Beer 47 » pilsener

Full Sail LTD Series 3

David Jensen — Mon, 10 May 2010 06:39:42 +0000

Full Sail Brewing Company, of Hood River, Oregon, produces 4 seasonal selections each year, three of which are branded as LTD, which stands for both limited edition and also “Live The Dream.” LTD 3 is the summer offering and is a pilsner-style beer perfect for warm summer weather and BBQs. It is also an award winner with a silver medal in 2009 at the World Beer Championships.

Full Sail describes this summer brew as follows:

Well looky here, a crisp new pilsner-style lager all ready to rock your tastebuds’ little world. The latest addition to our LTD series is pale-golden in color, featuring a spicy floral hop aroma, malty medium body, and a smooth, thirst quenching finish.

Another great thing, for homebrewers, about their LTD series is that they list the ingredients on the bottom of the box so you can make an attempt at recreating this beer at home.

Date Reviewed. August 9, 2009.

Where I Found It. Trader Joe’s in San Mateo, CA

Serving Type. 12 oz bottle into a glass.

Appearance. Full Sail LTD 3 has a smooth white head that lasted long enough to take a few pictures. This beer is crystal clear with a rich burnished golden yellow color.

Smell. After opening and pouring out the beer you can immediately smell the floral and spicy bouquet of the Sterling hops. The malt aroma is biscuity, sweet, and like fresh sweet grains. There is a slight coppery smell that I always get when drinking Pilsners. Ever so slightly citrusy.

Taste. LTD 3 is gently sweet and well-balanced by a smooth bitter hops taste. This is a crisp beer and the bitterness does not linger. It has a bit of grainy sweetness with a hint of a buttery flavor. All-in-all this is a nicely flavored pilsener.

Mouthfeel. This is a medium-light bodied beer with a good amount of carbonation. Palate cleansing.

Drinkability. Thirst quenching, crisp, and smooth and very easy to drink.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

Appearance (20%): 4.0
Smell (20%): 4.0
Taste (40%): 4.0
Mouthfeel (10%): 4.5
Drinkability (10%): 5.0
Overall: 4.15

Information

Style: pilsener
Brewery: Full Sail Brewing Company
Alcohol by volume: 5.6%
Original Gravity: 1.056
Hops: Sterling
Malt: 2-row pale malt
Beer Advocate rating: 3.64 (as of May 9, 2010)

Other Reviews

Coedo Ruri Review

David Jensen — Mon, 03 May 2010 02:19:32 +0000

I was shopping in on of the Japanese supermarket in San Mateo and spotted a brand I had never seen before, Coedo. Though a little pricey, I picked a few bottles of this brew which had a special label on it claiming to have won many awards. Coedo is a small brewery in Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan and produces mostly lager style beer but does have one wheat beer style.

Ruri is a pilsener style beer and the brewery describes Ruri as follows:

With the stark contrast of its clear golden hues and fluffy pure white head, this premium pilsener boasts a crisp refreshing taste. The name “Ruri” is Japanese for the gemstone Lapis, representing the pure clarity this beer abounds in.

Where I Found It. Suruki Grocery in San Mateo, CA.

Date Reviewed. September 21, 2009.

Serving Type. Bottle to glass.

Appearance. The color of Ruri is yellow straw with a hint of gold amber and a crystal clear opacity. You can clearly see all of the tiny bubbles floating to the top. The head is white and foamy with loose bubbles that leave a thin film on the glass. It must be nicely carbonated because the head stays as a thin layer on top.

Smell. The bouquet of this beer is slightly coppery, a little spicy, a little earthy but also green and a little floral. It is not citrusy. The aroma sweet malty, a little bisquity, and has grain attributes as well.

Taste. Ruri is malty sweet balanced by a touch of smooth hop bitterness to help balance the flavor. For some reason, however, it doesn’t seem quite bitter enough. It seems to be missing a bit of the crisp bite that I was expected from the smell. The sweetness, however, adds a nice complexity to the beer that give it a very mild fruity flavor while still maintaining a flavor of fresh grains..

Mouthfeel. This beer is medium to light bodied with a normal to lighter-than-average level of carbonation.

Drinkability. This beer is smooth and easy to drink but does not lack flavor. After a couple of these you would not be bored of it.

Rating.

Appearance (20%): 3.5
Smell (20%): 4.0
Taste (40%): 3.0
Mouthfeel (10%): 3.5
Drinkability (10%): 4.0
Overall: 3.45

Information

Style: pilsener
Brewery: Coedo Brewery
Alcohol by volume: 5.0%
Beer Advocate rating: 3.43 (as of May 2, 2010)

Other Reviews

Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils

David Jensen — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:30:40 +0000

Mama’s Little Yella Pils is the latest addition to the canned beer offerings of Oskar Blues and their first canned lager. It was released earlier in 2009 just in time for the warm weather of summer. Speaking of summer this is a refreshing, crisp, malty beer that is perfect for warm weather.

This name of this beer is very likely an allusion to lyrics in the song Mother’s Little Helper by the Rolling Stones. The first verse of the song is as follows, with the reference underlined:

What a drag it is getting old
Kids are different today,
I hear evry mother say
Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though shes not really ill
Theres a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of a mothers little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day

The brewery describes Mama’s Little Yella Pils as follows:

Our new canned good is a delicious, small-batch version of the beer that made Pilsen, Czechoslovakia famous. Mama’s is made with hearty amounts of pale malt, German specialty malts, and traditional (Saaz) and 21st century Bavarian hops. It’s the perfect antidote for the watered-down, cornfed versions of pilsner clogging America’s shelves. Our first canned lager, it’s also fermented at cool temperatures with a German yeast.

This pilsner is certainly not watered down. It has a nice malty flavor and a great hops bouquet making it a well crafted beer perfect for summer or to be paired with salty cuisine like pizza, burgers, or Japanese food.

Where I Found It. Generously provided by the brewery.

Serving Type. Served out of a can into a glass.

Date reviewed. August 27, 2009

Appearance. Mama’s Little Yella Pils is Crystal clear to slightly hazy in clarity. It is wonderfully bright yellow with a touch of golden-yellow color. The standard foamy white head lasts an average amount of time on top of the beer.

Smell. The hop bouquet is slightly coppery or metallic but also pleasant, earthy, and just a hint of spiciness. The Saaz and German hops really stand out nicely in this beer. The hop bouquet is accompanied by a malt aroma that is grainy with a light sweet malts.

Taste. There is a smooth bitterness to Mama’s LIttle Yella Pils that is well balanced by the grainy sweet malt flavor. The sweetness in the malt combined with the earthy hops gives a flavor that is almost like a diluted honey. The hops are earthy and the bitterness builds up just a little bit over time. A great combination of flavors and complexity for a pilsner.

Mouthfeel. This is a medium or medium-light bodied beer. The carbonation level is just right and makes this a refreshing malty beverage. It is crisp and smooth with a hop bitterness that adds to the refreshment of this beer.

Drinkability. Mama’ Little Yella Pils is a smooth and easy to drink beer. A perfect beer for a warm summer day to accompany BBQ or grilled meat. It has a great thirst quenching characteristic.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

Appearance (20%): 4.0
Smell (20%): 4.0
Taste (40%): 4.0
Mouthfeel (10%): 4.0
Drinkability (10%): 4.5
Overall: 4.05

Information

Style: pilsner
Brewery: Oskar Blues Brewery
Alcohol by volume: 5.3%
Bitterness: 35 IBU
Hops: Czech Saaz and “21st century Bavarian hops”
Beer Advocate rating: 3.66 (as of September 23, 2009)