Saranac Wild Hop Pils

Saranac Wild Hop Pils caught my eye because the bottle says it's made with Belma hops, a variety found growing wild near Yakima.  And it's been a while since I've had a pils -- seems like I've had a disproportionately high number of IPAs lately.  Not that that's a bad thing.

Vittles:

Pils

Abv unknown

Score:
Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 20/25
Taste: 31/40
Mouthfeel: 7/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 78/100

Impression:
Moderate levels of carbonation helped this pils pour with a decent head, which eventually fell to a thin disk.  Initially, I smelled sulfur, but that faded over the first few minutes.  There was also a wet hay aroma and flavor at the start, but that also dissipated and was replaced by a faintly sweet cracker flavor instead.  This is a pretty typical pils in terms of light malt aromas and biscuit/cracker flavors.  Since I'm not exactly familiar with Belma hops, it was interesting trying to pick out all of the nuances.  It's definitely a subtle hop variety, which surprised me, but it worked very well with the pils style.  I think I picked up on fruity, herbal, floral, earthy, mildly spicy, and faintly peppery notes.  Overall, I think I like Belma, but I definitely want to track down more beers that use it.  I can see why it might get overlooked over on the west coast, amidst all the heavy-hitting hops, but I'd love to taste this in a brown ale.  Maybe I'll have to order some and brew it up on my own.

Cheers!