Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

Below is something that I posted prior to drinking Nooner Pilsner. As you can see from the stats, Nooner Pilsner has a higher IBU value.

Cheers!

Patrik,

Overall, Sierra Nevada makes quality lager beers. They had a recent Fall variety pack which included a Vienna Lager and an Oktoberfest. I personally greatly enjoyed both of those beers! IMO, the Vienna Lager was a very good traditional Vienna Lager. The Oktoberfest was a bit ‘out of the ordinary’ but I really enjoyed drinking that beer.

You have already seen Bill Manley’s comments on Summerfest vs. Nooner. I have not personally had Nooner yet but I fully expect that Bill’s comments will be consistent with my impressions. A quick review of the ingredients/specs of Summerfest vs. Nooner is interesting:

Malt

· Summerfest: Two-row Pale, Pilsner, Munich

· Nooner: Two-row Pale, Pilsner, Munich, Acidulated

Hops

· Summerfest: Bittering: Perle, Finishing: Saaz, Spalter Select

· Nooner: Bittering: Perle, Finishing: Saphir, Tettnanger, Strisselspalt

IBUs

· Summerfest: 28 IBUs

· Nooner: 38 IBUs

Fermentation/Attenuation Characterisics

· Summerfest: 5% ABV, OG = 12.2° P, FG = 2.8° P

· Nooner: 5.2% ABV, OG = 11.7° P, FG = 1.9° P



Needless to say since I have not tasted Nooner yet my ‘knowledge’ is simply the data listed above and Bill’s tasting comments.

I have had Summerfest before but frankly it has been a number of years since I tasted it so maybe it would be best to just concentrate on the information above?

Some comments:

The grain bill of the two beers appears to be essentially the same. Apparently the Sierra Nevada brewers decided to use some acidulated malt in brewing Nooner for mash pH adjustment.

The hops and IBUs are different between these two beers. As you are aware the stereotypical Bohemian Pilsner is Pilsner Urquell which is hopped at around 40 IBUs (according to the Brewing Techniques article). Sierra Nevada chose to use less bittering hops in their Bohemian Pilsner of Summerfest. Summerfest is finished with Sazzer type hops (Saaz/Spalter Select) which is consistent with the Bohemian Pilsner beer style. The Nooner will have more of a German Pilsner character with the finishing hops of Saphir and Tettnanger; the selection of the French hop of Strisselspalt is interesting for the context of German Pilsner. As you well know, the bitterness levels of German Pilsners vary and 38 IBUs while not typical in a contemporary, industrial German Pilsner context it is also well within reason. Needless to say but there is no way to quantify hop flavor/aroma to compare these two beers.

From an attenuation perspective, the Summerfest is more less attenuated which should yield a bit more body (typical for the Bohemian Pilsner style). The Nooner is more attenuated and therefore expectations should be a beer that is drier in mouthfeel (as was mentioned by Bill Manley).”

 

Picking some Nooner up this weekend for football as well (go Patriots, good luck to your Packers!), can't wait.

I have a similar expectation as you. I loved Summerfest this year, I placed the 2014 version of it above my other favorite US pils, Sunshine Pils. And even though Sierra labels Summerfest a Czech pils, I've always found it more German in overall character. Crisper, drier, and sharper than a Czech pils, and even though they use hops such as Saaz, I've never found it to be as soft as something as a Pilsner Urquell.

I expect a slightly to moderately hoppier, perhaps more floral and bitter, version of Summerfest. As usual, Sierra Nevada is one of the better US brewers when it comes to handling malts. It will be interesting to see if they nail the German malt character as well as they do with Summerfest.

 

Matt,

I would enjoy reading your side-by-side tasting impressions of these two beers.

I just posted my thoughts on a side-by-side tasting of Nooner Pilsner vs. Jever here: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-517.249098/#post-3189657

Cheers!

Jack

 

Saw some Nooner and some Hoppy Lager at my local gas station last night. I was tempted, but didn't buy any...yet.

 

Hmm, I must confess that this thought would never have occurred to me without you mentioning it. While I have had several draft pints of Hardywood Pilsner the only thoughts that popped into my head were simply that I thought it was a well-made German style Pilsner with a nice dry finish. On none of those multiple drinking occasions did the thought of “tastes like Jever” pop into my mind.

I personally would need to conduct a side-by-side taste test to further evaluate this idea.

Cheers!

 

Truer words were never spoken.

 

Bonus: In addition to six pack 12 oz. glass, Nooner is also available in the 12 pack 12 oz. can format. The batch available in my area was packaged on December 31, 2014. Really psyched that this will be a year-round offering from SN. Prost!

 

We seem to be in agreement. Pasted below is my first take from one of my conversations. I plan on taking my time with both Rothaus and Nooner later this week.

"Finally tried this yesterday. I feel bad for Nooner though, because Rothaus Pils also came in, and I had a few of those before Nooner. This is just an initial reaction, because I was slamming back beers during football yesterday and not really paying TOO much attention to the beer.

Nooner felt unecessarily bitter, thin, and completely lacking the malt department. Not a horrible, undrinkable beer, just not one I foresee myself buying in the future. I grabbed two, and only drank one, I'll give it a more thorough review later this week."

 

Same here -- not a horrible, undrinkable beer... and not a German Pilsner. Bring on Summerfest.

 

Funny you mention this. Before my most recent trip to Germany, I, too, had been slowly coming around on a number of U.S.-brewed German styles and begun to consider them acceptable versions. It was only when I got back to Germany and rediscovered/reestablished my baseline that I (again) saw just how un-level the playing field (still) is.

 

Yet Victory is on the verge of making theirs (renamed) available wherever Victory is sold. Now, I haven't had this beer in a very long time, so I can't say whether it's more HB or Yuengling, but I'm excited that they even want to take a chance with it.

 

When I manage to find it fresh, that is my favorite of all the Victory beers I have tried (including the Braumeister Pils). Still, IMO it pales (!) in comparison to even the most average of Helles(es?) I had in Germany (including Keesmann's...a new offering).



(have a pic of it in the glass on my phone, but wife absconded with it...)

 

I look forward to revisiting this one. I've had it multiple times and was never that impressed, I thought it was ok. But it was so long ago, I can't speak to its freshness.

There simply isn't a lot of widely available US brewed Helles, and that's a shame. I was excited Ballast Point's Longfin Lager was at least passable, and something I'd go to again if I had to. I say, "had to", because lately I've been coming across some damn tasty Schlenkerla Helles and I can typically find some Weihenstephan Original kicking around.