[blatz]

with a lot more time now to have had some and consider, I agree with what euge said - its about noble hop showcase, witha  pilsner malt stage - I don't really like the term "homebrewey" though.

I'll pose this to you though kai (and I agree with your assessment of the beer) - I don't really find this all that much different from Victory's Prima, which many, many people use as their benchmark for the style.  To me, VPP has never tasted anything like Bitburger or some of the other examples (though I've never had Jever).  I guess what I'm saying is, if not SA Noble, then why Victory?

Disclaimer/Disclosure:  Victory Prima is my favorite pils.

[eric]

I have to agree this beer is missing something?   It is not a bad beer and I will drink all that I have. I truly was looking forward to a really good summer drinking beer.  If you are over 40 and remember the original Strohs beer in Detroit (Not the crap made now) that is what I think of when it comes to Bohemian Pilsner. My taste may have changed but that was my first beer, and you always remember your first

[Kaiser]

I never had Prima Pils but it’s not brewered by a German brewery either.

More food for though. And don’t get this the wrong way. I’m not here to bash American brewing or taste preferences. It is almost a philosophical discussion:

Who should decide how a particular style is supposed to taste? Fact is that beer styles evolve as consumer taste and technology changes. But that change may not go into a direction that we beer geeks like. Let’s look at the German Pils. Most of them are getting more and more bland. They loose their hop bitterness and their hop aroma. But is this a trend that should be encouraged by judges? I guess no. But then, where is the balance between too much and too little? Who’s going to be the guru on the hill who decides this?

In Germany the DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts Gesellschaft – German Agriculture Society) issues each year a book listing the best beers in each style. You could see the beers listed as the current benchmark of the style. I don’t own it but want to get it in the future. But even that list will be influenced by personal preferences and possibly by industry trends.

This becomes even more complicated once you judge those styles as non native beers. Since it is a hobby you cannot require that judges travel to the native country of these beers (be it Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, UK…) to get a full understanding what the beer tastes like over there. So inevitably you’ll get local taste preferences mixed into these styles and something that may win here in the US may not do so well in its native country or ice versa. But I just see this as the nature of the beast.

My local pizza house makes an awesome buffalo chicken pizza. I don’t care that this may have little to do with an authentic Italian pizza. But I love it and don’t want to have it any other way.

Kai

[bluesman]

It is almost a philosophical discussion:

Who should decide how a particular style is supposed to taste?

Who’s going to be the guru on the hill who decides this?

Kai

Agreed

Who makes the best car...or who makes the best pizza...or who makes the best of anything.

What is the standard?

The standard is that which everything is gaged by. The standard for beer in the homebrewing hobby is what? The BJCP Style Guidelines.

I'm not telling anyone anything they don't already know, but as many know beers are judged by beer judges and measured against the BJCP standards... and every beer judge has their own personal preferences and palates that are unique to one another. The beer judging process is very subjective. If you have ever competed you know what I'm talking about.

But I guess we have to have some standard by which we can all agree upon and by the way I do tend to agree with the BJCP standards for the most part. That being the case, the examples for a German Pils according to the BJCP style guidelines are:

Victory Prima Pils, Bitburger, Warsteiner, Trumer Pils, Old Dominion Tupper’s Hop Pocket Pils, König Pilsener, Jever Pils, Left Hand Polestar Pilsner, Holsten Pils, Spaten Pils, Brooklyn Pilsner

So if we are measuring SA Noble Pils against the standard... then the aforementioned examples are those by which it should be measured.

Personally I want to do a blind tasting to satisfy my own curiosity. However my opinion ...well you know what they say about opinions.

OK...now taste them for yourselves. 

[1vertical]

Quaffable beer. Pleasant to drink. I liked my samples.

[majorvices]

Picked up a 12 pack the other weekend and it is a nice pils - looking forward to some warm spring day around the smoker and I will probably pick this up again. Didn't have great head retention though. Reminded me strongly of the Golden Pils but with more up front hop flavor. I bet it is way better on draft.

[majorvices]

I never had Prima Pils but it’s not brewered by a German brewery either.

More food for though. And don’t get this the wrong way. I’m here to bash American brewing or taste preferences. It is almost a philosophical discussion:

Little Freudian slip there, buddy?  I could fix it for you but I want to be sure you mean what you mean. 

[Kaiser]

Gosh darn it. Speaking about a meaning changing typo. Thanks.

Kai

[fredek]

Personally, I loved it. I did detect a citrusy tinge that I assumed was from either the yeast strain or the combination of hops or both. However, to compare it to a German (or even German-style) pils is misleading. I simply let it stand on its own merits, which I find to be strong enough.

I mentioned it to one of my brewclub friends - most of the rest of them had already tried it - and he asked where he could get it. We explained that it was all gone and he said, "What? In this weather?" (It was 95-plus degrees that day). I had to agree - if you're going to make a seasonal pils, try to keep it available all season long. And yes, I'd like to see it available year-round, although I'd drink more of it in the summertime than any other.

[majorvices]

I agree - they should have kept it along all summer long. I dislike their Summer Ale.

[narvin]

I liked it.  It is definitely not a crisp, mellow lager like Bitburger but I thought it was far from bad homebrew.

Kai - one question I have is what you think of the statement that I've heard repeatedly (especially from Kris England) about German Pilsners being less hopped than they used to.  I know Prima Pils is somewhat above the traditional pils in terms of hoppiness, but I also doubt that any German Pilsners approach 40 IBUs any more.

[kgs]

I had this at an airport bar a couple of months ago (at DCA if memory serves) and was surprised at how much I liked it.  It was by far the best beer on the menu!

[jeffy]

I just got back from a beer run with a fresh 6 pack of this.  Woohoo!  It still says, "seasonal" though.  I kind of wish they'd make it all year.

[euge]

I just got back from a beer run with a fresh 6 pack of this.  Woohoo!  It still says, "seasonal" though.  I kind of wish they'd make it all year.

I'm going to the store tonight for some veggies. Been wanting to have SANP again. The TV commercials are swaying me and and my beer kegs are empty.

[euge]

mmmm... I recall that this beer had haze to it- last year. Not so with what I just poured. Brilliant clarity.

Also besides taste is the head retention. Head lasted all the way down my first glass drunk over an hour. Thick lace on the sides of the glass as well. Very nice.