Beer of the Weekend #27 and #28: Pilsner Urquell and Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout
Surprise!
Beer of the Weekend is making a special midweek appearance to celebrate my birthday. It’s very rare for me to drink beer during the week (I have a strict “Friday and Saturday only” rule, and I’ll explain that this weekend), but I usually make an exception for my birthday and decided to document the beers I’ll be drinking tonight.
A special thanks goes out to my roommate, who bought me tonight’s brews as a present. He did it last year, too. I feel bad because he didn’t have to give me anything, and also because I have no clue when his birthday is. (He told me today: March 20th.)
On to drinking some birthday beer. I think I’ll go into work late tomorrow.
The first birthday beer is Pilsner Urquell, brewed by Plzeňský Prazdroj, A.S. of Pilsen, Czech Republic.
Pilsner Urquell is the first brew I have previously tried to be profiled on BotW. I was saving that distinction for my favorite Canadian beer, Moosehead, but decided to give in and shine the spotlight on Pilsner Urquell. Moosehead was the last beer I had before starting BotW and I had a major craving for it in the first few weeks. However, I sequestered that yearning for the sake of variety, though you readers wouldn’t have known otherwise. Originally I was going to allow myself to profile beers I’ve had before after sampling 20 new brews, but I pushed it to 26. That’s half a year. Not bad.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles.
Appearance: Poured a nice gold and had a head that dissipated to a thin, broken layer, leaving a ring around the outside.
Smell: Subtle scent of sweet malts and hops.
Taste: A sharp flavor of grains, which I haven’t had in a while. Much more hops than I’ve had in a while, so the back of my tongue spoke up and wished me a happy birthday. Along with the hop bitterness I also got some honey or caramel sweetness.
Drinkability: It’s a light (not to be confused with “lite”), clean, and easy drinking beer. Clean and smooth, though the hoppiness may be a turn off for non-hopheads.
Fun facts about Pilsner Urquell:
-Serving temp.: 48°F.
-Alcohol content: 4.4 percent ABV.
-“Pilsner Urquell,” which means “pilsner from the original source,” is actually not the beer’s real name. It’s the German branding that is used internationally. In the Czech Republic the name is “Plzeňský Prazdroj.” The reason for the German labeling is because the town of Pilsen was a part of the Austrian Empire during the 19th century, so its official language was German.
-According to the carrying case, “Urquell” is pronounced “Urk Well.”
-As written in Beers of the World:
The Quiet Man’s grade: It’s the beer that started it all, in terms of lighter colored lagers, so I have to give it some props. But it’s average. B.
~
The second birthday beer is Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout, brewed by Samuel Smith’s of Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England.
Told you my stout drought would end this week. I’ve been looking to try a Samuel Smith’s brew for a while but never had the balls to spend that kind of cash. It’s expensive stuff, especially for just four bottles. That’s right: They’re sold in four bottle cases. I’m unsure why.
Serving type: Four 12-ounce bottles.
Appearance: Opaque black. No light came through when I held it to my lamp. A thick, foamy head lingered for a while before slowly dissipating.
Smell: My first thought was, “Whoa. Haven’t smelled that in a long time.” A strong, rich chocolate scent wafted to my nose as I poured the first glass. I also got a hint of a roasted something, which Great Beer Guide says is raisins and burned fruit.
Taste: Not as chocolaty as the smell would indicate, but it’s still very tasty in a good dessert kind of way. The warmer it gets, though, the chocolatier it gets. It’s a good substitute for a birthday cake. I got a hint of plums and did pick up a few berry flavors, most notably blueberry, but it was fleeting. I was planning to go to Polly’s for a piece of boysenberry pie tonight but was stuffed after a Las Barcas veggie burrito. Hmm!
Drinkability: This is not an every day beer, like most stouts, but it would be a good after dinner drink.
Fun facts about Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout:
-Serving temp.: 55-64°F.
-Alcohol content: 5.6 percent ABV.
-With the exception of one beer (Old Brewery Bitter), all Samuel Smith brews are vegan. On top of that, all but three SS beers are brewed solely with malt, hops, yeast, and water. That’s kickin’ it old school.
-As with most stouts, a food pairing is chocolate dessert.
-The label and carrying case were designed by Charles Finkel of Seattle, who is the mastermind behind many beer label designs. If you ask me, the stuff isn’t that good. The logos he and his company make remind me of Dumbo’s train car.
The Quiet Man’s grade: My stout drought is over and my taste buds are a little rusty. Nonetheless, I can tell it’s a quality brew. B+.
Beer of the Weekend is making a special midweek appearance to celebrate my birthday. It’s very rare for me to drink beer during the week (I have a strict “Friday and Saturday only” rule, and I’ll explain that this weekend), but I usually make an exception for my birthday and decided to document the beers I’ll be drinking tonight.
