REVIEW 152: LINE STREET PILSNER

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Weyerbacher Brewing Company

STYLE:  Pilsener

ABV:  5.3%

PURCHASE:  Draft (60-oz. pitcher), $12.00

SERVING:  Said pitcher, poured into chilled pint glass. Not particularly heady straight from the tap; only roughly an inch in the pitcher itself, and slightly less than that from pitcher to pint with a typical pour. A slower pour actually got roughly 50% more. Very good retention.

APPEARANCE:  Transparent but initially a bit murky. Golden-straw color to the body; off-white head. Very, very little bubbling. Great lacing.

BOUQUET:  Hoppy for a pilsener--this is a Czech-style pilsener, which are known for this, unlike their German counterparts. A bit bready, with subdued notes of citrus and malt.

PALATE:  Mildly carbonated with a smooth mouthfeel. Starts somewhat malty, but quickly gets hoppier--but not too much; this isn't an IPA, after all. Finishes still hoppy, but with an accompanying tinge of citrus--namely lemon and grapefruit--and a crescendo of yeast. The aftertaste is somewhat toasty and bitter, with a very subtle spiciness--though it's hard to pinpoint.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Good stateside pilsener. I usually leave this style to our brothers across the Atlantic, particularly in Germany, as they seem to remain its masters. But this one gives me hope for the American microbrewery. 

The name "Line Street" refers to the address of the Weyerbacher brewery in Easton, Pennsylvania. 




GRADE:   B

REVIEW 151: FOSTER'S LAGER (REVISITED)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA/Australia

BREWERY:  Foster's Group Limited

STYLE:  Adjunct Lager

ABV:  5.0%

PURCHASE:  Draft (22-oz.), $6.25

SERVING:  Chilled tankard. Standard inch-high head from the tap. So-so retention.

APPEARANCE:  Adjunct straw. White head. Shocking. Not very visible bubbling--but that could be the glass at play. (It was a thick tankard.) Pretty good lacing, though.

BOUQUET:  Somewhat bready with a whiff of yeast. Not much else going on.

PALATE:  Middle-of-the road body, middle-of-the-road carbonation. Decent hop-malt balance, particularly for an adjunct. Slightly lemony finish--seriously--which was something I didn't notice in the canned version. Yeasty aftertaste but not overly dry. Not a mind-blowing palatial experience, but makes for effortless drinking. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  In my first review for Foster's, I compared it to Outback Steakhouse. For my follow-up tonight, I had it on draft . . . at Outback Steakhouse. 

My opinion of both remains the same. Foster's is still better than average for an adjunct lager, underrated by hipsters and beer snobs. And Outback is still not a real Australian restaurant. 




ORIGINAL GRADE:   C+

NEW GRADE:  C+

REVIEW 150: NUGGET NECTAR

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Tröegs Brewing Company

STYLE:  Amber Ale

ABV:  7.5%

PURCHASE:  Draft (pint), $7.00

SERVING:  Chilled pint glass. From the tap, a little more than an inch of head on the first beer. On the second, a little less. Very good retention in any case.

APPEARANCE:  Fairly see-through but eye-catching amber body. Off-white head bordering upon beige territory. Very little in the way of visible bubbling. Lacing is initially prominent as well as consistent, but doesn't hold.

BOUQUET:  Well-balanced aroma that toes the line between hops and malt. Ever so slightly doughy.

PALATE:  Mild carbonation. Moderately filling. As with the aroma, this is a very well-balanced mouthfeel. Starts hoppy, and while that part of it doesn't go away, each sip gets maltier toward the end. Roasty finish, with an aftertaste that sees a resurgence of hops. Not a particularly complicated palate, but one whose execution is simple but superb.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  This is a sterling example of how not to overdo it during the brewing process.

Which leads me to the following question: Does the country's finest amber ale hail from Hershey, Pennsylvania? I can't say just yet. But it's clearly a contender.




GRADE:  A

REVIEW 149: GOLDEN PHEASANT

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Slovak Republic

BREWERY:  Pivovar Zlatý Bažant a.s.

STYLE:  Pilsner

ABV:  5.0%

PURCHASE:  16.9-oz. bottle, $2.99

SERVING:  Said bottle, poured into Peroni branded pilsner glass. Very, very heady out of the bottle. Even a slow pour produced an initial head of almost four full inches in the pilsner glass. Excellent retention.

APPEARANCE:  Color-wise, it lives up to its name; it's, well, golden. More translucent than transparent, at least at first. Very bright white head. Very little bubbling visible. Lacing is initially somewhat prominent but has no staying power.

BOUQUET:  Freshly rolled grains, namely barley and wheat--although the latter could be a placebo effect at work. Lightly hopped and malty. Slightly citrusy.

PALATE:  Very smooth mouthfeel; goes down with no effort. Soft carbonation and a body that borders upon light. Europe really does have better water. Starts like your typical Euro-lager: Notes of rounded grain, a little biscuity. Finishes with a slight hop uptick, and features a lemon-rind aftertaste. Not a particularly complex palate; simple but effective.  

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Underrated by the online beer snob community. This is a very, very good representative of the "Czech pilsner" style. One of those beers that keeps it simple but does it well. 

FYI: The beer itself is actually named after the brewery that makes it. "Zlatý Bažant" is Slovak for "golden pheasant." At any rate, Heineken has owned them since 1995. Whatever that's worth.




GRADE:  B+

So many colors . . . yet it's a "golden" pheasant.