Here's my review of Rob_F's German Pilsner. (wrote it yesterday, just getting to posting today)
OG 1.047, FG 1.015, dated 2/2/16
Appearance: a little cloudy – maybe some chill haze in there, but clear otherwise, and glowing straw in color
Aroma: nice floral noble hops, missing that typical German “it” aroma but I’ve never been able to replicate that in my Pilsners and some say it’s oxidation anyways, right? (no flame wars meant to be started here
)
Taste: right away I get a hint of green apple, but it gives way to a nice firm bitter taste and a good dry finish. Not quite as dry as a Jever but I’d say more bitter than your typical mass-market Bitburger or Warsteiner. Maybe more in Radeberger territory. Anyways, with the FG listed as 1.015, I didn’t expect it to taste this crisp, but it does, which goes to show that sometimes numbers lie. (73.6% of all statistics are made up, right?) . . . so this bitterness (a good dry Pils bitterness, not kick-in-the-pants IPA bitterness) lingers nicely for some minutes after the sip, but it’s not astringent or off in any way that I can tell
Overall: a really solid German Pils. I’m having this at the end of Friday afternoon, when the temps have been in the 90s for a couple days here in the Hudson Valley of New York – a very early mini-heatwave that we’re not usually for ready for until July – so that may be coloring my enjoyment of this beer, but it is really hitting the spot. Nice job, Rob.
(If you care to share the info, can you send me your mash info, hopping schedule, yeast strain, and water recipe, etc, by PM?)
-red