United - Fat Heads Brewery & Saloon

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Fatheads/Victory Brewing
"United"

LOOK: Perfectly clear light gold, soapy white head and lace. Looks like a standard pilsner beer.

SMELL: Herbal and resinous hops, a bit piney smelling as well. Just a whiff of bready malts and lager yeast.

TASTE: Pine and fresh juicy citrus rind are huge in the profile. Pale malt backing with an ever so faint balancing sweetness. Quite bitter.

FEEL: Light crisp, well carbonated.

OVERALL: Dubbed a "pale-sner" from the breweries, I think that is a perfect description. This is a style that needs to exist.

Serving type: on-tap

01-17-2013 22:58:41 | More by Stinkypuss

Tucquan

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this on 2012-11-23 in Pittsburgh, PA from a very fresh growler.

A - Clear yellow with a 2-finger white head and mild-moderate lacing.

S - Lemon, light yeast, floral, light malt, dank. Big nose on this bad-boy; more than a Victory Prima Pils, which I had side-by-side.

T - Noticeable Head Hunter-type dankness, lemon, light-medium pale malt (more than Prima Pils). Fairly bitter and dank finish. More malt as it warmed.

M - Light body and medium carbonation. A bit watery but refreshing.

O - As mentioned, I had this side-by-side with a Victory Prima Pils. I definitely liked the Prima Pils better. This United is a really enjoyable brew but it leans a lot to the PA/IPA camp. The Prima Pils certainly brings a lot of spicy hops to the table, but the Prima leaves out the dankness. While I like dank in my IPAs, it wasn't as appealing in a Pils. Even so, I'd gladly have it again.

Note: This is a collaboration brew with Fat Head's and Victory. From their announcement . . . " United, which will be available on-draft at select locations, is a style-bending beer that can only be classified as a “pale-sner,” meaning the brew integrates pungent and tangy American hops as typical of pale ales, while exhibiting the lean malt structure of a pilsner.

Brewmasters Bill Covaleski (Victory) and Matt Cole (Fat Head’s) got together in mid-September to brew using freshly harvested wet hops per the recipe they designed via email over the summer. The resulting beer features the grassy, lemon-like character of the American and European hopping with the crisp, dry finish of a pilsner.

“When Matt explained he hoped use all of the 120 lbs. of vine-fresh Citra hops that had arrived the day before, I felt challenged and exhilarated to create unity,” said Victory Brewing Company President and Brewmaster Bill Covaleski. “In this brew, we really did bring our common expertise and wild ambitions to a rational and delicious conclusion.”

Serving type: growler

11-25-2012 20:23:57 | More by Tucquan