The six pilsners in question are Dollar Pils Y’all, Czech my Phone, Czech it Twice, Patio Daddy-O, Foux DU Fafa, and Bravissimo. Coming into the flight, I have had half of these, but for science I knew I had to have them again.

I started with Dollar Pils Y’all, a 5.4% ABV german pilsner that I have had many times. This is one of my favorite beers Holler does, and one of my favorite lagers in town. The nose had slight bready notes that led to a herbal brightness on the palate. It rounded out with a nice light bitterness making a crisp and easy drinking pilsner. 

Next I had the Bravissimo, a 5.3% ABV pilsner made with Italian pilsner malt and Hallertau Saphir hops. This was a sweeter malt note on the nose with hints of lemony herbs. The palate was very balanced leading to a slight bitterness on the aftertaste.

I decided to stick with European for the next lager and had the French style pilsner, Foux du Fafa. This 5.7% tall glass of lager features Barbe Rouge hops and French pilsner malt. Like the previous two, this one also had a slight grainy sweetness on the nose, though here, that sweetness carried through to the taste. There was enough bitterness from the hops to keep the aftertaste dry, but not enough to leave any bitterness. 

After having a few European styles, I had the pilsner I was most excited to try, the Patio Daddy-O. This 5.4% bad boy is dry hopped and brewed with Nelson Sauvin hops, that lend the light beer a great passion fruit nose. That flavor was also prominent in the taste, but was balanced by the malt. For the amount of times I’ve had an IPA that was smothered in those hops, it was refreshing to encounter them used tastefully and with a balanced approach. This is your modern Juice Bomb IPA drinking beer drinker’s Pilsner.

I finished with the Czech my Phone and Czech it Twice. Czeck my Phone is a 5.6% Czech style lager and Czech it Twice is that with even more hops. I have had Czech my Phone before and it was what I was expecting, a nice amount of breadiness balanced by a little bitterness and herbal hops. A great example of the style and I would have told you it wasn’t missing anything. Then I had Czech it Twice. With the same grain nose as the OG, but accompanied by much stronger herbal and grassy notes and a more pronounced bitterness, it scratched all the itches that I didn’t know I was missing in Czech my Phone.

You might think that having six Pilsners in a flight would be boring, and if they were not as well done, I would agree with you. The team at Holler have proved that wrong though, where you can taste the subtle differences between each of the 6 lagers side by side. Oh and to make it even more fun, Dollar Pils and Bravissimo are also available as slow pour pints to add even more variety. So please go in and give Holler all your money so they keep making these amazing lagers for us all to enjoy! 

Cheers, and Happy Drinking.

The post Holler at this Flight of Pilsners first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Holler at this Flight of Pilsners appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Houston’s haze king, Spindletap Brewery is known for its juice forward india pale ales like as Houston Haze IPA, Juiceton DIPA ( also coming back this weekend!) and my long time favorite and recent love letter recipient, Heavy Hands Double IPA. Recently, I’ve noticed this brewery has been stepping out of the brew box, adding more focus to traditional beer styles for their taproom menu. While hazy New England IPAs continue to dominate the market, Spindletap has a talented team of brewers committed to keeping it old school too. As a result, you can find some of the cleanest drinkable lagers in town right along side of these juice bombs. How’s THAT for beer diversity? Calavera Lager, Spindletap’s Vienna style lager (4.8% ABV) can be found in 12oz cans (perfect for shotgunning btw..) and on draft everyday in the taproom. Looking for something even lighter? Rumor has it that a few new ‘non beers’ may coming our way from Spindletap too – more on that later, maybe! Regardless, that’s not why we are here today…..

Spindletap’s Pilsner Urkel is a nod of respect and beer geek admiration to the famous Pilsner Urquell, a lager beer originally brewed by Urquell Brewery in Plzeň, Czech Republic in 1842. This beer was the world’s first pale lager brewed with Saaz hops, pilsner malts and can be easily recognized for its shining clarity, golden color and clean old fashioned beer taste. The name and style is used freely but in the Czech Republic, only the original Pilsner Urquell is labeled a true pilsner, according to BJCP guidelines. After a quick chat with Andrew Tonder, head brewer at Spindletap Brewery, he explained that the brewing team will be continuing to focus on these traditional styles so that there is a beer for everyone who visits. Even those that don’t prefer hazy beers. Brewed with the same Saaz hops and pilsner malts as a base for its light body, this beer is a ode to all great German beer styles that continue to be enjoyed today.

No surprise here, this beer matches the appearance of its inspiration beer with golden straw hue and long lasting creamy white head. This beer is dry and cwiiiissspppy and leaves behind a slight corn flavor on the finish. Slightly floral on the nose from the noble hops, this beer also carries a beautiful aroma of breadiness, as there is no mistaking the complexity of the malt as you sip. The hop bitterness is prominent but not overwhelming. Nothing too fancy on the beer’s medium body but its medium to low carbonation makes for a very approachable beer, including non craft drinkers. This beer will make a perfect pair for your crawfish fingers for the upcoming season. Not to mention, the can art is super clever and eye catching, featuring one of my favorite 90s sitcom characters, Steve Urkel complete with his red suspenders and signature stance. Urkel once said in the Family Matters episode, “I can’t help it, Laura. I’m drawn to you. Like a moth to a flame. A bee to a blossom. A mouse to cheese.”

