Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

Speaking of Pilsners, wife picked up a 6-er of JB PLZNR at trader Joe's. I had tried this before and wasn't terribly impressed. This go-round, however, I'm quite enjoying it. Very nice take on the Czech style (specifically Urquell), hitting most of the right notes for that beer, save for the soft mouthfeel/water profile and maybe the spiciness of the hops (this beer apparently uses Hallertau and Tettnang instead of the traditional Saaz...but as I am a huge fan of Tettnang I don't mind so much). Prost!

 

Went looking for more Maibocks the other day. Found some HB, but it looked to have been sitting on the shelf for a few years, but the same place had Summit and I took another chance on Capital's (hard to give up on an old friend). This six-pack doesn't seem to have the diacetyl I was getting from the last sixer. Gotta wonder how that happens.

Nevertheless, very malty up front, good chewy breadiness all around, touch of sweetness to the finish then becoming nicely dry.

I had the Summit yesterday and it's just about consistent with years past: leaning to a heavier, maltier body (similar to HB's take on the style), but a very well-made German-style beer.

 

From the "Things German People Don't Say" FB page today:

 

A local brewery is releasing a Pilsner dry hopped with Motueka and Saphir. Was initially confused with the combo but quick search, apparently Motueka has Saaz lineage? Thought it was a heavy "tropical" hop?

This brewery has a regularly produced Pils that is excellent (sadly on hiatus to keep up with IPA demand) so will grab a growler and report.

 

This is how Motueka is described in the book For the Love of Hops (which I highly recommend by the way):

“Motueka

One third Saaz crossed with New Zealand stock. First called Belgian Saaz. Citrus, notably lemon and lime, and tropical fruit. Floral-estery fraction 4% Citrusy-piney fraction 18.3%”

I have yet to homebrew with Motueka so I do not have any additional personal information to provide.

Please do report back you findings for this beer. It sure sounds interesting!

Cheers!

 

On my third of the night. Bottled late January. Each pour has been similar, minimal head that dissipates in seconds. Aroma is clean malt and slightly floral. Taste is the same, perhaps stronger floral hops and more sweetness. Compared to Augustiner Light from last week, I feel this has ever so slight bitter and sticky coating. Still inviting though, may finish the sixer tonight as tomorrow is a vacation day!

 

I have had only one Southern Tier Helles this season, a draft pint a couple of months ago. I really enjoyed that beer. IMO, that beer was a solid effort by Southern Tier.

Cheers!

 

Weltenburger just hit Boston in bottles. Picked up the Asam Bock.....thoughts on Weltenburger?

Also have had a few Yuengling Summer Wheat's.....I think I remember everyone on this forum raving about it. I can't say I disagree, one of the better domestic hefeweizen's I've ever had, right up there with Dreamweaver, and 4.5% too!

 

Weltenburger Bock is pretty malty sweet. Not my favorite, honestly. I do like their Barock Hell, Anno 1050, and Kellerbier much better. (And the brewery itself and beer garden are spectacular.)



Agree with the others that the Yuengling Weizen might be the best buy for that style in the U.S. A really great addition to U.S. "craft" brewing...now that the BA has accepted them into their elite group, that is

 

Nah, no Kloster. And the only other Weltenburger we have is their Munich Dunkel.

 

I have had the hefeweizen fairly fresh and it's a dream. Loved it so much I grabbed a 50L and put it in my kegerator. The Asam is nice, as are all the rest, but the Weißbier was clearly my favorite.

 

Asam Bock tastes fantastic directly from the lagering tanks.



I'm also a fan of the Barock Dunkel.

 

only had the Barock Dunkel,which is fantastic

 

Scored a sweet Spiegelau pilsner-style glass @ Goodwill for a couple bucks and decided to break it in this evening with some Smuttynose Vunderbar pilsner.

You can see from the pic below that it doesn't use 100% pils malt, adding NA 2-Row and Acidulated Malt. Concomitantly, it didn't have much bready malt taste, though, to be fair, it didn't have a ton of malt presence in general. Not grainy, not bready, just sort of a light malt sweetness is all. The nose was pretty demure, maybe opening a bit as it went, and even on the palate the Saaz hops felt unduly quiet (for a pilsner). It wasn't a bad beer, certainly not undrinkable, but I wouldn't bother reaching for it with stuff like Summerfest now patrolling the shelves (or, when I can find them, fresh German interpretations).

 

Is the haziness just condensation on the glass, or something else?

 

Yeah, just condensation

 

Picked up a mix six today, some new and some I have not had in a long time. Can't recall my last Prima, maybe two years ago?

Got the action shot on the pour, carbonation dancing up the glass. Emptied vigorously but not much head retention. Aroma is nice, clean malt, no sweetness detected. First sip definitely brings a harsher hop bite than other comparable American versions I've had recently (Nooner and Sunshine Pils). Getting some floral notes but also is astringent on the back of the tongue. Each subsequent gulp brings a lingering bitterness that I'm not crazy about. Really dries out my palate. Hate to say but this Pils doesn't call for another pour, unfortunately (even if I had another)!

 

What was the best by date on it? Should be printed on the neck somewhere I believe, and I think I remember the best by date being about 5 months after bottling.

I'm a fairly harsh pilsner critic and I've found this one to range from stellar to boring/tame (similar to your description). I want to love this brewery, but they're historically inconsistent. I had hoped with their expansion they'd clean things up a bit.

 

Acidulated malt is fairly common in pilsner recipes, the 2-row not so much. For cost reasons, no doubt, as the average drinker will not notice the difference. It might work differently with protein rests or decoction mashes, but again the subtleties are hard to discern (we've gone into this discussion deeply here... just thought I'd mention it)