Starr Pils - Starr Hill Brewery

bubseymour

Maryland

4.3/5  rDev +23.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

A- dark yellow w small head. Nothing out of ordinary for a pilsner.

S- slight hint of the noble hops and slight malt.

T - a very nice pilsner. Pronounced flavor from the hops and crisp finish. Mild bitterness but not as strong as some others. A little more refreshing on a hot day.

M - fine for a pilsner

O- I definitely recommend this one. It's well crafted, and easy to drink as well.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2012 21:48:22 | More by bubseymour

Godot

Virginia

4/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bought a six pack of Starr Hill Northern Lights and someone must have swapped one for the Pils. Nice surprise really, as I wasn't really blown away by the IPA (not bad, just nothing to write home about). Now I get to try another one from this brewery. Pours a pale yellow. Its hard to get excited by the appearance of a pilsener, but this does have a frothy, bright white head that drops to a solid film and leaves nice lacing down the glass. Nice grassy hop aromas. Malt is not very apparent in the nose, but it shows up a bit more in the taste. Light biscuit underlies the predominate hop flavors. This is, overall, a bit too hoppy for a traditional German pilsener, but I like where its going. Good, refreshing pilsener that hits the spot on a warm day. I could knock back a couple of these on a Saturday afternoon.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2012 21:09:59 | More by Godot

Jimmys

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

new seasonal from Starr Hill. 12oz bottle into tulip. bottled on 2/23/12. on a complete side-note, i am loving this label. definitely a old-school-macro look from a VA craft. awesome.

A: very clear golden yellow body. head is frothy with good retention and lacing.

S: earthy and herbal german hop aromas. not exactly a slap across the face, but definitely present. a little bit of bland, corny grain.

T: a little bit of dry, chewy grain mingles with spicy, black pepper notes from the hops. finish is dry and clean with a minor lingering bitterness.

M: moderate, zesty fizz on a light body.

D: not as hop centric as a lot of American made German Pils, but definitely truer to your traditional German made, German Pils. meh, not bad, but certainly not a standout in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2012 00:59:48 | More by Jimmys

kylehay2004

Florida

3.58/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Enjoyed at the brewery.

A: two finger head on a clear bright golden body. Nice lacing.

S: grains and pale malts, just right without offputting notes.

T: sharp grain flavoring, pale malts and light bready notes.

M: light body and high carbonation. Fairly refreshing.

Overall: very drinkable. No funk or sourness, a solid drinkable pils.

Serving type: on-tap

07-25-2012 23:18:49 | More by kylehay2004

Dave1999

Virginia

3.55/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a cloudy yellow orange with a thin white head.

Smells grassy,malts and orange peels. Typical pilsner smell.

The taste is much the same as the smell malty and grassy.

The mouth feel is light with medium carbonation.

Overall an average pilsner probably won't buy again pretty boring.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2012 02:48:10 | More by Dave1999

Rhettroactive

Virginia

3.55/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From 12oz bottle to Bruges hybrid glass on 5/8/12
*From notes

A: It looks a bit like a lemon soda. Very pale, very clean. A standard pour yields a bone white one finger bubbly, loose head. No lacing and a minor white collar follow.

S: Some banana mash and untoasted pale malts. Quite a traditional presentation.

T: Very similar to the nose. It's rustic, almost Kolsch-like. Bready, dry grains and a touch of bitter hops round out the profile.

M: Light and fun. Properly carbonated and easy to put back.

O: It may not be the best German style Pils I'ver ever had, but it's certainly one of the better beers that I've had from Starr Hill. Quaffable, crisp and something I'd eagerly seek out on a hot day in the yard. For those looking to go old school with their Pils, it's easily recommended.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2012 22:21:12 | More by Rhettroactive

cyclonece09

Virginia

3.55/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Beer poured from a 12 oz bottle into a 14 oz "pint" glass. Pours a translucent straw with lots of bubbles and a small white head. Smells of sweet grain and possibly some corn, grain dominates. Tastes of barley, not much else, but with a bit of an aftertaste. Beer goes down great, really light bodied, heavy carbonation. Overall, an above average beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2013 01:55:23 | More by cyclonece09

argock

Virginia

3.53/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz brown bottle into a clear Donegal mug. Huge 6/28/12 stamped in black on the bottle neck. Purchased as part of a summer variety 12-pack at Kroger for $16.

A: Very clear pale yellow with frothy 1-2 finger white head with good retention but only a few spots of lace.

S: Bready malts with sharp mineral character of Saaz hops and a hint of lemon.

T: The flavor is solid and not quite as good as the aroma but is very clean with a good balance of grainy and bready character followed by a reasonably sharp and bitter noble hops bite. There is a touch of lemon citrus but not a lot. Mineral creeps in on the finish -- it borders on metallic and bloody in the finish but not quite there.

M: Crisp and clean with high carbonation which provides a scrubbing, dry quality. Very light, almost a little too much so.

O: Certainly not a bad pils and beats BMC. Glad I got a chance to try but there are others better. Still, at 4.2%, this is an easy drinking session pils for hanging out on the patio on a hot summer night with friends. Would go nicely with a crisp romaine salad with a citrus vinaigrette.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2012 00:58:38 | More by argock

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

You CANnot imagine my elation upon walking into Pizza Boy/Al's of Hampden two Saturdays ago and spotting this gem in the cooler! I was ecstatic at the proposition of adding yet another of their beers to The CANQuest (TM) and I had to be physically restrained from just opening one and CANsuming it right then and there.

