Ott Edel-Pils
Brauerei Ott

From the bottle, it pours a light golden color with a modest head that sticks around a while. Grass and some breadiness in the nose. The mouth is delightfully assaulted by the light bitterness in the beer. It clears the palate and gets you ready for another! Yum!

2023 update: yum!

The Edel-Pils aus dem Leinleitertal from Brauerei Ott, a Gastwirtbrauerei in the town of Oberleinleiter, a part of Heiligenstadt i.OFr. (in Oberfranken), tiny towns east of Bamberg.

Appearance: The normal clear, deep golden, though brighter than many Pils, beer under a snow white foam head. I'm looking at the glass and noticing lots of long trails of bubbles streaming constantly up from hidden nucleation points on the inside of the glass.

Aroma: Strong Pils malt pushes its way into my senses with bready, toasty notes. You also get a noticeable grassiness and spicy hop smell of Noble hops.

Flavor:
Up front: Slightly peppery, spicy bitterness with some grassiness lurking underneath and a slight sweetness of Pils malts and some tartness here, too.
Mid: Much more peppery, spicy bitterness with tons of sweet toasty malt on the sides.
Back: Again, quite peppery, spicy in bitterness, almost heavily laden with it, then Pils malt sweetness, very sweet but never overly so.
Aftertaste: Tart, sweet and bitter all rolled up in one.

Mouthfeel: A tad on the thin side, verging on dryness but not quite, but still thick enough to keep the entire mouth interested.

Overall: I like this beer. Quite a lot of hops were sacrificed for my enjoyment. They say on their website that they used an extra dose of early and late hops, and you can really tell. It's a 30+ IBU beer and the flavor of pepperiness and spiciness are two of the main attributes in all parts of the mouth. It's a very nice beer, not WOW; nonetheless, a very hop influenced beer. Another one to try if you're floating around the Bamberg vicinity. A 4.3 of 5.

This bottle is almost five months past its best before date. But since I didn't notice anything dramatic or unusual, I will review it anyhow.

Pale and straw-colored and rather murky with lots of tiny particles floating around. The head is crispy fresh and causes major lace.

The nose is dominated by the malt and is much less hoppy than I expected. It is a dry and grainy maltiness with a fruity and sweet undertone to it. Hops really are quite weak considering the style (which could be due to aging). What is there, is of a somewhat musty and spicy kind.

Very fresh-tasting and carried by a strong body of juicy malts. It is obvious that clean natural water was used to brew this beer. Hop presence is much stronger than in the nose and gives a herbal quality to the beer. The finish is very clean and sparkling and moves into a bitter, still hoppy aftertaste. Only now do I have the impression of dealing with a Plisener. Malt sweetness is present all the way through.

A smooth moutfheel with delicate spritzy carbonation and a firm, medium body.

A simple and very enjoyable Lager. Perfect to clear your mind.