Perla Chmielowa (Hop Pearl) - Perla Browary Lubelskie S.A.

khiasmus

South Carolina

3.98/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Very light golden color, perfect clarity, and four fingers of white head when poured into my pilsner glass, that drops to a half finger and lingers.

S- Malty, especially for a pale... smells of barley, light malt, and a hint of noble hops. Mmmm.

T- Initially that of a typical good pils, but then in comes the sweet, honey-like malt, which changes the character all together. Well balanced with the noble hops, and leaves a slight bit of tang along with the malty finish.

M- Clean, smooth, light, refreshing. Clean, dry finish.

D- You could drink several. It's very good, and the light body and inviting taste makes the alcohol content a bit dangerous. Give this to your macro buddies as a good intro to craft beer. cheers.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2007 00:48:01 | More by khiasmus

Cyberkedi

Georgia

2.98/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Not exciting, but drinkable and worth sampling. Appearance is typical clear lager-yellow. Aroma is strongly malty with yeasty overtone and a hint of fruit. Flavor is mainly malty, but it has a strong hoppy undertone that lends a little pleasant bitterness. Finish is smooth, a teeny bit on the thin side but still a good call.

Serving type: bottle

06-04-2007 23:56:22 | More by Cyberkedi

kkipple

South Carolina

3.23/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Saw these 16oz cans sitting at my local booze supplier, picked a few up... they were cheap. I’m going to get through this review without a single Polish joke too, you just watch.

A generous pour produces a cloudy, fizzy light yellow beer with a wonderful rocky, soapy white head that fills the last 2 inches of my Weizen glass. When it begins to collapse, it’s sudden and you can literally watch the foam fold into itself, leaving a big crater in the middle. Most amusing!

Smell is rather good, sweet floral notes and light malts tease the nose, while minimal hop bitterness rounds it off. Has something that reminds me of mineral water in the nose, not metallic, but perhaps sulfur? Not really sure…

A small sip reveals that this beer is made for quaffing, so I take a large gulp. My first impression isn’t all that great… this is a fizzy, watery, weak beer with few aspirations. Subsequent sips, however, reveal that this isn’t SO bad, after all. It’s certainly weak and a bit bland, but has a certain addictive quality that keeps you coming back. It’s smooth, honey-sweet and has a pleasing grainy aftertaste. No skunk or off flavors, just not much to write about. Even so, I rate the drinkability quite high.

I wouldn’t necessarily seek Perla out, but I could certainly drink several if I wandered into a Polish bar. (And someday I intend to.) I’d say this is a good blue collar drink, and infinitely superior to the macro swill you find at most bars here. Serve to your PBR loving friends and see if they like it.

Serving type: can

05-14-2007 01:30:20 | More by kkipple

gonzo138

Arizona

3.7/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- pours a golden color with a white head that retained ok but did lace well

S- little bit of malty sweetness at first, then a spicey pilsner hop aroma

T- matches taste, little bit sweet at first, then spicey saaz hop aftertaste

M- light body, high carbonation

D- could session this one, reasonably priced, easy to drink, pretty sure its a pilsner, will probly pick up again

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2007 06:36:37 | More by gonzo138

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16 oz. can. Looks pretty nice, a pale golden color with lots of bubbles. As far as euro lagers go, this is pretty nice, but for a pilsner, which I think this really is, its just above average.There's a light, grainy flavor with a little bit of hops and sweetness. Fairly clean overall, but the flavor is a little too mellow for me. Worth a try if you like imports.

Serving type: can

03-23-2007 22:23:05 | More by tempest

jettjon

Florida

3.53/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Presented in a 500ml bottle, no freshness date noted. Into the pilsner, a translucent golden-orange with vigorous carbonation. 2-finger head of solid white foam, good retention with slow fade and good lacing. Nose is quite pleasing with a good balance between hops and sweet malt. Slight floral/perfumy notes. Taste is again well balanced, good sweetish malt presence along with a mild hops bite, though the nose hints at more hops presence that the taste delivers. Slightly bready. A bit dry on the finish. Mouth is semi-viscous very smooth and satisfying. Drinkability is good overall, this brew is tasty and smooth.

