Sudwerk Pilsner

Brewed by Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch
Style: Pilsener
Davis, California USA

Serve in Flute, Footed Pilsner

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If sudzy is trying to imitate that flavor of pilsners from the old country, they did it. Everything from the slight veggie aroma to the pilsner bitter bite. Not terribly over the top.

12oz bottle from Whole Foods Los Altos. Pours a really damn pale straw color with a one-finger white head and good lacing. Aroma is grassy hops, pale malt, and some graininess. Very nice. Flavor is good but just a little buttery. Pale malt and grains with a nice hop bite which is very grassy and a little floral. Crisp on the palate with medium-light body and some real hop bitterness. This isn’t a favorite of mine overall, but for the style it’s very solid.

Bright gold; decent head. A little lighter than the helles. Creamy body with a lively carbonation. Dry and grainy malts with very little sweetness. Decent amount of bitterness, but aromas weren’t the greatest ... and what was there was mild. Bitter flowers and some grass in the finish.

Bottle. Golden and clear with low carbonation. Pleasant dryness and a medium body makes for a well balanced and pleasant pilsner.

Yellowish gold color with no head. Looks like champagne. Aroma and taste is like malted corn juice. If it wasn’t for the lively carbonation, I’d pour this shit.

Think it was called Lager when I had it Sparkling dark gold. Malt nose and taste

.3L on tap at the brewpub. Crisp, grassy, vegetal-like nose with a mild doughiness present. Fair enough. Transparent blonde color with a large, frothy, whitish head and lots of lacing. Crisp, slightly spicy and grassy hoppiness to start. Middle has an interesting astringency to it with a bit of breadiness. Mild spiced hops make their presence again in the finish. A nice and refreshing beer.

Location: 12 oz bottle from Colonial Wine and Spirits, 9/13/11

Aroma: The nose is german malts, grass, cereal, and a little floral hops
Appearance: It pours a clear yellow color with a fizzy white head and streaky lace
Flavor: The taste is balanced betweem the crisp, cereal malts and floral hops
Palate: The body is light and crisp with a fairly clean mouthfeel and lively carbonation
Overall Impression: Honestly, I didn’t think this was a bad pilsner at all. It had a pretty decent flavor, it was on style, and it had a crisp and clean mouthfeel. It’s fairly simple, and not particularly interesting, but it works for what it is trying to be, so I’d drink this one again.

The came from BevMo in Vacaville, CA and cost $7.99 for aixer. From a 12 oz bottle this poured a clear bright orange with a nice white head. Good lacing, unusual color for a pils. Nose is caramel malts and citrus and floral hops. Medium but clean mouthfeel. Flavor shows lots of the citrus hops and the finish is bitter. Nice drinking.

04-Jul-07 (12 oz bottle, Bottled on 28-Jul-06: Purchased 01-Jun-07 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) This is a perfect example why I strongly advocate revisiting beers whenever possible. Previously, I seemed to think the beer was overtly sweet, but my perceptions must have been out of whack that day (or maybe they’re out of whack today?). Crisp, dry, hoppy, and moderately bitter, this is anything but a sweet pilsener. When the beer is cold, the malts present a solid base for the beer, but don’t seem especially accented in any direction, being neither strongly grainy, corny or bready. Modest breadiness begins to emerge in the finish as the beer warms up, but the hop flavor and bitterness remain at the forefront, which is pretty impressive for a pilsener that was bottled 11 months ago and likely kept at room temperature before falling into my hands. With the crisp, clean hoppy attack and finish, the unobtrusive malt backing, the medium carbonation, and the light-medium body, this beer is easy to drink and very refreshing like a pilsener ought to be. The nose is only moderately aromatic, presenting a pleasant hop aroma and some light graininess of the malt. Straw-colored and slightly hazy, with the typical half-inch white head falling away to a wide ring. A quality offering from Sudwerk, but what else is new?!

15-Mar-05 (12 oz bottle: BevMo in La Jolla, CA) A rather flavorful pilsener, bready, with a mild hop bitterness lending some balance. However, what is strikingly prominent is the sweetness. It’s sweet, almost to the point of calling it sugary, and especially when you consider the style of beer this is, the sweetness really stands out, especially in the finish. While somewhat crisp from hops, the lightly carbonated mouthfeel is soft and pleasant. This most certainly is not a dry pilsener though. Fairly sweet, malty nose has a much lighter hops aroma in the background. Medium yellow color is accompanied by a bit of haziness. Whitish head is fairly small on the pour, fades to a broken sheen, but leaves some patchy lacing behind. So while I’ve used the word "sweet" too many times for a pilsener, and this is a rather simple, one-dimensional, easy drinking beer, Sudwerk has produced yet another enjoyable beer that I would definitely recommend trying unless you like your pilseners crisp and dry. (7, 3, 6, 4, 13 = 3.3)