Brown’s Tomhannock Pilsener

Brewed by Troy Pub & Brewery (Browns Brewing)
Style: Pilsener
Troy, New York USA

Serve in Flute, Footed Pilsner

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On Tap at the brewery. Pours golden with long lived white head. Aroma is of biscuit malt and hint of hops. Body is light and crisp. Nice amount of herbal hops balanced on the palate by biscuit malt. Finish is long and bitter. Well done pilsner.

I’ve been drinking Brown’s Tomhannock Pilsner for years now and I notice a significant difference between the tap (where it’s great) and the bottle (where it’s just plain good). Since I’m writing this review at home with the bottle in front of me, this is all I have to go by. Maybe someday I’ll go to the brewpub with a laptop and write a review of the draught.

I poured a 22oz bottle into a pilsner glass.

Appearance: Extremely pale yellow, lemon skin hue. Somewhat cloudy for the style but plenty of visible fine carbonation. Forms a large, white, frothy head which retains and laces extremely well.

Smell: On tap this beer has a citrusy hop smell akin to a pale ale, but the bottle is much more grassy. It’s akin to a saison with hay and an almost egg-like smell. There’s a subtle lemon fragrance as well, but it’s much more pronounced on draught.

Taste: Brown’s Tomhannock Pilsner is brewed with a rather basic, simple recipe using only three malts and one hop variety. Yet it has much more flavor than the vast majority of pilsners and other pale lagers on the market including the all-malt (adjunct-free) offerings. It’s a lager without the generic "beer" taste, as this opts for more of an earthiness to the palate. Saaz hops likely account for the surprisingly strong dry bitterness and spiciness throughout the palate. There’s a hint of lemony citrus right as it finishes, although this is much more pronounced on draught. The pale malts combined with the hops create for a dry, crisp flavor overall. There’s a hint of a cracker-like starch in the aftertaste, but for the most part it’s clean and refreshing. I wish more pilsners tasted like this.

Drinkability: It’s remarkable they got so much flavor out of a 4.75% ABV brew, yet Brown’s Tomhannock Pilsner never tastes or feels like a light lager at all. The mouthfeel is not fizzy or thin or watery and it goes down extremely smooth. A fantastic beer to wash down appetizers while watching sports or chatting with your friends in a relaxed atmosphere.

12oz Bottle, purchased from Westmere Beverage Center - Albany, NY. Camping backlog from notes. I should have known better than to buy a pilsner from a bottle, but it didn’t look like it had been on the shelf that long and the reviews were good. Unfortunately, this was pretty messy for a porter. Overcarbonated, light styrofoam, noticeable wheat presence and an intense yeasty spice. Just not clean and crisp enough for me.

A - Pours a clear golden-yellow color with a finger of crisp white head. The head fades down to a spotty layer and a ring around the glass lacing fairly nicely. S - Aroma has some bready malts and some light citrus (lemon peel) aromas. There is also just some hints of floral hops mixed in. A bit subtle. T - Starts off with some bread malts and lemon flavors. Touch of hops in the background and a touch of wheat. Through the middle some deeper bread and other light fruits come through. The finish is a blend of the bread and lemon peal that lingers nicely. M - Light bodied with moderate lively carbonation. Very smooth and fairly crisp without being watery. The finish is a bit dry. D - Very drinkable. Smooth and fairly crisp. Couple use a bit more flavor overall, but what is there is interesting enough and well balanced.

Bomber. Clear, golden with a small lasting head. Nose is earthy grain and yeast, caramel, and some light spice. Flavor is the same, plus some toast and light citrus. Light-medium body has a nice carbonation and hop tingle.

Pours a hazy straw colored yellow with small fizzy white head. tastes of some hops very crisp some grass. decent pilsener which is not my favorite style but i like this quite a bit

From mcox90 via trade. The pour was thin and pale gold with very little head. The aroma was spice and thin pine hops. The flavor was spicy with some cardboard and maybe a touch of sweetness. Thin body.

12 oz bottle. Pours a clear light yellow color with a thin white head. Aroma is bread dough, mild citrus and a touch of earth. Clean, dry palate with lively carbonation. Taste is Pilsner malt with a light hop background. Simple and unassuming. Quite refreashing.

Bottle. Pours hazy and straw-colored with a medium off-white head. Aroma is citrus and pine hops, sweet pilsner malts, and dough/biscuits. Flavor is sweet, slightly bitter, with citrus present. Medium carbonation and thin body. This is good, a nice surprise.

Very yellow in appearance. It’s a good, crisp beer. Fairly hoppy, but goes down smooth with a bit of bite in it. It’s very good for a pilsner.