Absolutely! My thoughts exactly, Urkel.

This was a fine example of a traditional Czech Pilsner beer and I am excited to see more similar styles from the brewery soon. By the way, there is still some Urkel available for you to try so swing by the brewery and try it on tap or grab a 16oz 4 pack to go! The remaining cans from the release are going quick so don’t sleep on this one! Cheers!

The post Beer Spotlight: Pilsner Urkel from Spindletap Brewery first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Beer Spotlight: Pilsner Urkel from Spindletap Brewery appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

The Judging Panel, a few beers in

Pilsners are a style that don’t get the love and appreciation that they should. A well-brewed, well-executed pilsner at any time of the day or year, especially outside in the heat, is hard to beat. Texas, being hot ¾ of the year and a land of outdoor things, is prime pilsner country. Add to that, the history of German and Czech immigrants and the influence of their culture on our Gulf Coast melting pot and you have a region in need of all of the pilsner we can find. What has been found, up until recently, has been from somewhere “out there,” beyond our state borders. With the craft beer boom, times have changed and we now have enough examples of fine pilsners to talk about.

When I heard that Saint Arnold was going to bring that BEAUTIFUL unfiltered, unpasteurized, dry-hopped Czech (Bohemian) Pilsner that they had done previously as an Icon Red, I knew this would be the season for pilsners in Texas. Add to that Southern Star introducing a Spring Pilsner at nearly the same time, Oskar Blues opening a brewery in Austin, making Mama’s Little Yella Pils a TX beer, Live Oak FINALLY packaging and Spec’s bringing in Austin Beerworks Pearl Snap for TX Beer Month (plug, plug)… a tasting had to happen.

I approached Jeff and Josh about the idea of a blind side-by-side tasting of all of the packaged TX brewed pilsners we could get our hands on. They, and a handful of the writers at Houston Beer Guide were up for playing my game.

The tasting was had. It was a lot of fun, but 9 beers of the same-ish (I explain that a bit later) style in succession starts to feel like palate torture. I did not partake, as I was the server/torturer and helped to explain what we were doing, why, and how.

Each panelist was given a handout explaining the tasting and how each beer would be scored based on the guidelines provided. The guidelines used were those from the BJCP for both German and Bohemian (Czech) pilsner. To do this, I used the two styles as a range. German pilsner is leaner and crisper in regards to malt and body, and often more hop forward. Czech pils is a bit more balanced, fuller, though neither has much in the way of richness or pronounced malt.

Each beer could be rewarded up to 50 points: 10 for aroma, 15 for flavor, 5 for mouthfeel and 20 for “Overall Impression”. The first 30 points are easy enough to understand. Does this pilsner smell like it should? Taste like it should? Feel like it should? This is how beers are often judged in competition, or close to it. But all this tells you is that a beer has checked the essential boxes for the style. I used “Overall Impression” as the place for the panel to state their own personal opinion.

In addition, they were asked a handful of questions that I hope to use later in this article to offer more than just final scores. Panelists were asked their feelings (like or dislike) on pilsners, what they liked in the style and if they had a pilsner in this lineup that they felt strongly about or could pick out of the crowd.

All beers were poured, out of sight of the panel, at refrigerator temperature into small tulips intended to help capture aromas, etc. In hopes of not completely ruining everyone’s ability to taste after the first few beers, only about 3oz of each beer was poured per person at a time.

So, without further ado, the beers:

I will present these in the order that they were tasted, with average score and overall ranking listed.

Pilsner (4^th, 33.06)
Czech/Bohemian Pilsner (5.1% ABV)
Alamo Beer Company (San Antonio)

I always have several concerns in doing a tasting like this. Inevitably, the longer the tasting goes on, the more palate fatigue will set in and the results of later beers will likely be impacted. Additionally, the first beer has to contend with anything and everything you’ve had to drink or eat before. I told the panel that this, apologies to Alamo, was the beer that would be sacrificed to start things off.

I’m impressed at how well it did, especially since a few of the panel had just brushed their teeth in preparation for the tasting. For the most part, no one had much in the way of negative, or overly positive, to say. Katie Frink was responsible for this beer’s highest rating of 38. Katie stated that she’s a fan of balance in a pilsner and all seemed to agree that Alamo’s pilsner was very well balanced.

Spring Pilsner (5^th, 32.38)
German Pilsner (5.3% ABV)
Southern Star Brewing Company (Conroe)

A huge thank you to the brewery for making sure we had this new addition to the brewery’s lineup for this tasting. I didn’t even know this existed until Josh asked to include it.

I don’t believe anyone had gotten a chance to try this before we had it. Chris White, the kindest reviewer overall, gave Spring Pilsner its highest rating at a near perfect 49. Chris is another fan of balance, stating that Spring Pilsner is “Delicious — Everything I love about pils — Crisp, Refreshing, Clean, Awesome!” However, some felt the hop aroma was lacking.