A special thanks goes out to my roommate, who bought me tonight’s brews as a present. He did it last year, too. I feel bad because he didn’t have to give me anything, and also because I have no clue when his birthday is. (He told me today: March 20th.)
On to drinking some birthday beer. I think I’ll go into work late tomorrow.
The first birthday beer is Pilsner Urquell, brewed by Plzeňský Prazdroj, A.S. of Pilsen, Czech Republic.
Pilsner Urquell is the first brew I have previously tried to be profiled on BotW. I was saving that distinction for my favorite Canadian beer, Moosehead, but decided to give in and shine the spotlight on Pilsner Urquell. Moosehead was the last beer I had before starting BotW and I had a major craving for it in the first few weeks. However, I sequestered that yearning for the sake of variety, though you readers wouldn’t have known otherwise. Originally I was going to allow myself to profile beers I’ve had before after sampling 20 new brews, but I pushed it to 26. That’s half a year. Not bad.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles.
Appearance: Poured a nice gold and had a head that dissipated to a thin, broken layer, leaving a ring around the outside.
Smell: Subtle scent of sweet malts and hops.
Taste: A sharp flavor of grains, which I haven’t had in a while. Much more hops than I’ve had in a while, so the back of my tongue spoke up and wished me a happy birthday. Along with the hop bitterness I also got some honey or caramel sweetness.
Drinkability: It’s a light (not to be confused with “lite”), clean, and easy drinking beer. Clean and smooth, though the hoppiness may be a turn off for non-hopheads.
Fun facts about Pilsner Urquell:
-Serving temp.: 48°F.
-Alcohol content: 4.4 percent ABV.
-“Pilsner Urquell,” which means “pilsner from the original source,” is actually not the beer’s real name. It’s the German branding that is used internationally. In the Czech Republic the name is “Plzeňský Prazdroj.” The reason for the German labeling is because the town of Pilsen was a part of the Austrian Empire during the 19th century, so its official language was German.
-According to the carrying case, “Urquell” is pronounced “Urk Well.”
-As written in Beers of the World:
It was created in 1842 by Josef Groll. Until then, beers tended to be dark and cloudy, but the cool brewing conditions, the local water, the pale malt made from locally grown barley, and the bottom-fermenting strain of yeast used by Groll combined to produce a clear golden lager that found particular popularity due to the growing trend for drinking from glass vessels instead of stone and pewter tankards. The beer was introduced to Prague three years later and soon began to be exported to Germany, where the Pilsner style was widely adopted.
The Quiet Man’s grade: It’s the beer that started it all, in terms of lighter colored lagers, so I have to give it some props. But it’s average. B.
~
The second birthday beer is Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout, brewed by Samuel Smith’s of Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England.
Told you my stout drought would end this week. I’ve been looking to try a Samuel Smith’s brew for a while but never had the balls to spend that kind of cash. It’s expensive stuff, especially for just four bottles. That’s right: They’re sold in four bottle cases. I’m unsure why.
Serving type: Four 12-ounce bottles.
Appearance: Opaque black. No light came through when I held it to my lamp. A thick, foamy head lingered for a while before slowly dissipating.
Smell: My first thought was, “Whoa. Haven’t smelled that in a long time.” A strong, rich chocolate scent wafted to my nose as I poured the first glass. I also got a hint of a roasted something, which Great Beer Guide says is raisins and burned fruit.
Taste: Not as chocolaty as the smell would indicate, but it’s still very tasty in a good dessert kind of way. The warmer it gets, though, the chocolatier it gets. It’s a good substitute for a birthday cake. I got a hint of plums and did pick up a few berry flavors, most notably blueberry, but it was fleeting. I was planning to go to Polly’s for a piece of boysenberry pie tonight but was stuffed after a Las Barcas veggie burrito. Hmm!
Drinkability: This is not an every day beer, like most stouts, but it would be a good after dinner drink.
Fun facts about Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout:
-Serving temp.: 55-64°F.
-Alcohol content: 5.6 percent ABV.
-With the exception of one beer (Old Brewery Bitter), all Samuel Smith brews are vegan. On top of that, all but three SS beers are brewed solely with malt, hops, yeast, and water. That’s kickin’ it old school.
-As with most stouts, a food pairing is chocolate dessert.
-The label and carrying case were designed by Charles Finkel of Seattle, who is the mastermind behind many beer label designs. If you ask me, the stuff isn’t that good. The logos he and his company make remind me of Dumbo’s train car.
The Quiet Man’s grade: My stout drought is over and my taste buds are a little rusty. Nonetheless, I can tell it’s a quality brew. B+.
Comments
Post a Comment