Tuatara Pilsner

Brewed by Tuatara Brewing Company
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
Reikorangi, Waikanae, New Zealand

Pale golden color. Light head, saaz hops hits the nose. Light bodied, nice hop bitterness in mouth. Straight forward, but well made Pils, with moderate bitter finish. I love NZ pils

Draught at The Malthouse, Wellington. Clear pale yellow. Dry with plenty of grassy hops. It’s light bodied with gentle rounded mouthfeel. There’s notes of lemon and a bitterness that grows and grows. A true north German style pilsener, that only needs to be more crisp to achieve greatness.

Tasted 31/12/2005. 330ml bottle from Bisque on Bolton, New Years Eve dinner. Pale gold, slight haze, with a white, lingering, head and a light carbonation. Superbly fresh nose that holds its own through the entire glass. A real treat of passionfruit, lemon, spicey floral notes and hints of the fruity honey-like aroma of a german riesling. Up there with Emersons Pilsner, though a touch more subtle. Good flavour, though just a touch light in the juicy sweet pilsner malt department, shows though a decent spicey hop flavour and a shortish bitter finish. Crisp and fresh. Smooth carbonation and light-medium weight. More malt sweetness showing through and this would be one of the best. Another lovely beer from Carl Vasta’s under-rated Reikiorangi brewery.

On tap. Almost colourless beer with a non-existant head. Aroma is decently hoppy (Saaz) but very low on the malt side. A bit citrusy aroma as well. Decently hoppy flavour with some light spiciness and a bit of pale malt. Slight appley flavour.

My appreciation of Kiwi pilseners is somewhat affected by the brilliance of Emersons. This one is a fine specimen though, and it reminds me more of the Budvar (stick Czechvar up your fundiment A-B) in that I find this softer and more subtle in hop profile. A great looking beer with a typically expected golden hue and clean head. The beer is well balanced and has all of the qualities of a beer that is difficult to get right. NZ water goes a long way to helping with the subtlety and quality of the beer. Ta Beer_Ledgend.

Quite pale for a Czech-style Pils without the golden colour from the long boil. OK head. Great aroma - very fresh, juicy malt with more fresh passionfruity hops and perhaps a bit of wort. Really nice, and like something but I can’t think what it is. Initially tastes just like it smells - really fruity and juicy - but kind of falls away mid-palate, lacking the firm body of many Czech Pils’. Finishes pretty strong, not overly bitter but has a nice crisp hoppiness to it. Slight astringency at the end. Thanks to beer_ledgend for this one!

Nice clear yellow straw colour, big hoppy flavour,, sweet aroma of hops, lovley big bitter taste. One could go on about NZ Saaz hops but this is a tradional pilsner style.

just i was thinking i hated nz hops, i tasted them in a beer where they actually worked. amazing aroma of passionfruit and taste of passionfruit seeds. some creeping bitterness. soft and subtle, a few other flavours appear on the periphery - applesauce, mango icecream. a real delight