Gartenwasser Pils
Appearance - Clear, pale gold. Thick, foamy white head that persists. Looks like a Pils should.
Aroma - Overall mild aroma. Noble hops and characteristic Pilsner malt "Graham cracker".
Flavor - Moderate bitterness up front that lingers just enough...it's there, but could perhaps use more for the style. SOme non-distinct fruitiness - probably from the New Zealand hops. Although they were of noble variety, these hops were noticably more fuity than their German counterpart. Some more noble notes mid-sip. Overall clean and crisp.
Mouthfeel - Crisp and dry, but not thin. Moderate carbonation. Creamy head.
Overall - Excellent beer. Perhaps on the milder side of the style. In fact, a German friend compared it to Warsteiner and said she prefers her Pils more "herber" (she said this is German for "dry/harsh/bitter"). It is well balanced, but, for this style, it could definitely be more bitter. I think it is also a bit fruitier than most traditional Pils thanks to my hop selection. Regardless, it is perfect after mowing the lawn on hot summer day!
5 comments:
Thats a very very good looking Pilsner. I'm not huge on lager but that looks so refreshing I want one now
Great photos. This brew looks fantastic.
I have to admit, this beer turned out pretty damn good. It doesn't hurt that it also looked great - a couple months in the fridge and a beautiful day will do that. Actually, one of the reasons I get somewhat delinquent posting tasting notes of my brews here is that I want to make sure I have a nice photo.
I didn't used to care for lagers either...until I learned that "lager" was not equal to "Budweiser" or "Coors". Some spectacular lagers out there...too bad I don't have any real temperature control...otherwise I'd brew more of them.
This sounds like a great beer. How cold does your cellar get in the Winter. I don't think mine gets much below 60.
Brian - I'm lucky in that I had three different areas for this beer. My garage, cellar and "mudroom" (adjoins the garage to the cellar). My garage gets cold - in the 30s and 40s depending on the day. The mudroom is in the lower 50s and the cellar is in the upper 50s to lower 60s. For this beer I started it in the mudroom, moved it to the cellar, then finished/lagered it in the garage. It worked great, but unseasonably warm weather would have complicated things.
If you can't get the beer below 60, you might try using a steam beer yeast like White Lab's San Fransisco lager strain - it will produce lager-like characteristics at higher temps.
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