Wednesday, September 4, 2013

REVIEW: Schlafly Pilsner


As I sit down to write this review I'm still riding high on that huge Reds win over the Cardinals. Man, how good was Homer Bailey?! And how about Billy Hamilton making his big league debut, picking up his first career steal, and scoring the game winning run on a huge hit from Todd Frazier? And finally, that is about as dominant as I can ever remember Aroldis Chapman looking. What a huge win. Unfortunately, down here in my new apartment in Lexington, I don't have any Cincinnati beers to drink. I do have one from St. Louis though, oddly enough. Schlafly is one of the few breweries that distribute to Kentucky, but not to Ohio. Anyways, today I have a tall glass of Schlafly Pilsner, which checks in at 5.0% ABV and 30 IBU. To the beer!

Schlafly's Pilsner pours into the glass a crystal clear straw colored gold. It's capped by a creamy dollop of finely bubbled, awfully resilient, bone white head. It leaves some spotty lacing on it's way down the glass. 

On the nose I get clean, toasty, sweet malt. The hops manifest in a grassy, slightly peppery way with a very subtle earthiness. The aromas here are subtle, but quite nice. I like it.

The beer is light in body. A grassy bitterness leads directly into a tremendous, nearly chewy, creaminess. In the middle an earthy character mingles with a toasty, slightly biscuity malt and a nice breast sweetness. An intriguing, yet very subtle citrusy orange fruitiness adds some welcome complexity. It ends with a nice crisp finish and a mild lingering bitterness. 

This ought to be the flagship lager coming out of St. Louis. Light, creamy, sessionable, with a great understated complexity. Light years beyond anything coming out of AB, but that should go without saying. I may not be a fan of St.  Louis' baseball team. Quite the opposite in fact. I am, however, a big time fan of their beer. This one's pretty great. Give it a look. 

HD

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