Erie Brewing Presque Isle Pilsner

I was pretty impressed by Erie's Railbender Ale when I tried it a few weeks back, so when I came across an Erie sampler box, I bought it.  Railbender was one of the varieties in the box, so I skipped that one for now and started with the Presque Isle Pilsner instead:

Vittles:

German Pilsner

4.2% abv

17 IBUs

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 19/25

Taste: 34/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 82/100

Impression:
It poured with a tall, rocky white head, but the head fell rather quickly, leaving decent lacing as it went.  There's a bit of sulfur and DMS in the initial aroma, and while the sulfur seemed to dissipate fairly quickly, the DMS hung around a while.  Thankfully, it was a barely-there note, so it didn't stick out like a sore thumb.  The taste kind of reminds me of pancake batter with a little sweetness, like caramel, mixed in.  There're also some lemony-citrus notes that pair well with the malt flavors.  The mouthfeel is on the silky-smooth side, and it finishes crisp and clean; I found this to be a very refreshing beer on a hot and humid day.

I'm looking forward to trying the other two varieties of Erie beer in my sampler, though I have to say I was a little disappointed to see that a fall seasonal beer was in there.  I bought the box in June -- that's just too much of a seasonal shift.  And yes, I know Sam Adams had their Alpine Spring seasonal out in, what, January?  And I've heard tell that Paulaner Pumpkin is coming out soon, if it hasn't already.  I understand seasonal shift for clothing, yard/snow tools, etc., but for beer?  Come on.  That's just ridiculous.

Cheers!

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!

Tommyknocker Alpine Glacier Pilsner

The fourth beer I grabbed out of my Tommyknocker sampler was the Alpine Glacier Pilsner:

Vittles:

5.1% abv

31 IBUs

Appearance: 9/10

It pours a straw/pale golden color with a large, off-white head.  The head retains nicely, and when it falls, it leaves significant lacing.  The beer itself is crystal clear, and you can see a decent amount of effervescence.

Aroma: 19/25

A faint malt background is noticeable, as is an earthy straw/hay/grass kind of aroma.  I also picked up on mild spiciness and a slight floral character.  It smells fairly delicate.  After the head fell, I could also smell that cooked vegetable/creamed corn odor of DMS.  DMS does rear its ugly head more readily in pale lagers, but a good brewer will use methods like the roiling boil, an uncovered brew kettle, and/or a strong fermentation to help reduce the DMS.  I'm not saying Tommyknocker didn't use those methods (or that they're not good brewers).  I'm just saying there's still some DMS left over, which is allowable for this style.

Taste: 30/40

Not what I was expecting after the aroma.  The malt taste was fairly mild and consisted of straw/hay notes, a very subdued breadiness, and a barely there biscuit flavor.  The more noticeable flavors were piney/resiny, floral, and a nice spiciness that makes your tongue feel alive.  The aftertaste is heavy, thick, and lingering, and it also tastes of pine and resin, with fainter floral and spicy notes.

Mouthfeel: 7/10

This beer has a light to medium body with moderate carbonation.  It finishes fairly dry, which is accentuated by the thick aftertaste.

Style: 5/5

There are three kinds of pilsners: German, Bohemian, and Classic American.  This beer fits the German Pils category very nicely.  The only unexpected for me was the pine/resin taste.

Drinkability: 7/10

I wouldn't go out of my way to have another of these beers.  One was enough.  It's not a bad beer, but it really isn't better than average in any sense of the word.  It was a little unexpected where taste and flavor are concerned, but again, not necessarily in a bad way.

Overall: 77/100

It was a bit heavier of a taste than I was expecting out of a pilsner, and I attribute that mainly to the pine, resin, and spice flavors.  This probably would have been better to have with a meal instead of sipping after yard work.  Honestly, if someone handed me a glass of this beer and didn't tell me what it was, I probably would have taken it for an APA or even a mild AIPA.  It just didn't have the balance of maltiness and hoppiness that I thought it should have had.

Two left to try, and both are IPAs.  Cheers!