Sam Adams Noble Pils

Of a local Pils that's great? Olde Mecklenburg out of Charlotte makes the best German style lagers I've had which is admittitedly thin. Always around always fresh and date stamped.

 

A ‘tip’ from @BWM-77

A new German Pilsner from Sam Adams (part of their summer pack):

“Samuel Adams

Downtime Pilsner

A laidback golden pilsner that’s full of character. The fun of brewing is that it’s always evolving, even in the world’s most popular beer style, the pilsner, there’s still room for creativity. For our German Pilsner we wanted to showcase both new & heritage hops from the original hop gardens of Bavaria. The classic Noble hops offer a floral spiciness while the new varieties create a fruity & citrusy character for an elegant, light bodied yet flavorful brew.”

HOP VARIETIES

Hallertau Mittelfrueh & Hersbrucker Noble hops, Herkules, Mandarina

MALT VARIETIES

Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, German Pilsner Malt

YEAST STRAIN

Samuel Adams lager yeast

COLOR

Golden / 5 SRM

ALC. BY VOL/WT

5.0%ABV – 3.9%ABW

IBUs

30

AVAILABILITY

Beers of Summer variety pack

Cheers!

 

I like the Downtime Pilsner but that was no reason to nix the Noble Pils. At least there is something...

 

Summer Ale Could serve that purpose, just rename it Sam Adams Black Sun.

 

Yes!! Haha!!

 

There is more than one kind of marketing.

 

Yep. Just as there is more than one example of failures of varieties of marketing.

 

Yes I saw the new Pilsner in the summer sampler pack. My guess is they discontinued Noble Pils, to make brewery room and ingredients to go into the Downtime Pilsner. I'm sure like Alpine Spring (basically a Noble Pils with a splash of lemon) the Downtime will be very similar.

And Sam Adams seasonal packs are the beer format that they are most successful with, so I'm guessing that is the reason for axing Noble Pils.

Noble Pils was my favorite American made Pilsner (over all the others, Sunshine, Pivo, Prima, Sly Fox, Nooner, Beer Camp. etc...). Only a few German/Czech ones tasted on par or slightly better IMO. Hopefully it makes a comeback from time to time.

 

I was at the bar reading this thread, and started Counting from about 35 taps or so. 4 IPAs including Hopsickle, Sucks, and two others. 6 lagers, one of which was Nooner, some locals. Maybe 5 Stouts or Porters, Plead the Fifth being the best of the bunch. So Pils are not being ignored, here at least.

I can understand some parts of the country are dry for a good Pils unless the big boys make it, so missing Noble Pils might hurt a bit. But like most things if it doesn't sell its going to go away, and they don't need another ho hum IPA IMO.

 

I liked Noble Pils quite a bit. It and The Wright Pils axed in the same year.

Is 2015 the start of the death of the Czech Pilsner?

 

Well there goes another SA beer I like. And this one stings a bit too, as there is some nostalgia attached to this beer for me. I can hope that this new Downtime is the replacement and while I haven't tried it yet, I am sure I will enjoy it.

But I guess I can see why SA is deciding to discontinue this beer and in my market, it sat on the shelves...far too many solid local options to choose from.

I sure hope not! I can get down with IPAs/DIPAs but if I see one more new one vs. something else...

 

The Noble Pils was really well liked in our BA community (those that appreciate well made lagers). Unfortunately I don't think that particular beer, although its an easy drinker, brought in the volume sales and consumer levels that BBC demands. The summer ale, cold snap, oktoberfest etc. seem to market better and bring in the volume sales. I always thought from the beginning that the titile "Noble Pils" sounded too pretentious for the masses and would be a little off putting to a lot of the crossover/average beer drinkers.

 

Pretty much sums up my experience as well. I liked Noble Pils well enough, but I rarely bought it over the local PA options.

Just had some Sunshine Pils last night.

 

FWIW, the SA website doesn't indicate that it's been discontinued...

 

I don't know about that strategy. Their recent advertising leads me to believe that Sam Adams is acutely aware of the need to produce interesting bolder beers in order to be competitive in this burgeoning market. Whether they'll take that risk remains to be seen, I suppose.

 

yeah, it's gone. worst beer news of the month as far as i'm concerned.

 

I generally do not like to bash SA, but one thing that I surely dislike about SA is the inexplicable way they kill off some of their best beers.

Noble Pils was a super beer for the price. I just don't get kicking it to the curb.

To the OP: look for Victory Prima Pils

 

I've always thought their Noble Pils was one of the best of the large distribution craft pilseners. I would grab a 6 every now and then, but I'm one of the lucky ones with very good local alternatives. The Austin Beerworks brewery is literally a 10 minute drive from my house. I sometimes go there on the weekend when the weather is warm and get a really fresh Pearl Snap right from the tap. It's cool, crisp and refreshing, and that's good because the place ain't air conditioned...

 

Sam Adams has enough decent/good discontinued beers for a "Lazarus pack" as was semi-jokingly suggested for Sierra Nevada. Just pick 4 beers from the list and make your own discontinued beer variety pack:
Honey Porter
Holiday Porter
Noble Pils
Alpine Spring
Black Lager
Scotch Ale
Pale Ale

 

The Sam Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner was a fantastic absolute hop bomb when it was available. I heard that the large amount of hops used in the process regularly clogged the plumbing that moves the beer so they discontinued this fine beer. Not sure that this is the truth but that is what I heard. I have not seen this beer in quite a few years.