Heading to Germany

Polestar has some authentic German roots. It's using the same recipe as Tabernash Pilsner, which was created by Eric Warner. When they were absorbed by Left Hand, that was one of the Tabernash beers they kept around.
When it's fresh it's excellent. It's no Herren (IMO nothing is...), but it's a top 10 American pils and probably a top 3 example of one that has decent distribution.

 

I found a six-pack locally that was well within its freshness dates (Jan of 14) and I found it typical of American renditions of the style -- grainy malts and somewhat over-hopped. Surprised that it's a Warner recipe, but since he was working with 2 row instead of German malts that would explain my perception.

 

Funny enough, I'd say the malts are my one complaint, too. It probably does go back to when the beer was created and what was readily available. The hopping is fine (IMO), though. It's definitely on the north German end of things, but it's definitely no Prima or even a Jever to me.

 

Rule 101:
Germans can open a beer bottle with anything. The couch, a coffee mug, a banana. Body parts. It’s like they all secretly take a class at school when they’re eleven, in preparation for a life time of beer consumption.

 

You didn't learn that in college? It was prerequisite for dorm life at NIU in the early 80s.

 

“139.The mullet is alive and well in Germany.”

OK, which of the German participants of this forum has a mullet. Maybe Stahlsturm?

Prost!

 

I enjoy drinking Polestar Pilsner. I agree with the concept of “When it's fresh it's excellent”. Freshness is indeed key when it comes to the Pilsner beer style.

You might be interested in knowing that Weyermann Pilsner Malt is used to brew this beer (see information from the Left Hand Brewing website below). Since the Weyermann Pilsner Malt is listed first I would suspect that the majority of the grain bill is Weyermann Pilsner Malt.

Cheers!

“Style
Pilsner Lager
Color
Pale Golder, 4 SRM
Body
Light
ABV
5.50%
IBU's
33
Plato
12°
Pkg
6-Pack, Keg
Malts
Weyermann Pilsner Malt and Pale 2-Row
Hops
Magnum, Mt Hood and Sterling”

 

Tony and Dave have met me in person. I'm not sure I qualify as a mullet but I do have rather long hair down the back

 

There was just no real malt character in the sixpack I had -- very thin and grainy, no breadiness. Not at all like New Glarus' 2 Women.

I think that part of my problem with the hops was a bad blending of the styles or just back to the lack of any malt character as a backbone.

 

I can vouch for that. No mullet on Stahly. He's got long, straight hair down past his shoulders when I saw him... think heavy metal dude who could double as a teddy bear... which a thick Regensburg accent in German. Not sure how it shines through when he speaks English, though. That was what, a year ago? If you come by FFM any time soon, I got some really good home-brews á la Pax Cissy IPA and a super "Smoked Herkules Ale" that was super-humongous bitter but now is mellowing into only a teasing bitingly bitter. And of course the Lebkucken Braun Ale which tastes just as good as before. And a few more...

 

Funny thing... I did the teen/college thing in the USA in the late 70s/early 80s... only had twist offs for domestic brews back then (but I often drank Michelob, the best of the worst offenders), and I was too poor to afford anything better, like... what did they have? I think only Heineken or St. Pauli's Girl, and I couldn't afford that till after college. However, when I was in uni in Germany in the mid-80s, whenever faced with the dilemma of of opening a beer bottle without a bottle cap opener, I used the American "inventivity" method... car doors, metal railings, and if that didn't work, I let whichever German friend was my drinking buddy work his/her magic with their special beer opening wisdom.

 

Circa 1982, we always bought cases of Stroh's "pounders;" 16 ounce returnable bottles that had pry-offs.

One Friday night a couple friends and I found our way to the roof of one of the university buildings to watch the stars and drink a Stroh's. "You bring the opener?" "I thought you had it." Misguided innovation ensued and a friend attempted to open his bottle on one of the crenellations that surrounded the roof of the building -- and shattered the neck of his bottle all over the roof. After the hilarity died down, we decided to go back and find a real opener rather than gargle glass.

 

You mean to say you do not know how to open a beer with a skrewdriver, a key, a block of wood or basically with anything that has a straight edge somewhere ?

 

Are you trying to undermine my role as merciless enforcer of regional purity ?

 

Wasn't saying that at all (I don't think you're following all of my posts) -- was saying that my friend shouldn't have used the brick mock crenallation of the building we were on! His "misguided innovation" was too zealous and his failure was due to not thinking it thru. Or maybe too many pounders.

 

It's probably buried deep in the Bayern Biere thread if I had to guess.