Beer of the Weekend #132: German Pilsner
I haven’t drunk much beer while I’ve been back in IC so I thought I’d pick up a sixer tonight.
Tomorrow I’m heading to Darlington, Wisconsin for a day trip with my old man and grandma, so I intended to buy some true Badger State brew: Leinenkugel Original. (By the way, Wisconsin has the best state motto: Forward!) I had some Leinie over at Tom’s place on Sunday, and wanted to give it a proper sampling. I can only get the specialty sixers in Huntington, and have been craving a decent lager since it’s been unseasonably hot lately, so I headed over to Dirty John’s. However, when I finally found Leinie’s lager in the walk-in cooler (which is seriously fucking cold) I found “0210” printed on the neck. Was that the born-on or half-life date? I didn’t want to take a chance, so I grabbed a six-pack of tonight’s brew, which is…
…German Pilsner, brewed by the Millstream Brewing Company of Amana, Iowa.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles. The right side of the label features a month list with the “A” for April notched.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is a clear, clean, bright gold. Two fingers of white head developed and dissipated to leave a nice lacing and ring. Great retention.
Smell: Not much, but there’s enough to detect. Mostly sweet adjunct grains with some floral hops. Just a little better than your average macro. As it warms, a hint of fruit comes into play. Maybe strawberry?
Taste: It has a nice hoppy bite. I haven’t had a pilsner for a while, so this is very appreciated. It has a barnyard malt quality reminiscent of the better German helles, but there’s only a hint. It’s mostly adjunct grains. Much like with the smell, a fruit flavor makes an appearance after the pint has warmed for a couple minutes.
Drinkability: To me it’s not as bad as The Bros suggest, but it’s also nothing spectacular. It’s definitely the most unimpressive Millstream brew I’ve had to date. It’s drinkable, especially on an unseasonably warm May day in Iowa City like this one.
Fun facts about German Pilsner:
-Style: German pilsner. BA has this to say:
-Price: I don’t remember. The cashier at John’s — after joking that my California license “has gotta be a fake” — asked me if I wanted the receipt. I told him no, which was stupid. I always take beer receipts. Anyway, I gave him $10 and got about $1.29 back, so I think the pre-tax was $7.99
-Serving temperature: 40-45ºF.
-Alcohol content: 5 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: The German Pilsner page on the Millstream website recommends: “Spicy Thai, Vietnamese, or Indian dishes. Tex-Mex cuisine. Shellfish, Smoked Fish and other seafood. Salty Ham, and chorizo or andouille sausages.”
-Extra, extra! Read all about it! Here: http://www.millstreambrewing.com/pils.html.
The Quiet Man’s grade: C.
Tomorrow I’m heading to Darlington, Wisconsin for a day trip with my old man and grandma, so I intended to buy some true Badger State brew: Leinenkugel Original. (By the way, Wisconsin has the best state motto: Forward!) I had some Leinie over at Tom’s place on Sunday, and wanted to give it a proper sampling. I can only get the specialty sixers in Huntington, and have been craving a decent lager since it’s been unseasonably hot lately, so I headed over to Dirty John’s. However, when I finally found Leinie’s lager in the walk-in cooler (which is seriously fucking cold) I found “0210” printed on the neck. Was that the born-on or half-life date? I didn’t want to take a chance, so I grabbed a six-pack of tonight’s brew, which is…
…German Pilsner, brewed by the Millstream Brewing Company of Amana, Iowa.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles. The right side of the label features a month list with the “A” for April notched.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is a clear, clean, bright gold. Two fingers of white head developed and dissipated to leave a nice lacing and ring. Great retention.
Smell: Not much, but there’s enough to detect. Mostly sweet adjunct grains with some floral hops. Just a little better than your average macro. As it warms, a hint of fruit comes into play. Maybe strawberry?
Taste: It has a nice hoppy bite. I haven’t had a pilsner for a while, so this is very appreciated. It has a barnyard malt quality reminiscent of the better German helles, but there’s only a hint. It’s mostly adjunct grains. Much like with the smell, a fruit flavor makes an appearance after the pint has warmed for a couple minutes.
Drinkability: To me it’s not as bad as The Bros suggest, but it’s also nothing spectacular. It’s definitely the most unimpressive Millstream brew I’ve had to date. It’s drinkable, especially on an unseasonably warm May day in Iowa City like this one.
Fun facts about German Pilsner:
-Style: German pilsner. BA has this to say:
The Pilsner beer was first brewed in Bohemia, a German-speaking province in the old Austrian Empire. Pilsner is one of the most popular styles of lager beers in Germany, and in many other countries. It’s often spelled as “Pilsener”, and often times abbreviated, or spoken in slang, as “Pils.”
Classic German Pilsners are very light straw to golden in color. Head should be dense and rich. They are also well-hopped, brewed using Noble hops such has Saaz, Hallertauer, Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger, Styrian Goldings, Spalt, Perle, and Hersbrucker. These varieties exhibit a spicy herbal or floral aroma and flavor, often times a bit coarse on the palate, and distribute a flash of citrus-like zest--hop bitterness can be high.
-Price: I don’t remember. The cashier at John’s — after joking that my California license “has gotta be a fake” — asked me if I wanted the receipt. I told him no, which was stupid. I always take beer receipts. Anyway, I gave him $10 and got about $1.29 back, so I think the pre-tax was $7.99
-Serving temperature: 40-45ºF.
-Alcohol content: 5 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: The German Pilsner page on the Millstream website recommends: “Spicy Thai, Vietnamese, or Indian dishes. Tex-Mex cuisine. Shellfish, Smoked Fish and other seafood. Salty Ham, and chorizo or andouille sausages.”
-Extra, extra! Read all about it! Here: http://www.millstreambrewing.com/pils.html.
The Quiet Man’s grade: C.
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