Pineapple Pilsner
Short's Brewing Company

 

 

 

Brief Review:

O: Glad I was patient before reviewing this cold, because from cold to room temp, this beer changes drastically. Cold, it's very cloying and metallic. But as it warms, the fruit flavor blends in a bit better and it becomes more palatable. I was very excited to try this beer based on the style, combining one of my favorite fruits with one of my favorite styles. But the reality is that it's just okay. It's too sweet to have more than one, but it's a nice summer beer.

Recommendation: Whatever you do, let it warm a bit before you drink it.

Bottled on 7/25/17. 12oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Pours a glowing hazy, cloudy and murky burnt orange with a small off-white head that fades leaving solid retention and okay lacing. This looks nothing like a pilsener based off the color and cloudiness. The aromas have a subtle sweet and sticky vibe going on. The pineapple is there without dominating and doesn't come off as artificial. Lots of malts along with some hints of caramel. It doesn't smell like a pilsener at all. The flavors are on the sweeter side. It's borderlining on being cloying. It's slightly tart as well. Nice natural pineapple flavors. Some pine resin in the mix. Strong malt backbone. Moderate to low bitterness. Finishes juicy. Alcohol goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is light and slick with moderate carbonation.

This is an interesting brew. There's absolutely nothing about this that resembles a pilsener. It's a good "fruit beer", but it's a horrible pilsener. No problem drinking and enjoying it though. The pineapple flavors are really nice.

12 ounce bottle into lager glass, bottled on 7/25/2017. Pours fairly hazy golden orange color with a small dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big juicy/lightly tart pineapples, lemon, orange, grapefruit, citrus zest, cracker, corn, biscuit, light pepper, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance of pineapples, citrus/earthy hops, and pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big juicy/lightly tart pineapples, lemon, orange, grapefruit, citrus zest, cracker, corn, biscuit, light pepper, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Light herbal/grassy/spicy bitterness and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of juicy/lightly tart pineapples, lemon, orange, grapefruit, citrus zest, cracker, corn, biscuit, light pepper, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great robustness and balance of pineapples, citrus/earthy hops, and pale malt flavors; with a great malt/bitter/tartness balance, and zero astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from bitter/tartness. Clean finishing. Perfectly clean on lager flavors, with zero yeast notes present. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, bready/grainy, and lightly acidic/sticky mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5%. Overall this is an excellent fruited Czech pilsner style! All around great robustness and balance of pineapples, citrus/earthy hops, and pale malt flavors; very smooth, clean, and refreshing to drink; with the mildly tart/bitter finish. Very flavorful for the ABV. Perfectly balanced between all flavors. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.

Poured from bottle to pint glass. Color is dark orange and cloudy, the first of several surprises. I figured a pineapple Pilsner would lean more towards the color of, well, pineapple - a light gold or straw color. One finger of pretty solid head that dissappears. No lacing. Nice grainy malt aroma tinged with tart fruit. Pineapple, orange, nectarine. The taste is cloying sweet with a very mild tartness. Syrupy feel, too thick to be a real thirst quencher. Not something I'd seek out.

 

 

I picked up a bottle of Short's Pineapple Pilsner in their new variety pack. I've been wanting to try this one for a while and now that it's bottled it's time to see what this beer is all about, so lets see how it goes. 2017 Vintage. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a Pilsner glass.

A- The label is nice, it goes well with the name and it's a little eye catching. It poured a pretty hazy darker orange color that didn't change when held to the light and it had almost a fingers worth of slightly creamy and slightly bubbly off white head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it left some patchy lacing behind. This is pretty nice Looking Pilsner, but it's pretty hazy and I wish it had a little more head.

S- The aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the pineapple being the first to show up and it impart a nice and noticeable pineapple like aroma with some citrus rind hop aromas showing up in the background along with a some spicy and light grassy like hop aromas. Up next comes a little bit of a clean yeast aroma and that goes into the malt which show up just enough and impart some pale malt, biscuit, light bready, bread crust and sweet malt like aromas with no single aspects sticking out more than the others. This beer has a good aroma, it's got a nice balance of pineapple and Pilsner like aromas.

T- The taste seems to be fairly similar to the aroma and it starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with hops being the first to show up this time and they impart all the same aspects that they did in the aroma with no single aspect sticking out the most. Up next comes the pineapple which is still noticeable and it's lighter this time and it imparts some pineapple like sweetness. Towards the end comes a little bit of that clean yeast that leads into the malts which impart all the same aspects that they did in the aroma, but this time they are just a little lighter. On the finish there's a lighter amount of bitterness with some more sweetness showing up. this is a good tasting beer, pineapple shows up just enough, but it's a little on the sweet side for a Pilsner.

M- Smooth, a little refreshing, slightly cloying, slightly sticky, medium bodied with a slightly lower amount of medium carbonation. THe mouthfeel is pretty nice, but I wish it wasn't slightly cloying.

Overall I thought this was a good beer and a good example of the style, it did a good job at living up to it's name and besides the higher amount of sweetness nothing really felt out of place with this beer. This beer had nice drinkability, I think one or two wold be the perfect amount for me, anymore than that and it might start to get too sweet for me. What I like the most about this beer is the how well it lives up to it's name, first you taste the Pilsner then you taste the pineapple. What I like the least about this beer is the sweetness, it's just too sweet for a typical Pilsner. I would buy this beer on it's own and I would recommend giving it a try if your looking for a Pineapple Pilsner. All in all I liked this beer, but I didn't love it and I think if they could keep the pineapple flavor, but tone down some of this sweetness and this would be a great beer. It's not my favorite Shorts beer, it's not the great Pilsner, but it's a good example of a fruited Pilsner. Good job guys, this is a tasty and unique beer, keep it up.