Overall: Pretty good beer, though I was expecting more of a hop bite. Agreeable though unremarkable. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2007 17:00:26 | More by jettjon

jjayjaye

New York

3.98/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The Beer Pic image needs to be updated.

Pours light golden crystal clear color with a faint white head that fades quickly with only spots of lacing.

An aggressive blast of crisp lemon-like aroma from a foot away when opened, settles down quickly to that classic pils smell.

To me the mouthfeel is on the lighter side and that perception is reinforced by 'prickly' hop, carbonation and light color.

The flavor is slightly tart with a hint of spice. It has a bit of a grainy after taste. It finishes quite dry.

It's a refreshing beverage that is quite drinkable. I intend to break it out as a gateway beer to serve when I have my AB-Buds over.

Serving type: can

02-17-2007 16:34:23 | More by jjayjaye

Cresant

Kentucky

2.5/5  rDev -29.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured this undated 16.9 oz. brown bottle into a pilsner glass. A healthy sized head sat on a golden yellow body. Chill haze remained throughout the drink.

Smell was lemony, grain. Grass. Rather bland.

Taste was tart/sour. A raspy hop bite was welcomed but there was not hint of complementing malt flavor. This one lacked any real sweetness. It was drinkable yet lacked any depth.

Mouthfeel was medium bodied with mild prickling carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2006 23:06:44 | More by Cresant

kimcgolf

Georgia

3.1/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from the bottle to a golden yellow with medium white head that lingered, but little lacing. Aroma was faint, but what I got was hints of grass, and fruit, possibly with spice. A decent tasting beer, with a slightly hoppy flavor, but not much more. Decent finish to this beer. Don’t know if I’ll drink much more, but not bad for my first beer from Poland.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2006 13:53:47 | More by kimcgolf

WesWes

New York

3.9/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a gold color with a towering white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a light pale malt scent along with a dry lager yeast aroma. There is a light hop bitterness present. The taste is good. It has a nice malty flavor that boasts of pale and some Munich malts. It's smooth with a clean finish. It also has a mild hop flavor that is quite enjoyable. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a low/medium bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a good drinking Euro lager. It's a bit on the malty side and that's cool with me.

Serving type: can

07-08-2006 21:47:38 | More by WesWes

DaveFL1976

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is a darn fine brew!
Bright, light yellow body with a pearl white head and plenty f Saaz aroma. Taste is nicely balanced with no real outstanding part of the character, but nothing that stands out as needing to be improved on. Medium mouthfeel, clean aftertaste and nice carbonation make this easily drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2006 01:09:52 | More by DaveFL1976

aforbes10

Iowa

3.25/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From a bottle given to me as part of a Christmas gift:

Pours golden and bubbly with a massive tope-colored head.

Smells like kegged miller lite, fruity and skunky

Taste is strong for a pils, bitter , tart, malty and kind of metallic.

Mouthfeel is bubbly and tongue stabbing but it goes down nicely.

Drinkable and knocks you flat with a well-hidden 6.2 ABV

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2006 20:43:26 | More by aforbes10

TheLongBeachBum

California

3.53/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Presentation: Half Litre brown glass bottle with a colorful dark green, white and gold label which has a red band across it proudly displaying the word “PERŁA”, underneath which are the words “Chmielowa Pils Beer”. Color coded crown cap and neck label complete the presentation. Listed at 6,2% ABV.

Appearance: Soft iridescent golden color which is perfectly clear, some streamers. Decent sized white head laces nicely and fills a good 1” of the glass for some time. Settled down the head lasts throughout and never drops below a finger thick. Average levels of conditioning which are just right.

Nose: Nice crisp nose, delicate hints of grassy hops amidst the pilsner malts.

