Light haze on the lemon colored body. Chunky white head, great lace. Sticky. Nose offers light hops, some bread notes. There’s a TON of flavor packed into this beer. I don’t know if you want to call this a Czech Pilsner or not, but there are a massive number of clean, Noble hops as the base of the beer. It doesn’t have to be crisp to be clean. The bread malts balance the very strong, assertive hops. It’s a minor miracle that beers like this aren’t made more in the USA because they would surely...
Notes on beers in the style
Czech Pilsener
Dogfish Head
Piercing Pils
Review based on bottle #3 and #4 of the four pack. This is a bit of conundrum for me. I'm philosophically opposed to the use of such adjuncts in addition to the words 'Czech' and 'Pilsner' on the label, since for me, their addition atomically makes this not a 'Czech Pils' at all. In short, I'd much rather that they call this a fruit beer, be honest, and leave a classic style well alone in terms of declaring what it is (or isn't). Having said all of that, pears and tea are a couple of my...
Buckeye Beer
12 oz single courtesy of Kevin. For a beer that has a Czech Pils moniker, it has a heck of a lot of adjunct lager character! Head retention is pretty weak and the beer delivers a nose that is chocked full of vegetal sweetness. The aroma characteristics are somewhat 'bothersomely' repeated in the tastes and frankly they do not improve much. The nagging sweetness replaces what should be a dry, clean, bitter Saaz bite in the finish, and the beer generally under performs horribly for the style,...
Terrapin Sound Czech
#3 in the Georgia Theater series (although apparently this and #4 were seemingly essentially, simultaneously released), and as a pair they complete an extraordinarily large number of beers released by Terrapin in the last twelve months. 22 oz bottle with the usual presentation of the gold foil and the fancy box. $10.99 for the privilege. Crystal clear, light golden clarity with an impressive, rocky, pillow-like head, great carbonation and some super lace. Very good looking indeed. A really...
Great Lakes The Wright Pils
12 oz single - many thanks go out to Micah for the chance to crack this one. Only from the brewery? Not sure, but that's what I remember hearing. Typical Pils appearance with a light golden body and a wispy head. the head lacks much presence for me. The nose and tastes are in the right ballpark, but a re a little too sweet for my liking when I consider the style. I like my Pils to have a really strong Noble/Saaz bite especially in the finish, and although this beer delivers some of that, it...
Shiner 101 Czech Style Pilsner
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a golden color with a frothy, light head that although not especially well-retained it does produce some significant lace. Nose and tastes create a feel of a Pils without the true Saaz-like kick in the back end. Some light, white pepper that for a second seems like we have a Belgian Pale note, but it fades and the bitterness does not figure. Relatively light and easy drinking, but a beer that ultimately seems fairly pedestrian. Grassy notes...
Samuel Adams Noble Pils
An impressive number of reviews for a beer that's only been out for a couple of months. I suppose that reflects both the distribution of Sam Adams and the relative power of BBC's advertising reach - they really are a macro, micro! I actually bought this 22 oz bomber on the road in OH. It's been here in GA for a few months now but I've only seen it here as a 12 pack, then again I've not really been looking for it. Pour is pretty much as expected with good clarity but the color is really VERY...
Gordon Biersch Czech Style Pilsner
The usual GB experience with this beer. Clean lines define the look of the brew, true to style with nice clarity on the pour and some very good, persistent carbonation. The beer looks good with the golden body and most importantly a well retained head that produces some nice lace. The one thing that the beer lacks is a serious Saaz like bite in the finish. There are two ways to look at this. On the plus side for the establishment it's probably brewed in that manner to keep it approachable for...
Tjekket Pilsner (AKA Czech-style Pilsner)
Well, what a strange brew. Let's start with the price. This was $9.99 for the 12 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. I spoke with Kraig at length about this and he assured me that this was correct. Seems bizarre. The pour is a bit odd as well. Rather than getting a lovely, crystal clear, golden body we get a cloudy, butterscotch colored pour with a high bubbly head. To be honest, it looks more like a Hefe that anything else. Odd and not Pils like by any stretch of the imagination. The...
Mama’s Little Yella Pils
"Kids are different today I hear every mother say....", not sure if this was inspired by the Rolling Stones but it certainly feels that way. $1.50 as a single from Green's on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. A new entrant to the ATL market just in time for the serious Spring/Summer outdoor season in the South. Pour has perfect, golden clarity with very little lace and not much head after the initial wave. Carbonation seems low for a Pils of any description. The beer has a touch of aspirin bitterness...
Bernard Svetly Lezak
Purchased at Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. Again, not easy to distinguish a number of these Bernard brews from one another, but this one IS 4.70% ABV, and is a Czech Pils so I feel fairly confident this is the correct place to put this review. Very standard in most respects. Nice, clean looking pour with good clarity, mid-gold color and a decent if not very well retained head. Malts dominante up front but as expected this fades to give a bitter, hop finish. Clean and...