5 o’Clock Pilsner (1^st, 39.00)
Czech/Bohemian Pilsner (5.2% ABV)
Saint Arnold Brewing Company (Houston)

Full disclosure, this tasting was inspired by the release of this beer, so had it not done well, I might have had to scrap the whole thing. That said, I didn’t think it was going to do as well as it did! My tastes are more toward aggression though, even in pilsners. Again, this is the Icon Red we all fell in love with that was an unfiltered, unpasteurized, dry-hopped beauty.

This beer was at or near the top for everyone, but did not see the dramatic fluctuation that some other offerings did. In addition to being #1, the feeling was nearly unanimous. Ms. Alice Hicks gets the gold star for Highest Rating, at 44. I will tell you that not only did she say she was a fan of 5 o’Clock over all others before the tasting, she picked it out of the lineup before I revealed. The panel seemed to agree that it was crisp, well-balanced and complex.

Pilz (3^rd, 34.38)
Czech/Bohemian Pilsner (4.7% ABV)
Live Oak Brewing Company (Austin)

This is another that got me thinking about this tasting, because it has been a favorite since I first had it. We were supposed to see cans in central Houston by late March. Outer Houston (north and south) has already seen it through a different distributor network, but we are still without until May-ish in the interior. Until then, a big thank you to Josh for picking this up at Nobi for us!

Chris, friendliest of all panelists to pilsners, gave this a perfect 50, but I’d like to mention Jeff’s 47 rating. Jeff stated in the beginning that he prefers a hoppier pils and loved Live Oak because it’s “my favorite type of pilsner. Very crisp, hoppy, refreshing. 10/10 would drink again.” More accurately, it was 19/20 Jeff…A favorite and a must-try for anyone who hasn’t had it!

Payload Pilsner (2^nd, 34.69)
German Pilsner (5.1% ABV)
B-52 Brewing Company (Conroe)

This wasn’t even originally on the list when things got setup. When Josh and Katie stopped by Nobi to grab some Live Oak Pilz, they decided to grab a growler of this as well. With it ending up #2, I’m glad they did! The sleeper hit of the tasting, had anyone known what they were drinking, I don’t think anyone would have expected it to do so well. No one’s talking about B-52 Payload Pilsner and that has to change!

Patrick O’Connor was in town from Chicago and provided a fresh set of taste buds for our tasting, adding, “being a northerner, I have no pony in this race.” He gave Payload its highest rating of 42. Clean, balanced and soft were his thoughts beyond, “just want more of this one.” Most seemed to agree with the idea of balance, but the balance seemed to be between more pronounced flavors that not all were fans of.

Hans’ Pilsner (9^th, 24.75)
German Pilsner (5.3% ABV)
Real Ale Brewing Company (Blanco)

I’ve become a Real Ale fanboy and have shouted my love of their lagers recently, so I will be the first to express surprise and moderate disappointment at this result. Hans’ is a great “go-to” beer, one that Katie said, “has served as an attempted gateway for my family due to its easy drinkability and the fact that it is relatively well-balanced.”

Alice scored this one highest at 38. Many mentioned a perceived dryness in comparison to the rest of the beers, but most still felt it balanced.

Mama’s Little Yella Pils (8^th, 28.50)
Czech/Bohemian Pilsner (5.3% ABV)
Oskar Blues Brewery (Not TX… yet)

In fairness, the liquid is Colorado born, but this was a chance to talk about the Oskar Blues Brewery currently being set up in Austin. Years ago, Texas was macro territory, but craft finally started to catch on and everyone has wanted a piece. Now Texas has gotten to a point where we’re on the list of places for breweries to set up a second location? I’ll take that!

Cody was at the top of the ratings this time with a 40 out of 50. Many mentioned a lack of aroma and pronounced malt sweetness being some of the reasons they dinged the rating.

Summer Pils (6^th, 29.00)
German Pilsner (4.9% ABV)
Saint Arnold Brewing Company (Houston)

Quite possibly the first beer labeled ‘pilsner’ or the shortened ‘pils’, that many Houston beer drinkers have tasted. Saint Arnold is all about balance, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that they have two balance-driven pilsners. Admittedly, Summer Pils has won medals for the less hoppy German Helles lager style.

Chris, once again, grabbed top billing on the ratings here with a 47 and an “I could drink a lot of this.” Despite that win for a less hoppy style, Colleen still found some hop flavor, but not much aroma.

Pearl Snap Pilsner (7^th, 28.63)
German Pilsner (5.3% ABV)
Austin Beerworks (Austin)

This is one of my favorites, but because I’m not the biggest fan of balance. The hop-forward approach taken by Austin Beerworks here caused many to take a step back, even at the end of the tasting. After all of those beers so similar in flavor, this little extra hop was a surprise.

Katie scored this one the highest at 42, despite her love of balance and easy drinking. She did say it has a “very crisp flavor, well balanced overall,” but mentioned, “being able to distinguish the unique flavors coming through from the hops.”

The post Guest Post: It’s Time for Texas Pilsners! first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

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