Taste: Clean start looses its way a little in the middle but rescues an amicable Pilsner finish. The finish is fresh and crisp with some grain, but the middle is a little muddled with a soft yet metallic feel, I couldn’t ignore it, it wasn’t big in profile and was more of a hint but it still detracted a little. Nice enough though.

Mouthfeel: Medium feel with a lightly wavering conditioning which rises and rolls start to finishes but is always clean and crisp throughout.

Drinkability: Easy enough to work through the half litre with little in the way of any draw-backs, but this does not have much to compel me to crack open another one though.

Overall: Not the “Pearler” it professes to be, but apparently this is the best selling beer in Lubelszczyzna…….

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2005 02:20:33 | More by TheLongBeachBum

czechsaaz

Washington

3.15/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Very grainy aroma. Just a hint of hops and whats there is pretty stale smelling. Otherwise, clean lager aroma.

Pale yellow and clear. Fast fading head. Not much rising carbonation.

Very light on flavor. A little bit of malt, some sugary sweetness and a good dose of bittering hops. Really have to swish it around in your mouth to get the flavors. A quick sip is pretty neutral, not terribly interesting Pils-type beer.

Light bodied, carbonation is higher than appearance would lead me to beleive. There's a pretty good carbonic bite to it.

Very easy drinking beer. Pretty typical Central Europe lager. Nothing wrong, but nothing remarkable.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2005 04:56:17 | More by czechsaaz

BEERchitect

Kentucky

2.78/5  rDev -21.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Smells light on pilsner malts and light on sweetness. Fruity-lemony, citrusy, pineapple. Slightly spicy. Bohemian earthy and bitter. Yeasty, acidic and tart.

Looks slightly murky yellow to straw. High carbonation. Slight head, loosely knit that quickly fell to a trace.

Tastes grainy-sweet. Again, Light on malts. Light body. Notes of cirtrus and petter. Sharp bitterness and flavor for balance. Light vegetable flavors of corn late. A bit grainy.

Finishes bitter, bitey, and grainy. Disipates quickly. Medium-low mouthfeel. Otherwise, crisp and refreshing.

A little hoppy and bitter for a pils. Lacks creamyness that I expected. A good beer to start an evening.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2005 22:03:41 | More by BEERchitect

ALESwhatCURESya

Wisconsin

3.53/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Wierd shaped brown bottle from Poland. The beer poured a very clear pale golden color with a thin pearl white head. Vigourous carbonation ran up from the bottom of my Gosser pilsner glass. It looked like champagne. Aroma is nice and clean with a little grassy, hay-like backbone. The taste is refreshing and smooth. There is a doughy body with a very smooth, semi-dry finish. It could be a great session beer on a hot day tailgate.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2005 23:58:50 | More by ALESwhatCURESya

Hhawk06

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +11%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is one of those loud-pouring offerings. The pour emmanates a crisp, crackling nose to accompany the well served bleach-white head. The body is straw-colored, not the most thrilling I've seen. The nose is decent, however, with a sweetly malted bouquet that is pleasant and refreshing. The smell accurately preceeds the mouthfeel, as it is a similarly light and crisp feel. As the taste sinks in, it actually exudes a very good creamy malt flavor that is complimented by a somewhat prickly and faintly lemony hop presence. The finish stays creamy and smooth and is mostly in floral. This brew really sits well and rank it quite high for sessioning purposes. Pleasantly surprised!

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2005 21:46:28 | More by Hhawk06

Kookiekwan

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer pours golden-yellow has a one finger head with good retention and minimal lacing. The aroma is faint but of grassy hops. The beer is crisp and dry, it has a small bite of grassy hops and a slightly spicy finish. This beer is light bodied and easy to drink.

Reflection: Overall this wasn't a bad beer, I'm not crazy about the style but I would but this one again.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2005 00:19:23 | More by Kookiekwan

Redrover

Illinois

3.93/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

16.9 oz brown bottle with a classic looking label & artwork.

The beer pours a slightly hazy gold with a huge initial head. The foam collapses a bit, but there is a good skimming the whole beer.

The beer has an aroma of fruit (plums & grapes), some grain and a nice smell of floral hops.

