June 14, 2014 Show

This week in honor of dear old Dad we examine the classic Pilsner Lager, a style of beer that many of us recognize as Dad's favorite.  The true intent is to show that many craft brewers have taken back hold of this style that has been corrupted by many mass marketed brewers and has become a watered down and bland example of a truly flavorful and refreshing beer.  We also rounded the show off with Southern Tier's fantastic Imperial Weizenbock Goat Boy!

We were also joined by our dear old friend Chef Gene Philbin from Peculiar Culinary who was kind enough to bring us some AMAZING food to pair with the beer, words cannot describe how fantastic his food truly is and we are lucky enough to be joined by him quite frequently!

Side Note:  If you are new to the craft beer movement currently occurring than these are all fantastic beers to make your move over from mass marketed lagers to craft beers! We have also included links to all the breweries from which you can search your local area to find the beers for yourself!


North Coast Brewing- Scrimshaw Pilsner: This German styled Pilsner offers a lot of flavor in a 4.5% ABV beer!  The light body gives way to subtle earthy hop aroma and flavor while being backed by a sweet malt bill.  The finish is very dry and leaves you wanting more and it certainly delivers in that area with it's crisp and refreshing qualities, a perfect beer to have on hand during warm summer days!

Oskar Blues- Mama's Little Yella Pils: A subtle change in the style is what we have with this one as it falls into the Czech (or Bohemian) styled Pilsner.  This certainly falls well within the style with a more malt forward feel to the beer.  The malts give a taste sweet crackers and bread balanced with German hops to give it perfect balance and again a fairly light beer coming in at 5.3% ABV, another added bonus making this great beer even better is the availability in cans!

Firestone Walker Brewing Co.- Pivo Pils: First off, WOW!  This is a beer that blew us ALL away!  While many may knock it for not being "true to style" with an above hopping, we could care less about that fact!  It is an absolutely STUNNING beer!  The crisp refreshing qualities of a Pilsner are present throughout but this is also balanced against a fairly aggressive hop schedule to tip it into the scales of world class.  Words really cannot describe this beer properly, find this beer for yourself and try it and you will understand!

Smuttynose Brewing Company- Frankenlager: Now we move into the Imperial Pilsner style which basically means a beefed up Pilsner with a higher ABV, this one coming in at 7.3%.  The style also feels a bit closer to the IPL (India Pale Lager) meaning it has the mouthfeel of a lager with a fairly more aggressive appearance of hops, all we know is its fantastic!  While when compared to the previous Pilsners this certainly comes across as more of a sipping beer, it still has the refreshing qualities with notes of tropical fruits and pine from the hops are balanced with a hefty malt bill create a beer that is still in possession of the refreshing Pilsner qualities, but with a bit less crisp feeling on the palate, but certainly a fantastic beer from a fantastic brewery!

This week's special 5th beer comes to us from Southern Tier:


Southern Tier Brewing- Goat Boy:  This Imperial Weizenbock, a style that is roughly described as the combination of a DunkelWEIZEN and a DoppelBOCK.  The aroma and flavors are absolutely FANTASTIC!  Strong notes of bananas, clove, and caramel are matched in the taste as well for a drinking experience that is second to none!  Absolutely world class and a must try for all fans of German beers!  We also paired with this a delicious slice of cake provided by our good friends at AuRants restaurant, if you are local it is a must visit establishment!


We also had a fantastic giveaway this week!  In this past weeks edition of the Weekender I did a write up discussing some fantastic gifts for Dad this Father's Day, or any day for that matter, you can check that out here in that article i discussed a great new book called MANBQUE!  This weeks winner won themselves a copy of that wonderful book and a beautiful Pilsner glass!

If you are interested in the book you can read about it and order a copy for yourself by clicking on the picture below: