Smuttynose Short Batch #11 - Vunderbar - Smuttynose Brewing Company

flagmantho

Washington

4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: light silvery-yellow hue with a shimmery haze. There's plenty of effervescence in this brew, and the head pours two fingers of frothy white foam. Nice.

Smell: sweet aroma with lots of lager-yeast character. Smooth with a nice finisher of slightly spicy noble hops. Maybe not as clean as a lot of Pilsners, but there's lots of character here which I'm really liking.

Taste: sweet malt flavor with a good hop character right up front. There are hops all the way through this from beginning to end, with a fresh noble taste. Bitterness is pretty low considering all the hop character, which just makes this beer all the smoother.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a good level of carbonation and a nice, smooth creaminess. Good stuff.

Overall: a quite refreshing and quaffable Pilsner. Maybe not 100% stylistically accurate, but quite tasty nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 02:53:20 | More by flagmantho

cbutova

Massachusetts

3.96/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tried this at the brewery last year, just noticed it on shelves again and it has a nice fresh date.
Between price and quality, Smuttynose always seems to deliver nicely.

A- Poured into a slim, tall glass from the 12oz bottle. Comes out super clear and uber pale with a very faint yellow hue to it. Can see completely through the body of the beer. A tall white head forms with a foamy texture and sticks around for a pretty nice period of time. Lace begins as soon as the head falls and follows the beer down the glass in thick pillows.

S- Overall it has a clean but faint aroma. I pick up some light malt sweetness and a distinct spicy, flowery hop presence in the foreground.

T- A clean, mellow overall flavor that is hop forward. The hops are floral, herbal, grassy and spicy in nature and are most likely of the "Noble" variety. Malt is noticed with some light cracker sweets. I also get lemon, yeast bread and cracked grain with a nice bitterness throughout the whole experience.

MF- Light bodied with a crisp and fairly dry overall feel. Carbonation comes in a moderately high quantity and feels pretty silky. Moderate but clean, appropriate bitterness.

A well made Pilsener produced right here in New England. Balanced, refreshing and contains all of the elements you would expect in this style. I remember liking it at the brewery, well done.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 01:46:42 | More by cbutova

Dizbro21

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

05-13-2013 00:25:06 | More by Dizbro21

Caudalie

Quebec (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

05-08-2013 14:21:27 | More by Caudalie

Jacobob10

New Jersey

3.59/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Yellow in color but fairly hazy for a pilsner. Small head that clings to the edges of the glass but leaves no lacing behind. Floral hop aroma with strong biscuit malt overtones. Good carbonation but still a little soft for the style and a very dry finish. I am a pilsner fan but something about this one just misses the mark. Perhaps it's not as crisp as I like them to be.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2013 00:32:46 | More by Jacobob10

madtrixter787

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

04-24-2013 00:41:35 | More by madtrixter787

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

04-23-2013 05:27:39 | More by Kelp

Celtics76

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

04-04-2013 13:06:16 | More by Celtics76

acurtis

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -20.8%

03-30-2013 23:48:13 | More by acurtis

djrn2

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

03-30-2013 23:47:13 | More by djrn2

dar482

New York

4.08/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

The color is clear and yellow like a pilsner should be with a big head.

The aroma is of grassy hops.

The flavor is addictive. It has great German hops pilsner characteristics. There's a good malt backbone along with it.It has an amazing carbonation and a fine dry finish.

It's a quite addictive beer. The dry finish and good hops makes this a really good beer. Unfortunately, I had a bottle that was too old. However, it still stood out as one of the best America made pilsners I have had. I would love to get this fresh with more hops.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 06:49:43 | More by dar482

MadScientist

New York

3.76/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A: A straw colored beer with excellent clarity. The rocky white head fades to a ring of foam and a thin film of bubbles.

S: Hello Saaz hops! Lots of spicy and floral Saaz with some light grassy notes and moderately-strong Pilsner malt. There is a bit of biscuit and bread to malt aroma.

T: A medium, spicy hops flavor and bitterness with the moderate honey, malt flavor of the Pilsner malt. There are some secondary malt characters of biscuit and bread but the balance of this beer is fairly bitter. There balance of flavors is pretty good but it falls apart a bit with a little harshness in the finish.

O: A crisp, hop focused, bitter beer that is slightly unbalanced but to be fair the brew suggested an enjoy by date about six weeks back. It's still a pretty decent beer but I can imagine this is a very good beer when it's fresh and I'll keep an eye out for next years release. I greatly appreciate a brewer that will put an bottle on or enjoy by date; when you're getting a hoppy beer you want to know that sort of thing.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2013 00:09:39 | More by MadScientist

claytong

Vermont

4/5  rDev +5.5%

03-26-2013 04:29:54 | More by claytong

Beermaine

Maine

4/5  rDev +5.5%

03-16-2013 00:03:30 | More by Beermaine

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A - Not much carbonation yet I got an overflowing bottle top that foamed over. In the glass just a 1/4 inch of sticky head that settles to a thick lace ring. Color is a rather hazy bright yellow rather than your typical bright yellow Pils.
S - Smell is rather light, some hops and a bit of pilsner malt. Maybe some corn but also faint.
T - One of the better pilsner's I had in a while, some corn, some hops, balanced sugary body that hides the skunky yeasts well. Tasty.
M - Light to medium easy to drink.
Overall I am not sure how old this is but it tastes great. Nice short batch series I wish I could find more.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2013 00:40:42 | More by DrDemento456

THECPJ

Delaware

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

02-18-2013 22:07:32 | More by THECPJ

erogers

New York

4.5/5  rDev +18.7%

02-02-2013 23:38:31 | More by erogers

rlee1390

Indiana

3.78/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A-Clear yellow, one finger head, some carbonation along with some lacing.

S-Strong malt, bread, straw and wheat. Tad bit of grass.

T-Starts sweet with a good deal of bread and straw, tad bit of lemon and grass.

M-Light to medium bodied, nicely carbonated.

O-A decent pilsner, still not a style I enjoy but this is a better one.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2013 17:25:32 | More by rlee1390

Mikecap

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

01-23-2013 02:36:10 | More by Mikecap

DRBiser

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

01-19-2013 05:07:11 | More by DRBiser

ScaryEd

New Hampshire

3.25/5  rDev -14.2%

01-18-2013 00:06:33 | More by ScaryEd

JeffTheJuice

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

01-17-2013 23:26:42 | More by JeffTheJuice

BobKieffer

3.51/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

I'm not a pilsner guy (putting it mildly), but I was pleasantly surprised by this. Has a somewhat unique flavor that finishes with (and bear with me) a walnut-like taste. Smell and mouthfeel pretty uninspiring, but other than that, I dig it. Probably be a good session beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2013 01:48:31 | More by BobKieffer

MDDMD

Pennsylvania

3.74/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A-light golden color with a decent white head and some lacing

S-grain, light floral and lemon, grassy

T-slightly sweet malt, hints of lemon, floral hops and some light bitterness in the finish

F-light to medium body with moderate carbonation, crisp and clean

O-a decent pilsener but not outstanding

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 17:12:01 | More by MDDMD

JerzDevl2000

New Jersey

3.99/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Picked this up last week at Buy Rite in Jersey City, with a sell by date of 3/17/13. I hadn't had a Czech Pilsener in a long time and usually find them to be crisp, clean, and a bit bland. Thankfully, this beer was quite bright and enjoyable, to the point where I found it to be a pleasant surprise. This has Saaz written all over it and was much brighter and tastier than I expected it to be, with a nice crisp finish. Even the translucent hue made me think that this was just a hair short of being a Hefeweizen, since there was so much to enjoy here.

The pour to this was a pale yellow with some cloudiness to it and small, but vibrant head that faded somewhat quickly. Not a lot of lacing to be seen but there was a bit after each sip that faded down the sides of my pint glass. If there was a textbook example of a Czech Pilsener that was brewed here in the States, this would be it, as the grass and straw that characterize a beer of the style were in full force. Some lemon and banana were also to be found, along with a Saison-like sourness that slowly grew in the aftertaste. There even seemed to be a hint of wheat here, adding to fullness of the flavor that I never had in a Pilsener before. The finish was so clean that I felt like there was a hint of mint in this, that went well with the light but ever-present carbonation.

I only bought one of these but I could have easily downed all of a 4-pack in a session had I bought them. It's not often that a beer catches me by surprise or that something this light in hue and taste can match up with darker beers that are higher-rated on here, but this could certainly fit that bill. No doubt that this is a winner from Smuttynose and about a good a session beer that's on the shelf right now, to the point that I wish I had another here at home to crack open.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2013 21:52:51 | More by JerzDevl2000