev +9.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
3.08/5 rDev -20.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
4.31/5 rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
3.52/5 rDev -9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.25/5 rDev -16%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Schönramer Pils has a very thick, frothy, white head, a hazy, straw appearance, with some ascending bubbles, and heavy and impressive lacing left on the glass. The aroma is of sweet, mild cracker, and the flavor is of white bread, sweet malt, and fairly prominent, grassy hop bitterness. Mouthfeel is light to medium, and Schönramer Pils finishes crisp and refreshing.
RJT
376 characters
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Schönramer Pils has a very thick, frothy, white head, a hazy, straw appearance, with some ascending bubbles, and heavy and impressive lacing left on the glass. The aroma is of sweet, mild cracker, and the flavor is of white bread, sweet malt, and fairly prominent, grassy hop bitterness. Mouthfeel is light to medium, and Schönramer Pils finishes crisp and refreshing.
RJT
376 characters
3.75/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.11/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
L:
-pours a clear straw-golden with a medium,frothy,white head
-high carbonation visible
S:
-spicy,honey,biscuits,floral,milky,bready,nettles
T:
-spices,bread,grassy,lemon zest,biscuits,some sweet yeast esters
F:
-medium-high carbonation,medium body
-quite bitter for the style
O:
Great German Pils
298 characters
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
L:
-pours a clear straw-golden with a medium,frothy,white head
-high carbonation visible
S:
-spicy,honey,biscuits,floral,milky,bready,nettles
T:
-spices,bread,grassy,lemon zest,biscuits,some sweet yeast esters
F:
-medium-high carbonation,medium body
-quite bitter for the style
O:
Great German Pils
298 characters
4.15/5 rDev +7.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
3.77/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a bottle into a shaker pint, the beer is a pale, straw gold coloring, with a slow flow of carbonation throughout the body and a fluffy, clingy, bright white head. Aromas of toasted grains in the backbone, subtle notes of honey, pepper spice, floral hops, and some piney notes. Flavors are bitter and toasted forward, with crisp and piney hops notes on a cracker backbone, with some subtle sweet notes of honey and floral highlights. The body is full, but crisp and slightly dry, making this amazingly drinkable. The aftertaste is more of the toasted notes, with a subtle lingering bitterness. The finish is dry and clean. Solid brew.
645 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a bottle into a shaker pint, the beer is a pale, straw gold coloring, with a slow flow of carbonation throughout the body and a fluffy, clingy, bright white head. Aromas of toasted grains in the backbone, subtle notes of honey, pepper spice, floral hops, and some piney notes. Flavors are bitter and toasted forward, with crisp and piney hops notes on a cracker backbone, with some subtle sweet notes of honey and floral highlights. The body is full, but crisp and slightly dry, making this amazingly drinkable. The aftertaste is more of the toasted notes, with a subtle lingering bitterness. The finish is dry and clean. Solid brew.
645 characters
3.77/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.09/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
3.76/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Schonramer Pils from Private Landbrauerei Schönram
3.87
out of 5
based on 96 ratings.
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75