Klaster Premium
$2.09 from Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. Golden body with decent carbonation into the Sweetwater Pils glass. Small head and a little lace. Body has very good color, and looks rich. A little malt in the nose but it is not at all distinctive. Easy drinking, smooth body but lacks any kind of hop bite. In that respect a little disappointing. Clean and refreshing with a touch of bitterness in the finish, it's average all the way around in terms of taste. A decent brew, and pretty...
Žatec
500 mL bottle, $2.99 from Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. Standard golden clarity on the pour into the Sweetwater Pils glass, with a steady but not large carbonation. In fact carbonation falls away rapidly to leave the beer feels very flat at the end of the brew. Strange nose that sweet and veggie/grainy. Not especially attractive. This is disappointing. It is not very clean at all (one of the chief attributes that I am looking for in a Pils), and it has a weird sweet/cardboard...
Budweiser Budvar
11.2oz bottle, Buffalo Wild Wings, Douglasville, GA, USA. Now under the simple moniker "Czechvar"; presumably AB won the never ending court battle to use the word Budweiser - frankly I had lost touch. Light yellow pour with a typical macro lager pour that lacks head, lace, presence or character. Tastes better than it looks with a slight corn nose and taste, but strangely seems quite clean at the same time. Minor Saaz-like finish and a clean metallic aftertaste. Refreshing, and a better quality...
Trader Joe’s Bohemian Lager
Yet another 12 oz single from a recent Trader Joe's booty. In summary, a drinkable lager but a poor "Czech Pils". Pour is golden and looks good in the Sweetwater Pils glass. Nice, continuous carbonation with a wispy head and a little lace. Sweet, malty nose and not much mention of any bitterness or hops. Much the same can be said of the taste. Crisp and clean, sweet and quite tasty, but little or no bitterness that should come with a Saaz hop (or similar) profile. OK to drink as a refreshing...
Lagunitas PILS (Czech Style Pilsner)
Six Pack from Tobacco & Rum Package in Vinings, Atlanta, GA, USA. 12oz stubbie, love the simplicity and color of the label. Looks classy. Superb example of the style. Looks great with a beautiful color, great carbonation a fantastic head with good retention and some nice lace. Just about as good as this style can look. Bags of peppery hops in the nose, and replicated in the short, but sharp finish. Just about all you can ask for in a traditional Pils. Clean, refreshing, thirst quenching,...
Krušovice Imperial
$1.99 Cheers, Carrollton, GA, USA. 500 mL bottle. Looks good. Golden with some nice sticky lacing and some small but persistent head. Some pretty good carbonation in the Sweetwater 420 "logoed", Pilsner glass. Dry, hop aroma that is clean. Saaz? in the nose. Pils taste, that is clean, but this beer really lacks a BITE. There is a serious lack of bitterness and not the kind of hop presence I look for in my Pils. A lack of sharp aftertaste. Too soft around the edges for me in the style, with a...
Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager
Awful. A nasty macro in micro packaging. Reminded me of a low quality macro lager, with all the charm and sophistication that goes with them. Nasty color, nasty aroma and a weak, but somehow unpleasant taste. Bright gold, incredibly clear (frankly this literally looks like piss) with zero head retention and a nasty adjunct taste. Drink BMC they're cheaper.
Laughing Skull Bohemian Pilsener
$3.25 on draught, Mellow Mushroom, Douglasville, GA, USA. Very strange this one, I would not have guessed this was supposed to be a Pilsner had I not known. Looks like a standard macro lager, but had a very odd taste. I thought it was spicy, not a mild spice either, quite a pronounced peppery type taste. Having said that, it was refreshing, cold and enjoyable. I would like to give this another chance. Decent macro type pour with a nice head that hung around a little. Not bad, a bit odd, needs...
Staropramen Lager
Like merlin48, my label looked slightly different to the one pictured, but I'm pretty sure I am reviewing the correct beer. I feel this is a sound example of a pilsner. A Nice golden color with the correct amount of carbonation and a good sharp bite. Decent head, but as is often the case this faded very fast. A definite skunky aroma, but I associate that with most Pils anyway. It's not my favorite style by any means because I always find them rather dry, but not a bad beer. I don't like my...
Pilsner Urquell
Notes added 07/20/21 Funny to read my original notes (below) that seem a little naive and simple. But that was over 17 years ago! A definitive beer, of course. Beautiful appearance, the bubbles continue to do the inverse of cascading, upwardly re-creating the modest film head that forms after the initial pour. Bread, malt and hops compete with one another for my attention, and that's the story of this beer. Staggeringly drinkable which ultimately is probably the story of this beer. Original...