This is a sturdy pils! Nice thick grainy malt background with some subtle fruit flavors all set-off by some slightly peppery hops. This is one of the first Pils I have encountered with an almost oily feel. I get that feel mainly with heavily hopped IPAs & some APAs. Beer becomes slightly more grainy tasting as you get about 1/2 way through and that adds to the enjoyment. Very easy to drink with a nice creamy feel. Surprisingly low carbonation levels.

This is the finest beer I have had from Poland. It is worth searching out. $1.09 per bottle from Sal’s in Elmhurst and well worth the price!!

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2005 01:55:29 | More by Redrover

necoadam

Connecticut

3.63/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured out a clear golden color with a nice head that goes to lacing after a while.

Smell was somewhat light, but not bad. Some grassy notes in there along with some spicy hops. Slightly bready, but it's really tucked in the background.

Taste was good. Nice bready start along with some malts that give away to some grassy/spicy hop tones at the end and that last into the aftertaste. Not bad.

Mouthfeel was good. Light to medium body with a good crisp touch to it.

Overall, I gotta say this is pretty good. It acts more like a pils than a lager though. A good alternative to the Urquel perhaps. Give it a try.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2004 14:14:19 | More by necoadam

cokes

Wisconsin

3.9/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Limp gold with a sturdy and lasting crown of white.
Wet dough aroma touched by basil and honey.
DryDryish up front, suggesting graham crackers, touched slightly with honey. Fruit hues exist in the distance, suggesting apples, pears, and pineapple. Peppery hops, with herbs -lemongrass and thyme, and oregano, carry this though a brish, clean flowing, well-lagered conclusion.
Light body, spritely carbonation. No trace of its somewhat elevate ABV. A truly great "food" beer, as the hops are brought forth even more.
Polish lagers always frighten me, but this has purpose, poise, and cohesion, and is aeons better than most of its countrymates.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2004 19:59:22 | More by cokes

ADR

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Transparent gold appearance, head is short but small-bubbled and decently persistant. Dripping punctuation mark laces. Honeyish aroma, some unripe pineapple. Medium carbonation, body is on the light side. Malts are a little non-descript, medium sweet with a bit of papery cellulose that may be the result of a long journey. The hoppiness strikes me well, tangy but with an attenuated crispness and lending a dryness and lemony tone to the finish. Sturdy at 6.2% ABV, but in a sea of eastern European Lagers, this one has some good characters and its flaws are forgiveable.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2004 18:57:48 | More by ADR

UncleJimbo

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Sampled from a bottle.

This pils poured a clear, golden yellow color with puffy, white foam that persisted a bit and left some lace. The smell was lightly malty with a hint of sweetness, a touch of grain, and some hops. The taste had a hint of a metallic taste in the foam, and the beer tasted malty with a touch of grain and a light hop bitterness in the finish. The mouthfeel was smooth and hoppy with medium light body and good carbonation. The hoppiness lingered on the palate. This was an easy drinking, light pils.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2004 20:02:55 | More by UncleJimbo

stoutman

Michigan

3.85/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Light pale golden pour with a fluffy white head and good lacing. A Saaz induced aroma with a litte bit of honey sweetness. Decent mouthfeel. Not a full flavoured beer but enjoyable anyhow. Pleasant hoppy aroma that wasn’t overpowering. Slightly oily in the taste, with a medium bitterness that softens more so at mid palate and some floral notes. Good thirst quencher!

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2004 02:11:15 | More by stoutman

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.53/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Clear, golden hue, fresh, chalk-whitet, hick head of foam.
Nose is clean, somewhat floral, rosey, nice enough...
Taste: again, clean, smooth, no hops, adequate malt, brisk, and breezy. Tasty, almost, with a light body, that does not lack in character. Significant flavor, easy drinking, no flaws whatsoever, just a downright capable lager.
Pretty good actually, can't find a thing wrong with it.
The first Polish lager I've liked!

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2004 04:20:34 | More by feloniousmonk