Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

Patrik, I do indeed hear what you are saying.

I homebrew with US-05 a lot; probably 6-8 times a year. It is a more neutral ale yeast (in terms of ester production) than than most ale yeast and it will process more maltotriose than other ale yeast strains but I personally perceive a difference in the qualities of the beers using US-05 than I do with the beers I homebrew with using lager yeast strains (I homebrew about 4 batches of lager a year).

My guess is that this is an aspect of we all have out our individual palates and abilities/preferences in beer qualities.

Cheers!

 

So Victory Helles Lager is out there in the wild now, and it's certainly worth a purchase, in my not-especially-well-informed opinion. Smell is clean malt. Taste is clean malt, with the hops providing subtle balance. Balance, yes, that's the word -- just a wonderfully balanced brew. If you're like me and have cut your teeth on American ales, with their generous hopping (with American hop varietals, no less), learning to pick up the hops in a brew like this can be a challenge. I don't claim to be able to do it very well. But, taking the time to notice it does make you appreciate their contribution, without which the beer would indeed be more bland, more one-note. Anyway, this was really, really tasty and incredibly easy-drinking.

Hope your Saturdays involve many a fine brew as well!

 

How does it stand up to any German Helles you've sampled?

My beer guy told me this rebranded Victory beer should be reaching us soon. Apparently it's all gone at the moment.

Honestly, the last time I had it I have no clue how old it was and I had a sinus infection. I'm eager to properly evaluate it this time around.

 

I posted about Victory Helles recently in New Beer Sunday: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-522.261023/#post-3328772

Cheers!

 

Sadly, I'm not particularly well qualified to speak to this, as my exposure to German Helles is limited (both in number and in locale, having never been to the country). I did recently have Spaten's Helles and Weihenstephaner Original, though. I thought the malt character slightly different between the German and Victory version. It wasn't super noticeable, and neither country's brew suffered for it -- it was just a bit different. Wish I could describe it better -- the German brews (and I'm drinking a Bitburger Pils as I type this, which has echoes of it as well) just have a very slightly "breadier" note. The quotes are because I'm not sure it's actually bready tasting...it's really hard for me to describe. The Victory was really tasty, though, even if the malt character was slightly different. I will say that that, probably thanks to a less rigorous journey (and perhaps just differences in brewing), the Victory didn't have any DMS notes in the nose, which I did perceive pretty noticeably in the Spaten/Weihenstephaner.

Overall, as ever, the issue is freshness. Victory's was barely a month old. The Spaten/Weihenstephaner were between 4-5 months old (with the whole transatlantic journey to contend with). In that case, I'd probably reach for the Victory first in bottle form. But, on tap or assuming a fresh bottle, I'd happily grab the Germans as well as the Victory. (The Germans probably first, if only because it's just harder to find them fresh, so when you see it, you gotta snag it!)

 

“I will say that that, probably thanks to a less rigorous journey (and perhaps just differences in brewing), the Victory didn't have any DMS notes in the nose, which I did perceive pretty noticeably in the Spaten/Weihenstephaner.” Whether there is noticeable DMS in a beer is a function of the brewing process and not from shipping, handling or age.

“The Spaten/Weihenstephaner were between 4-5 months old (with the whole transatlantic journey to contend with).” Beer will change due to age and handling issues (e.g., non-refrigerated temperatures) and this will be noticed in the flavor profile. Below is a figure which illustrates beer flavor change over time.

Cheers!

 

So I just tried Sixpoint The Crisp German pils yesterday and was totally blown away. A bit hoppier than some of the prime German examples, coming in at 44IBU, but really a marvelous beer overall and easily one of the best US-brewed German pilseners I've had.

If Sixpoint wasn't so damn expensive and was easier to find in Boston, I'd definitely add this to a regular line-up in the pils category.

 

I agree that The Crisp is one tasty beer!!

In my area this beer is priced comparably to other Pilsners (about ten bucks a 6-pack). What are the Sixpoint prices in the Boston Area?

@Sixpoint

Cheers!

 

$9.99 for a 6pack is expensive? It should be about that on average in Boston - perhaps $10.99 at the more expensive stores, but certainly not consistently higher than that, unless its an aberration.

 

FWIW, I think that The Crisp is an EXCELLENT value! A very tasty beer at 10 bucks a 6-pack.

Cheers!

 

Yeah, I see it mostly for $12-14 around Cambridge! Honestly though, it's just the selection that's lacking. I can't seem to consistently find almost anything, especially at the prices you're mentioning. Also, I'll be looking harder now that I made the first splash into Sixpoint beers yesterday, and now know that the $12+ packs are abnormal.

Just a poor grad student here.

All that said, The Crisp was on point. Fantastic beer- easily one of the best US German Pilseners I've had. Awesome hop flavor and good bitterness too, which really helped carry the body. You guys nailed it!!

 

Sucker for those light-impenetrable hunks of aluminum, as well as a huge Firestone Walker fan, so I've been eagerly awaiting these. Besides, FW's fancy new canning line came from Dortmund, so that's gotta count for something, right?

The can says "hoppy pils". The can does not lie. At first, the nose is almost too much, just so incredibly bracing with sharp, floral aromatics. As the brew warmed up, though, the nose settled down and settled in, as it were, into something quite pleasing, still fresh and bracing, still floral and green, but all combining to give the impression of a sort of sulfur note, almost (to steal a page from @herrburgess) like fresh seawater. It was really nice. The palate took some time to settle down too. Right off, with the carbonation at full tilt, it was almost impossible to pick out any malt character. All hops. Eventually, as the carb died down and the brew warmed up, I could start to get glimpses of it, but the hops remained the focal point. It made the beer feel a little too austere. If I could combine the nose of the beer with a breadier palate (a la German examples), I think it'd make for a great beer.

Overall, you get what you paid for -- a hoppy pils. I enjoy it enough to have it around, particularly as I don't seem to have much trouble finding relatively fresh Firestone stuff, but I don't think it could be the only pils I'd have around -- I'd still need something on the maltier side to provide some balance. I can only imagine that this sort of interpretation of a pilsner must drive the traditionalists nuts though

 

There's a kewpie doll with your name on it.

 

It's not so much the interpretation itself that "drives [me] nuts" as it is the insistence many people seem to have that beers like this are somehow "authentic German pilsners."

 

To give Firestone credit, at least they make it clear that this is a Hoppy Pils. 'Course, the Pivo on the label is a little misleading...

 

Very true. And I have long since learned my lesson not to buy the beers that advertise the "twist" on the style(s).

 

It should not be at this pricing - $14 is waaaay too high (unless its an aberration) and we need to confirm the markups here. We have our sales team looking into this right now.

Thanks for the support!

 

Yup, plus the hop cone pictured on the front. Just like Prima.

Their Easy Jack cans have three hop cones on the front label, does that mean it's hoppier?

 

Cambridge/Somerville may be the most expensive place to buy beer on Earth.

I can check my locals in the area as well.

 

Well, since Optimator has 2 Spades on the front, I think we can draw conclusions.