From the CAN: "Founded in Charlottesville, VA"; "The Gift of Great Beer [undersigned] Mark A. Thompson [,] Master Brewer".

The Crack spewed like the one that the dominatrix opened in Devo's "Whip It!" video which kind of irritated me as I was still in a suit and i dislike smelling like beer at work. Once it (and I) calmed down, I ended up with a finger-and-a-half of puffy, bone-white head with reasonable retention. Color was a light, pale yellow with NE-quality clarity and I was wishing for an SRM guide to better describe it. One sniff and I thought, "German!" Sho nuff. It had a beautiful grassiness, but underlain with enough malt to take on a slight lemony quality, as well as a mild sweetness. Mouthfeel was light, not watery, but soft, with a definite lemongrass taste that really speaks of the style, to me. Finish was semi-dry with the same lemongrass flavor that I caught on the tongue. Given that it is now available in CANs and summer is quickly approaching, I am recommending it for your cooler if you CAN find it in your area.

Serving type: can

05-22-2013 00:56:28 | More by woodychandler

DefenCorps

Oregon

3.48/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottled 24th Feb 2012. I'm surprised this is this new a beer.

A mildly hazy, this looks like an unfiltered pils (always a plus in my book), light straw yellow with a dense, white head with good retention and nice lacing. The nose is pretty good! With a bright and pungent hop character, very Hallertau-like with a mild mint and moderate lemon aroma, this smells pretty refreshing. There's a faint whiff of sulfur, but otherwise, this is pretty clean. A nice, doughy, bready malt character with a touch of yeast is also present. Very nice.

The palate opens with a rather big hop bitterness, with oily, resiny Saaz hops ( a little too much for the style IMO, without being unabashed in its aggression a la Prima Pils). Lemon, a touch of mint, a little bit of grass and earth are present. Mildly doughy with some bread, this tastes rustic. Unfortunately, the palate is rather disjointed in that the hop character and the malt character are just not integrated. The lack of a mineral character in the water profile that would tie it all together is just unfortunate. Instead, this feels a little watery. Drying, bitter on the finish with a lingering Hallertau hop character. Solid, could be better with a couple of tweaks.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2012 01:03:04 | More by DefenCorps

TechTriumph

Virginia

3.48/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

From notes on 04/17/12:
Bottled: 02/24/12; Poured in a Sam Adams Perfect Pint glass.

A - One inch white fluffy head with pretty good retention; Pale yellow/golden color with a slightly hazy appearance; Some lacing left behind - not too much really

S - Lightly herbal and spicy; A bit yeasty and a touch of lemon; Lots of grains and cereals

T - Lots of grains and cereals present in the taste as well that make up the majority of the flavor profile; Touch of lemon; Decent, but not a strong presence of herbal and spicy hops

M - Moderate carbonation; Light bodied; Pretty crisp and smooth mouthfeel that finishes a bit on the dry side

O - The strong point of this brew is definitely it's drinkability and light, crisp, and smooth mouthfeel. The aroma and flavor, however, didn't really show me any qualities to distinguish them from the average pilsener offering. I could easily consume a few of these in a single session, though it's not a brew I would actively seek out.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2012 02:36:50 | More by TechTriumph

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.38/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from bottle into pint glass

Appearance – Pours a straw color with a two finger white head. The head fades rather fast to give a good amount of lacing.

Smell – The smell is mainly of malt with a hop base largely of citrus lemon and a light grapefruit. Mixed with this is some light aroma as pine as well.

Taste – The flavor starts out on the bready side. It is soon meet with a lighter citrus hop flavor. These hop flavors mix with a light earthy hop flavor which seems to mix with the citrus and leave a lightly bitter-crisper flavor on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – Very average in terms of carbonation (medium level) with a very average level of carbonation. Good for the style.

Overall - Easy drinking with a good crisp flavor and a nice clean taste.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 23:20:57 | More by Darkmagus82

marlinsfan4

Maryland

3/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a light golden color, some bubbling, smallish head. Aroma is of sharp hops. Taste is light to medium bodied, decent mouthfeel. Get the Euro-hop bite, pretty well balanced. Has a bit of an off taste to it on the back end, hard to put my finger on it but something just doesn't mesh well. Not a bad beer by any means, but seems to be a pretty average Pils and nothing too spectacular here, pretty meh.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2012 02:27:57 | More by marlinsfan4

Minkybut

Virginia

3/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I poured this pretty average beer into my tumbler at 45 degrees. The beer poured a nice white head but that went away fast. The beer had fair lacing. It also was a golden color and smelled like slightly sour bread. The taste was bright and slightly sweet. Kind of British tasting. Not really impressed and I will not buy again.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 01:05:57 | More by Minkybut

tdm168

North Carolina

2.98/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - pale golden yellow with a thick, fizzy, bubbly, white head that has little retention

S - grainy and sweet

T - grainy, bready, sweet, fainly grassy

M - light bodied, lightly carbonated

This is a very sessionable beer though a bit boring. This is better than an American lager, but it just doesn't have enough character to really represent the German Pilsener style. I won't buy this again.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 08:28:51 | More by tdm168